[Script Info]
Title: 
[Events]
Format: Layer, Start, End, Style, Name, MarginL, MarginR, MarginV, Effect, Text
Dialogue: 0,0:00:00.71,0:00:03.53,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Here's a question we should all be asking:
Dialogue: 0,0:00:03.56,0:00:05.32,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,What went wrong?
Dialogue: 0,0:00:05.35,0:00:07.21,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Not just with the pandemic
Dialogue: 0,0:00:07.23,0:00:09.23,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but with our civic life.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:09.54,0:00:14.23,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,What brought us to this polarized,\Nrancorous political moment?
Dialogue: 0,0:00:15.15,0:00:16.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,In recent decades,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:16.62,0:00:20.90,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the divide between winners and losers\Nhas been deepening,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:20.92,0:00:22.91,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,poisoning our politics,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:22.93,0:00:25.13,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,setting us apart.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:25.16,0:00:29.04,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,This divide is partly about inequality.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:29.58,0:00:34.22,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But it's also about the attitudes\Ntoward winning and losing
Dialogue: 0,0:00:34.25,0:00:35.84,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that have come with it.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:35.86,0:00:37.51,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Those who landed on top
Dialogue: 0,0:00:37.53,0:00:41.79,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,came to believe that their success\Nwas their own doing,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:42.20,0:00:44.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,a measure of their merit,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:44.52,0:00:48.95,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and that those who lost out\Nhad no one to blame but themselves.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:50.18,0:00:52.56,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,This way of thinking about success
Dialogue: 0,0:00:52.58,0:00:56.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,arises from a seemingly\Nattractive principle.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:56.77,0:00:59.18,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,If everyone has an equal chance,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:59.20,0:01:02.18,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the winners deserve their winnings.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:02.93,0:01:06.74,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,This is the heart\Nof the meritocratic ideal.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:07.85,0:01:11.33,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,In practice, of course, we fall far short.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:12.58,0:01:15.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Not everybody has an equal chance to rise.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:17.01,0:01:21.92,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Children born to poor families\Ntend to stay poor when they grow up.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:22.65,0:01:27.54,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Affluent parents are able to pass\Ntheir advantages onto their kids.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:28.08,0:01:31.61,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,At Ivy League universities, for example,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:31.63,0:01:35.03,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,there are more students\Nfrom the top one percent
Dialogue: 0,0:01:35.06,0:01:39.94,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,than from the entire bottom half\Nof the country combined.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:41.63,0:01:45.65,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But the problem isn't only\Nthat we fail to live up
Dialogue: 0,0:01:45.67,0:01:48.58,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to the meritocratic\Nprinciples we proclaim.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:49.58,0:01:52.46,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The ideal itself is flawed.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:52.79,0:01:54.43,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It has a dark side.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:54.89,0:01:58.96,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Meritocracy is corrosive\Nof the common good.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:59.84,0:02:02.34,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It leads to hubris among the winners
Dialogue: 0,0:02:03.54,0:02:07.21,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and humiliation among those who lose out.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:08.05,0:02:13.64,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It encourages the successful\Nto inhale too deeply of their success,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:13.67,0:02:18.54,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to forget the luck and good fortune\Nthat helped them on their way.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:19.00,0:02:23.38,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And it leads them to look down\Non those less fortunate,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:23.41,0:02:26.18,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,less credentialed than themselves.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:27.08,0:02:29.57,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,This matters for politics.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:30.49,0:02:35.45,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,One of the most potent sources\Nof the populous backlash
Dialogue: 0,0:02:35.47,0:02:40.81,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,is the sense among many working people\Nthat elites look down on them.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:41.71,0:02:43.71,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It's a legitimate complaint.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:44.59,0:02:49.86,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Even as globalization\Nbrought deepening inequality
Dialogue: 0,0:02:49.88,0:02:51.28,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and stagnant wages,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:52.51,0:02:57.28,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,its proponents offered workers\Nsome bracing advice.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:58.36,0:03:01.82,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"If you want to compete and win\Nin the global economy,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:01.84,0:03:03.31,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,go to college."
Dialogue: 0,0:03:03.78,0:03:06.75,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"What you earn depends on what you learn."
