I was a child in the 50s so my memory only tells me the times were milder, but my reading (and 60s conversations) informs the observation that stresses were way lower. The fear of the bomb, and the manufactured fear of communism were the worst of it. The world was MUCH larger and things that happened "overseas" didn't effect us here as quickly if at all. Not so today. Someone sneezes in China today and you have to wipe your nose.
The point is there has never been a greater need to get involved and make sure your interests are, at least, considered. Otherwise other interests will rule and the chances are they will be very different than yours. And without pushback they will even get to believe that no one else cares or their desires are universal.
I'm not saying that we can stop the money steamroller flattening the path forward, I'm just saying that quiescence in this case is NOT a virtue, it is a sentence. And every step we make that empowers "average people" over the very rich, while a struggle, serves the greater good.
To your other point, I think we would likely have a different perspective on nearly everything if we were black...
Edit: After rereading I wanted to add that many of my positions on things would likely not change, but my perspective and potentially my reasoning likely would. And while I am angry and frustrated about some things (like the greater chance of going to prison for crimes I might commit while black) being an actual target of that unfairness would necessarily change how I felt about it.
