Not long after experiencing victory and obtaining the reins of power, Republican politicians and right-wing figures predictably went right back to doing what they are infamous for when given an opportunity to right the ship: infighting. This time, H-1B visas were the topic of accusatory debate.
Instead of focusing on the subject's back-and-forth headliners, I’d like to concentrate on one of the notable statements made in this debate — a tweet issued by the rising right-wing character Vivek Ramaswamy.
I encourage you to read the tweet in its entirety and to consider all of Ramaswamy’s often deadly accurate (though sometimes misguided) opinions, but for now, I’ll highlight some of the more pressing parts of his statement.
“The reason top tech companies often hire foreign-born & first-generation engineers over ‘native’ Americans isn’t because of an innate American IQ deficit (a lazy & wrong explanation),” Ramaswamy writes, defending the H-1B program designed to facilitate immigration of high-skilled workers to supplement lacking sectors of the American workforce. “A key part of it comes down to the c-word: culture.”
Ramaswamy elaborates:
Our American culture has venerated mediocrity over excellence for way too long….
A culture that celebrates the prom queen over the math olympiad champ, or the jock over the valedictorian, will not produce the best engineers.
A culture that venerates Cory from ‘Boy Meets World,’ or Zach & Slater over Screech in ‘Saved by the Bell,’ or ‘Stefan’ over Steve Urkel in ‘Family Matters,’ will not produce the best engineers.
His diagnosis comes attached with a prescription:
More movies like Whiplash, fewer reruns of ‘Friends.’ More math tutoring, fewer sleepovers. More weekend science competitions, fewer Saturday morning cartoons. More books, less TV. More creating, less ‘chillin.’ More extracurriculars, less ‘hanging out at the mall.’
He concludes by saying:
Most normal American parents look skeptically at ‘those kinds of parents.’ More normal American kids view such ‘those kinds of kids’ with scorn. If you grow up aspiring to normalcy, normalcy is what you will achieve.
…
‘Normalcy’ doesn’t cut it in a hyper-competitive global market for technical talent. And if we pretend like it does, we’ll have our [rear-ends] handed to us by China.
… Trump’s election hopefully marks the beginning of a new golden era in America, but only if our culture fully wakes up. A culture that once again prioritizes achievement over normalcy; excellence over mediocrity; nerdiness over conformity; hard work over excellence.
Ramaswamy’s comments only fueled the flames of the H-1B debate, eliciting passionate backlash from right-wing compatriots. But as with anything crafted by man, there are aspects of his statement that are spot-on and aspects that miss the mark; those valuable for use and those dangerous.
Ramaswamy correctly identifies that we have a culture problem, not merely a political problem. This is why, to the frustration of many, people like myself aren’t merely satisfied with the exciting election victory in November — we have more work to do than electing a president. That is certainly a key part of our success, but not the goal.
We must change American culture.
Now the tragic mistake Ramaswamy makes in his analysis is defining this cultural deficiency by merely viewing it through an economic lens, a misstep that should be expected from an Ivy League graduate turned tech billionaire.
More “math tutoring” and “science competitions” won’t cut it; “nerdiness” won’t cure our culture.
In a way that wreaks of having a chip on his shoulder from his high school years, Ramaswamy targets athleticism, leisure time, and social life as the root of the issue instead of what is, in all reality, the crux of the American identity crisis: the erosion of biblical values.
Of course, laziness, complacence, and the idolization of popularity are pervasive in American youth, and thus, the vilification of those who exist outside of that norm has taken effect. But to treat this phenomenon as anything other than a symptom of the real problem is blind.
None of these are issues in a culture that prizes individual biblical morality. God commands us to work hard, to forsake worldly fame, and to aspire to high achievement within the talents and spheres He’s given us. Americans used to believe these things writ large, and social, economic and political prosperity endured as a result. We cannot solve the economic issues properly without understanding this.
It is remarkably shocking that Ramaswamy cannot see this in his own area of expertise, the tech world. He desperately advocates for the value of math and science for the purposes of technological advancement but fails to consider that advanced technology unmoored from individual responsibility has only contributed to the problems of American laziness and distraction.
All too often, those in the conservative movement who emphasize free markets and entrepreneurship forego the necessary cultural preconditions to that. They idolize the Elon Musks of the nation while forgetting the Billy Grahams. Even in economic terms, to advocate for more inventors but to disparage the “normal” people who staff their companies is quite ignorant and tunnel-visioned.
To achieve the success we want and that America needs, conservatives must begin to see and understand the bigger picture.
Carter Ashcraft is a 21-year-old from Tuscaloosa, Ala., who is majoring in political science at the University of Alabama. You can contact him at carterashcraft12@gmail.com.
The views and opinions expressed here are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the policy or position of 1819 News. To comment, please send an email with your name and contact information to Commentary@1819News.com.
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