Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of Figures
- List of Tables
- Acknowledgments
- Introduction
- 1 Discursive Governance: Toward a Holistic Approach to Understanding a Dialogue on Race in Government
- 2 Measuring the Political Dialogue on Race
- PART I Societal Reception to a Dialogue on Race
- 3 The Backlash: Does America Disapprove of Racial Discussions?
- 4 The Benefits: Political Rhetoric and Health Awareness in the Minority Community
- PART II Political Institutions and a Dialogue on Race
- Conclusion: A Place for a Racial Dialogue in an Aspiring Post-Racial Society
- Appendix A Defining and Measuring Race-Related Statements
- Appendix B Study Description and Coding across Chapters
- Appendix C Wharton Behavioral Lab Experiments and the National Experiment
- Appendix D Method for Assessing the Overlap of Presidential Discussion and Minority Magazine Articles: Text Reuse (Plagiarism Analysis)
- References
- Index
4 - The Benefits: Political Rhetoric and Health Awareness in the Minority Community
from PART I - Societal Reception to a Dialogue on Race
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 05 April 2016
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of Figures
- List of Tables
- Acknowledgments
- Introduction
- 1 Discursive Governance: Toward a Holistic Approach to Understanding a Dialogue on Race in Government
- 2 Measuring the Political Dialogue on Race
- PART I Societal Reception to a Dialogue on Race
- 3 The Backlash: Does America Disapprove of Racial Discussions?
- 4 The Benefits: Political Rhetoric and Health Awareness in the Minority Community
- PART II Political Institutions and a Dialogue on Race
- Conclusion: A Place for a Racial Dialogue in an Aspiring Post-Racial Society
- Appendix A Defining and Measuring Race-Related Statements
- Appendix B Study Description and Coding across Chapters
- Appendix C Wharton Behavioral Lab Experiments and the National Experiment
- Appendix D Method for Assessing the Overlap of Presidential Discussion and Minority Magazine Articles: Text Reuse (Plagiarism Analysis)
- References
- Index
Summary
Since 1993, our Nation's health has greatly improved.… This is good news we should all celebrate. But we must not be blind to the alarming fact that too many Americans do not share in the fruits of our progress, and nowhere are the divisions of race and ethnicity more sharply drawn than in the health of our people.
–William ClintonSince the 1990s, presidents have made great efforts to address health and health inequality. President Clinton tried, though unsuccessfully, to implement universal health insurance coverage; President George W. Bush expanded Medicare and implemented a strong drug prescription program; and President Obama reformed the health care system with the Affordable Care Act. These events have allowed government to play a larger role in citizens’ health. Alongside the increasing trend of governments’ attention to health there has been a separate trend, a decline in politicians’ discussion of racial issues. Interestingly, the dialogue taking place in government to implement and evaluate health policies and programs has included fewer discussions of racial and ethnic minority concerns over time.
We saw in Chapter 3 that presidents do receive some degree of pushback when they discuss issues of race. Their overall approval ratings drop and the nation questions their leadership. However, there are two sides to the public's reception to the issue of race. Although the majority in this nation pushes back on these issues, discussions of race benefit the minority community, and this chapter presents an example of this benefit in the area of health awareness. As we shall see, presidents’ discussions of health that highlight aspects of race shape the social agenda for black and Latino institutions, and minority citizens adopt this new agenda in ways that influence their individual attitudes.
By moving beyond the scope of public policy to explore cultural norms, this chapter provides a new prism through which to understand the race-conscious versus race-neutral debate. The chapter is not explicitly political but instead highlights lifestyle magazines and discussions of health. Nevertheless, it demonstrates that racial dialogue in government influences and is widely interconnected to the nonpolitical aspects of citizens’ lives.
The chapter begins by discussing the consequences and benefits that stem from a race-conscious dialogue within government. It then narrows in on the benefits that presidents’ remarks may have on marginalized groups.
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- Information
- Governing with WordsThe Political Dialogue on Race, Public Policy, and Inequality in America, pp. 77 - 100Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2016