In the current system, education isn’t viewed as a system of societal improvement but as a product to improve the standing of the individual. Because the individual is seen as the only one who benefits from their education, the individual pays for it.
As others have said, there are lots of divides in various cultures. From what I have heard, many people from the Americas look down on those from further south in the Americas. (Americans look down on Mexicans, who look down on Guatemalans, etc.) I’ve heard there are still certain views regarding Han Chinese versus others in China, xenophobia in Japan, sectarianism between subsets of Islam, and a basic level of nativism throughout much of the world. For America, the culture started with the era of ‘scientific’ racism so it started with a color divide. Those old divides remain because certain classes of people keep reinforcing because it helps their narrative. In the same way you can look at what happened with American healthcare through a Marxist, free-market-absolutist, or various other views, you can look at America through various lenses, and the racial one still holds a lot of sway. As long as enough people identify with the grouping, it grants political power to those who have authority in that group. The power is used to reinforce the identity to perpetuate itself and the cycle continues. It takes fairly drastic circumstances to change that.
And it’s only March.
I want to see Canada put out an open offer for immediate welcome, territoriship, and instant citizenship for any state along the border that votes to join Canada.
Been to various parts of the US. Met open racists on a few occasions. How likely you are to encounter them will vary by location, but your experience will most likely be great. There are many racists in America but most of them are not the kind who will choose some black tourist in the middle of the city to harass. You’d have to get pretty unlucky to get more than a snide look. Most of the people you will interact with as a tourist will be customer service reps, who, generally speaking, will be extremely cordial, even if they were to be the kind of American who has some issues with race. The one color Americans respect more than black or white is green. If you have money to spend, they’ll be only too happy to help you spend it. Cops will treat you better if you have money too, and not even in the sense of bribes. Dress like you have money and they’ll treat you like you do.
That said, non-racial crime is still very much a thing, especially against tourists, so keep to the safety of well lit, populated areas as much as you can unless you have a local to tell you where it’s safe.
Oh, and try some authentic Mexican food if you can. It’s delicious.
I’m not one to say it doesn’t matter. I know the benefit good nursing provides. I’m saying, in modern culture, especially in the circles who have political, economic, and cultural power, there is, and has been for decades, a push to think of a college education as an investment product that benefits the purchaser, with little to no consideration being given to societal benefit. They are acting as if your work is not more meaningful/beneficial to society than, say, a Marketing Director. (a position of similar wage which I would say is, at least, not as beneficial, if not actually harmful to society)
Nursing, for instance, is a profession, or even a vocation, which provides tremendous societal benefit, both in the direct ‘people’s lives in medical settings suck less’ sense and in the indirect ‘people get back to health and productivity’ sense. Despite this, it’s not common, as far as I’ve seen, for governments to offer much in the way of benefits to nurses as reward for their service. There’s even a tendency to, when they ask for a raise, to take an attitude of ‘You should be happy. At least you get to know you’re helping people. We need all these extra profits to help compensate us for doing our jobs that don’t help people.’
Mostly as an aside, I’ve actually thought for years that nurses and doctors who are providing direct care to patients (i.e. not people who went to Med/Nursing school and then went into medicine-adjacent business, but people putting in direct labor to help heal people) should have a significant tax cut. Their work benefits society more than the money it would represent, and a cut would make their lives easier, and help balance the years of tuition and effort it takes to get to that position.