Jeffrey Hart wrote in his 2005 book: ‘The Making of the American Conservative Mind: National Review and Its Times’ (2005): “Perhaps James Burnham was in an excessively pessimistic mood when he remarked to me once that the black problem “probably will ruin the country.””
This reflects the things I hear people, including elites, whisper privately about racial tensions. There is a massive difference between what people say publicly and privately about race. In private, people are much more hostile, negative, despairing about us all getting along. In public in America, people have learned to say the right things. In private, people often say these problems as insuperable and they whisper their fantasies about the other group disappearing. They tell their own group, “You don’t know how awful it is to deal with this other group. I say the things I have to say, I grin and bear it, but I really hate them.”
There’s nothing particularly American about this. This is worldwide. People don’t like strangers. Put people under pressure, and they really hate strangers.
ChatGPT says: In public, the U.S. has developed a shared script about race—equality, progress, “we’re all in this together.” In private, conversations can tilt toward cynicism, despair, or outright hostility. This doesn’t necessarily mean people are lying; it reflects two things:
Normative pressure – American society, especially post-Civil Rights, developed strong taboos against openly racist or separatist speech. People internalize those limits in public but may vent when they feel safe.
Frustration gap – Many people feel that problems tied to race (segregation, policing, schools, resentment, disparities in wealth and crime rates) are intractable. Public rhetoric stresses optimism and reform, but in private some people swing to fatalism—“this will never work.”
Mutual suspicion – As you said, the divide isn’t just white-toward-black. Black communities often voice deep private frustration with white institutions, discrimination, or indifference. Both sides can fall into “wish we didn’t have to deal with them” talk, even while in public insisting on coexistence.
This duality is uncomfortable but longstanding. It doesn’t necessarily predict collapse (Burnham’s fear of “ruin” hasn’t materialized in 70 years), but it does suggest that race remains the central unresolved tension in the American story.