Dialogue: 0,0:03:07.12,0:03:09.12,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"You can make it if you try."
Dialogue: 0,0:03:10.33,0:03:16.22,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,These elites miss the insult\Nimplicit in this advice.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:17.26,0:03:19.12,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,If you don't go to college,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:19.15,0:03:22.64,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,if you don't flourish in the new economy,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:22.67,0:03:25.29,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,your failure is your fault.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:25.82,0:03:27.49,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,That's the implication.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:27.85,0:03:33.50,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It's no wonder many working people\Nturned against meritocratic elites.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:34.51,0:03:36.22,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So what should we do?
Dialogue: 0,0:03:36.61,0:03:40.66,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,We need to rethink three aspects\Nof our civic life.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:41.33,0:03:42.64,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The role of college,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:42.66,0:03:44.24,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the dignity of work
Dialogue: 0,0:03:44.27,0:03:45.98,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and the meaning of success.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:47.15,0:03:51.30,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,We should begin by rethinking\Nthe role of universities
Dialogue: 0,0:03:51.32,0:03:54.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,as arbiters of opportunity.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:55.58,0:04:00.46,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,For those of us who spend our days\Nin the company of the credentialed,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:00.48,0:04:03.75,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,it's easy to forget a simple fact:
Dialogue: 0,0:04:04.53,0:04:08.52,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Most people don't have\Na four-year college degree.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:09.08,0:04:13.21,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,In fact, nearly two-thirds\Nof Americans don't.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:13.98,0:04:18.04,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So it is folly to create an economy
Dialogue: 0,0:04:18.07,0:04:23.24,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that makes a university diploma\Na necessary condition
Dialogue: 0,0:04:23.27,0:04:26.54,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,of dignified work and a decent life.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:27.31,0:04:30.96,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Encouraging people to go\Nto college is a good thing.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:30.98,0:04:33.76,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Broadening access\Nfor those who can't afford it
Dialogue: 0,0:04:33.78,0:04:35.15,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,is even better.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:35.55,0:04:38.12,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But this is not a solution to inequality.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:38.95,0:04:44.42,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,We should focus less on arming people\Nfor meritocratic combat,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:44.45,0:04:48.18,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and focus more on making life better
Dialogue: 0,0:04:48.21,0:04:50.62,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,for people who lack a diploma
Dialogue: 0,0:04:50.64,0:04:54.78,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but who make essential\Ncontributions to our society.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:55.73,0:04:58.17,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,We should renew the dignity of work
Dialogue: 0,0:04:58.20,0:05:00.75,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and place it at the center\Nof our politics.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:01.27,0:05:06.30,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,We should remember that work\Nis not only about making a living,
Dialogue: 0,0:05:06.32,0:05:09.74,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,it's also about contributing\Nto the common good
Dialogue: 0,0:05:09.77,0:05:12.54,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and winning recognition for doing so.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:13.03,0:05:16.67,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Robert F. Kennedy put it well\Nhalf a century ago.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:17.12,0:05:20.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Fellowship, community, shared patriotism.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:21.44,0:05:24.77,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,These essential values do not come
Dialogue: 0,0:05:24.80,0:05:27.67,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,from just buying and consuming\Ngoods together.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:28.86,0:05:31.35,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,They come from dignified employment,
Dialogue: 0,0:05:31.37,0:05:33.16,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,at decent pay.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:33.18,0:05:36.94,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The kind of employment\Nthat enables us to say,
Dialogue: 0,0:05:36.96,0:05:38.96,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"I helped to build this country.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:39.52,0:05:43.50,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I am a participant\Nin its great public ventures."
