* There are still people who are racists.

* Sometimes rich people look down on poor people.

* And, I think that women still get paid less than men at certain jobs.

Stuff like that.

Now, when did the ideal of equality first come into being?

* Are you thinking of the colonies?

* Are you thinking of Martin Luther King Jr.?

My thought about your paragraph is this: You have to show how Americans have NOT lived up to the ideal of equality, so first of all, your paragraph has to explain how someone WOULD live up to the ideal of equality. That way you can show how the two are different.

I hope this helps.