The problem with that statement is that Race is the problem. Race is the cause of the Historical Problems ('white mans burden' + slavery + "...the great truth that the Black man is not our equal" = The root of the Historical Problems).
* The Historical Problems caused most of the Cultural Problems ('white mans burden' + "...the great truth that the black man is not our equal + the fact that many African Tribes were 'headless').
* The Historic problems caused the Economic problems (being kept out of the means of production until the The Civil Rights Movement + being forced to work the same job, for the same hours, to produce the same thing, for half the wages of a white worker = a history of serious poverty).
* The Historical Problems caused the Educational Problems (much the same as the Economic ones; the extremly poor tend to be less well educated then the Middle Class/Upper class).
*The Historical Problems caused the Politcal Problems (not being allowed to run for office until about 1866, and then only being a token delegate to appease the Federal Government; and then once Reconstruction Ended, so did many of the terms of Black City Council men, Mayors, and so on; and then, only re-gaining that right with The Civil Rights Movement).
So, you are partly right. The Problem is not (directly) because of Race. It is all related to Historical Problems... which were created by Race. We (that is to say, Our Government) cannot truelly be held responsible for The First Slaves brought to the Shores of what is now the U.S., but we will still have to deal with the consequences. We had Slavery on our shore for 211 years. We had De Facto slavery on our shores for another 99 years. We had slavery (in form or another) for 310 years. Do you really think we only need 44 years to fix all that it brought?
I disagree that all problems are racial in origin. There was slavery in Biblical times, in Roman times, in all sorts of historical times when
race was not the factor - and although there was sometimes a difference in how slavery applied to people from the "home" culture and people from elsewhere, skin color or other racial characteristics didn't play into it. Religion often did, as did socioeconomic standing - but in times before long-distance travel was common, people made do with looking down on their social "inferiors", because that's who was around.
Other examples have been mentioned as well - the
Irish, when they first started coming to this country, were often considered the lowest of the low; in feudal England, peasants were the lowest of the low, and considered barely human, except for new brides on
Jus Primae Noctis, as it was the lord's right to deflower the bride, should he so choose. The poor have always been targeted, as so many people believe that anyone who is born poor deserves what they get - regardless of
why they were born poor in the first place. You have only to read books such as
The Adventures of Oliver Twistor
Huckleberry Finn to see how the poor were routinely treated for the crime of being poor... yet no one sees the descendants of the poor in Europe rising up and asking for compensation.
Religious persecution is cultural, and has existed as long as there have been religious. As recently as last year I had someone exlaim in shock that I was Jewish, based solely on my appearance; I was, she said, too fair skinned, too blond, and my nose too small - upon further discussion, I should be short, dark, and have a soft, blobby nose... in short, I should look like a female version of Hitler - who went after ethnic groups, that's true - Jews and Gypsies (do you realize nearly as many Gypsies died as did Jews in the Holocaust? But it's rarely discussed) among the many, but also Jehovah's Witnesses, communists, trade unionists, Poles, Russians (and other Slavic peoples - especially POWs), gays and transsexuals, Freemasons, and anyone with any kind of "defect" - blind, deaf, retarded, mentally ill, physically handicapped - anyone who might oppose his "Master Race" or hinder the forming of it. An interesting aside, to me, is how little Hitler resembled his "Aryan Ideal".
Children had it even worse, until very recently; they were third class citizens, good for the labor they could produce on farms, and then, even worse treated in factories. It was illegal to beat a horse to death before it was illegal to beat a child; in fact, the first child abuse case was based on a legal precedent of a law making it illegal to beat your horse to death, because it was cruel. This was the case in many cultures; domesticated animals were valuable - but given the rates of death from disease, malnutrition, and accident, children were cherished - but expendable; many cultures had children as often as possible, as only 1 in 5 would survive to adulthood.
In addition, slavery is hardly limited purely to Europeans; many of the first African slaves were sold by their tribes or their conquerors to the first European explorers... and were slaves at the time it happened. Yes, the Europeans started to capture Africans and deport them wholesale when the supply of already-enslaved dropped below the demand - but it's hardly specific to European culture.
You have some very good ideas - but you are too committed to some of them. You need to do some broader research, and see the issues that go beyond those you consider to be vital. There is no
one, single, absolute, answer to any situation - no matter how clear it seems at the outset.
I guess yer not eh?
