American Creed

American Creed

Here’s the history. The American dream can be many things to many different people. For example from American Creed Community Conversations in the video we hear Ron Felton, the Eastern sectional director, state, “I think the American dream, for a lot of people, is being successful.” Success can be measured in different ways. To me the American dream is having education. Education can be a way to better yourself and others as well as being someone successful.

Other people think that the American dream is having determination and just moving forward, which can be true, and we see this from the American Creed Community Conversations where Josh Narrow, a student from George Washington University, talks about how perseverance is what makes America what it is. What has been overlooked is the importance of education. Education is the ideal American dream for many, but not everyone takes advantage of that.

Education is the American dream not only for Americans but for the people immigrating and seeking shelter in America. From the American Creed film, Eric Liu talks about how his parents, who had to leave Taiwan because of war, came to America and “pursued higher education here,” Eric Liu grew up in Poughkeepsie, New York and is now the co-founder and CEO of Citizen University. We see now how Eric Liu was able to find success because of his parents efforts in getting better education in a new country and then passing that on to him. After Eric Liu became a politician he began helping others in his community by getting them involved and letting them have a voice.

Another thing that people might be thinking is how education just benefits yourself, when it really is a benefit to yourself and everyone else. Deidre Prevett, from the American Creed Video, is someone who further proves my point. She is the principal of Linbergh and a fifth generation educator. A line from her that I believe is inspiring was “education is the key to success and to better yourself.” I agree with her because we see how Prevett and Liu were fortunate enough to be born in a family that values education and with that they were open to even more possibilities.

Clearly education can better yourself and others as well as making you someone successful. As we saw how Deidre Prevett and Eric Liu have become involved with their communities and both have become successful people. Not only that but we see how both bettered their communities by creating a safe space for people to learn and communicate.