From speculating on the origins of COVID to the contents of Hunter Biden’s laptop, holding certain views can get one dubbed a conspiracy theorist. Anyone who speculated that the virus could have spread from the Wuhan Lab of Virology, which studied the coronavirus, was considered a xenophobic conspiracy theorist. Anyone who thought Hunter Biden’s laptop was real was considered a conspiracy theorist purveying Russian propaganda. The claim that one is a conspiracy theorist is an effective tool in silencing dissent and is partly responsible for the inability of some to discern fact from falsehood in the news.

What is interesting, though, is that many Americans have bought into something resembling the conspiracy theories the Left often denounces: that systemic racism is wholly responsible for the disparities in achievement between ethnic groups in America.

Merriam-Webster defines a conspiracy theory as “a theory that explains an event or set of circumstances as the result of a secret plot by unusually powerful conspirators.” In the case of systemic racism, the “powerful conspirators” in question are the Founders of the Great American Nation, and the set of circumstances explained is racial disparities.

While proponents of this theory may acknowledge that no laws on the books openly discriminate against black people, “white culture’s” emphasis on meritocracy, timeliness, the strong nuclear family, logic, and rationality are seen as systems of oppression due to the disparate impact they supposedly have on underrepresented minorities.

This superstitious theory seeks a univariate explanation for all disparities among groups: racism. While it is undeniable that blacks had a starting point far behind that of whites when they were emancipated from slavery or liberated from a panoply of prejudiced laws in 1964, this explanation is far from complete and shields these groups from the responsibility and agency that all members of the human race possess.

Similarly, dubbing the potential origins of COVID-19 as a conspiracy theory eliminated any responsibility the Chinese Communist Party had in the outbreak of the pandemic. Labeling the Hunter Biden laptop “Russian propaganda” was a proactive attempt to cleanse Hunter and Joe Biden of any wrongdoing that may be revealed in the laptop’s contents.

Labeling certain views as conspiracy theories also has negative implications for society. If the Wuhan lab was indeed the source of the virus that literally shut down the globe, not acknowledging this fact practically ensures lessons will not be learned and that it will happen again. Likewise, if we do not consider alternative explanations for racial disparities in achievement, we run the risk of misdiagnosing the problem and prescribing solutions like reparations and the dilution of meritocratic values that could end up perpetuating the present disparities at hand or brewing interracial conflict.

The most alarming outcome of the relentless browbeating of the American public with accusations of systemic racism is the message it sends to well-meaning whites in America. Perhaps “systemic racism” is a misnomer for a system that favors society’s elites at the expense of folks who are stuck in failing schools and struggling to pay for the bare necessities of life. Given that American blacks disproportionately fall into the latter category, what may be a system that serves those at the top at the expense of those at the bottom creates the illusion of a deeply racist America. But very few of America’s loudest voices on the Left are willing to take the time to articulate this message that would also reach out to the Americans in flyover country who have seen their standards of living fall behind their bicoastal counterparts. The most prominent voices of the Left refuse to take the time to explain what could be a legitimate critique of America. Instead, they use language that inherently pits the races against one another, putting the goal of achieving a racially harmonious America on the back burner for the sake of political expediency.

Therefore, even if believing in systemic racism fits all the characteristics of what the Left refers to as a conspiracy, reducing claims of systemic racism down to such would be a detriment to discourse on convoluted racial, economic, and political issues. Leftists slander as “conspiracy theory” that which they do not want discussed. Those on the other side of the aisle should not play the same game and instead seek to elevate the conversation about the downtrodden to include those of all colors and backgrounds.

Addressing the alternative explanations for racial disparities or the ways in which America’s elites have left behind everyday Americans are topics for another day. What should be understood here is not that discrimination in the past has nothing to do with the disparities today. Instead, seeking to explain all disparities with a pernicious racism that permeates all aspects of society is not only incomplete but resembles the conspiracy theory its proponents denounce while simultaneously setting the stage for a deepened racial divide. If outlets like The New York Times or The Washington Post applied the same rubric when examining this belief, they should conclude that, at best, this theory is incomplete and, at worst, it is a conspiracy theory intended to pit the races against each other and rid the United States of the universalist values that made it so great.