Dialogue: 0,0:05:44.80,0:05:47.52,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,This civic sentiment
Dialogue: 0,0:05:47.55,0:05:51.62,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,is largely missing\Nfrom our public life today.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:52.79,0:05:56.56,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,We often assume that the money people make
Dialogue: 0,0:05:56.59,0:05:59.88,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,is the measure of their contribution\Nto the common good.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:00.81,0:06:02.62,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But this is a mistake.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:03.45,0:06:06.17,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Martin Luther King Jr. explained why.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:07.36,0:06:11.12,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Reflecting on a strike\Nby sanitation workers
Dialogue: 0,0:06:11.14,0:06:13.14,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in Memphis, Tennessee,
Dialogue: 0,0:06:13.17,0:06:15.17,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,shortly before he was assassinated,
Dialogue: 0,0:06:16.10,0:06:17.68,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,King said,
Dialogue: 0,0:06:17.71,0:06:22.73,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"The person who picks up our garbage\Nis, in the final analysis,
Dialogue: 0,0:06:22.76,0:06:25.44,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,as significant as the physician,
Dialogue: 0,0:06:26.86,0:06:29.08,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,for if he doesn't do his job,
Dialogue: 0,0:06:29.11,0:06:31.11,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,diseases are rampant.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:32.01,0:06:34.79,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,All labor has dignity."
Dialogue: 0,0:06:35.64,0:06:38.06,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Today's pandemic makes this clear.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:38.59,0:06:41.63,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It reveals how deeply we rely
Dialogue: 0,0:06:41.66,0:06:44.66,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,on workers we often overlook.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:45.57,0:06:47.19,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Delivery workers,
Dialogue: 0,0:06:47.21,0:06:49.09,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,maintenance workers,
Dialogue: 0,0:06:49.12,0:06:51.01,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,grocery store clerks,
Dialogue: 0,0:06:51.04,0:06:52.71,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,warehouse workers,
Dialogue: 0,0:06:52.73,0:06:54.09,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,truckers,
Dialogue: 0,0:06:54.12,0:06:55.74,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,nurse assistants,
Dialogue: 0,0:06:55.77,0:06:57.41,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,childcare workers,
Dialogue: 0,0:06:57.43,0:06:59.43,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,home health care providers.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:59.78,0:07:04.21,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,These are not the best-paid\Nor most honored workers.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:05.23,0:07:09.17,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But now, we see them as essential workers.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:10.34,0:07:14.14,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,This is a moment for a public debate
Dialogue: 0,0:07:14.17,0:07:17.79,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,about how to bring their pay\Nand recognition
Dialogue: 0,0:07:17.82,0:07:21.93,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,into better alignment\Nwith the importance of their work.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:22.45,0:07:28.65,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It is also time for a moral,\Neven spiritual, turning,
Dialogue: 0,0:07:28.67,0:07:32.37,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,questioning our meritocratic hubris.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:33.64,0:07:37.90,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Do I morally deserve the talents\Nthat enable me to flourish?
Dialogue: 0,0:07:38.53,0:07:40.47,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Is it my doing
Dialogue: 0,0:07:40.49,0:07:44.13,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that I live in a society\Nthat prizes the talents
Dialogue: 0,0:07:44.16,0:07:45.88,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I happen to have?
Dialogue: 0,0:07:46.32,0:07:48.32,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Or is that my good luck?
Dialogue: 0,0:07:49.04,0:07:52.88,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Insisting that my success is my due
Dialogue: 0,0:07:52.91,0:07:57.26,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,makes it hard to see myself\Nin other people's shoes.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:58.19,0:08:01.03,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Appreciating the role of luck in life
Dialogue: 0,0:08:01.05,0:08:03.05,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,can prompt a certain humility.
Dialogue: 0,0:08:03.88,0:08:08.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,There but for the accident of birth,\Nor the grace of God,
Dialogue: 0,0:08:08.22,0:08:10.09,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,or the mystery of fate,
Dialogue: 0,0:08:10.12,0:08:11.38,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,go I.
Dialogue: 0,0:08:12.38,0:08:14.74,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,This spirit of humility
Dialogue: 0,0:08:14.76,0:08:17.36,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,is the civic virtue we need now.
Dialogue: 0,0:08:18.10,0:08:20.52,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It's the beginning of a way back
Dialogue: 0,0:08:20.55,0:08:24.79,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,from the harsh ethic of success\Nthat drives us apart.
Dialogue: 0,0:08:25.47,0:08:29.57,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It points us beyond the tyranny of merit
Dialogue: 0,0:08:29.60,0:08:33.71,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to a less rancorous,\Nmore generous public life.