In contrast to the models of color-blindness and multiculturalism, the racial democracy ideal envisions an "ideal america" as: a place where people’s racial and ethnic differences are respected but that respect is secondary to the respect given to each person’s individual accomplishments and abilities to succeed in societya place where people don’t need to acknowledge race and ethnicity because the ideals of race equality finally match the reality of the societya place where people are liberated beyond the structural restraints of the legacies associated with their racial and ethnic groups through a systematic redress of racial injusticesa place where empathy, mutuality, and common respect between people has created a pattern of cultural respect, where all groups are given equal social merit

It is widely assumed that people need to engage in intellectual activities such as solving crossword puzzles or mathematics problems in order to maintain mental sharpness as they age. in fact, however, simply talking to other people—that is, participating in social interaction, which engages many mental and perceptual skills—suffices. evidence to this effect comes from a study showing that the more social contact people report, the better their mental skills. which of the following, if true, most seriously weakens the force of the evidence cited? (a) as people grow older, they are often advised to keep exercising their physical and mental capacities in order to maintain or improve them. (b) many medical conditions and treatments that adversely affect a person's mental sharpness also tend to increase that person's social isolation. (c) many people are proficient both in social interactions and in solving mathematical problems. (d) the study did not itself collect data but analyzed data bearing on the issue from prior studies. (e) the tasks evaluating mental sharpness for which data were compiled by the study were more akin to mathematics problems than to conversation.