The Dream

To understand my view of the American Dream, I must include a brief history lesson. The American Dream is a concept that was created during the American Enlightenment period circa late seventeenth and early eighteenth century.  John Locke was a British philosopher who wrote a novel in 1690 that essentially inspired all current political concepts. Locke believed in what he called natural rights, rights that no government should be allowed to take away from any man. These rights included life, liberty, and property. Almost 100 years after the publication of Locke’s novel, Thomas Jefferson would integrate Locke’s views into the Declaration of Independence, changing the words to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

There are not many people within the United States that have not heard that phrase; it is imbedded into our brains from early education, used like a building block for future history lessons. But to me the American Dream was flawed from the beginning. Our Founding Fathers were very explicit with their definition of who the dream was for. It was not for me, or anyone that I may know. The dream of freedom and security within this country, from the beginning, has always been intended for the elite. Quite honestly, I am grateful the US has evolved enough away from those original beliefs so that I can attend college, and work towards a career. Based on the foundations of this country, I am not entitled to the American Dream; I am not the right gender!

If I was to think about the Dream in only current day, I would define it as the possibly to be anything you set your mind to. I do not think anything should be handed to anyone, but I believe opportunities should be available to anyone and everyone willing to put in the effort. I believe that many would describe the Dream today as just being able to obtain employment and provide for his or her children. To know that there will be a warm bed and food on the table is currently a nagging worry for entirely too many Americans. There have been many Americans throughout history that have had dreams. As a country, I believe we have made tremendous progress towards fulfilling the dreams of those men, but I think we still have a long way to go before truly making them a reality. I still have hope!