America, The Land of the Free?

America, The Land of the Free?

What is the American Dream? To some the American Dream can be described as contributing to or serving our country, and to some it can be to simply raise a family in a stable environment and leave a legacy. No one has the exact same idea of the American Dream, there are many different views on what the American Dream is.

The American Dream can be described as many things, but my idea of the American Dream is where every American can come together as equals and our different views can be accepted and does not cause arguments or violence. Everyone has their own views and no one is the same but we should embrace our differences and bring them together and expand our culture, it may be possible that you see that we are not so different after all. In America today, there has been many debates on what it means to be American. To be American is to be free to be yourself regardless of your race, religion, ethnicity, gender, or background. There has been a lot of controversy on exactly what it means to be American. America is the land of the free and people come here because of all of the opportunities and to take advantage of these opportunities. Actually, you can say that the ones that seize the opportunities America has to offer are the true Americans. These people are chasing the American Dream.

In the Declaration of Independence it states, “we hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal,that they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” My purpose for quoting this is because black men in America today face many hardships. Police have been brutally beating and killing black men, because they say “they were scared.” It seems as though America does not want black men to have these rights. Black men are being put in jail or prison for minor infractions that if they were white would get a slap on the wrist. How can black people pursue happiness when it seems the government wants to see them fall? It is impossible to say that all men are created equal when they treat black men as an inferior race. If that quote is true, why can’t men come together as equals and discuss their opposing views without being so close-minded and stuck on the point they are trying to make but actually take in and listen to the point the other is trying to make.

Americans are supposed to have the freedom of speech, the freedom of assembly, and freedom of religion, but anytime an American speaks their opinion there is a lot of arguments and debates which always turns into violence because different sides disagree with each other and Americans are so wrapped up in wanting to be right that if the feel they could be wrong they turn violent. How can you turn violent to someone just giving their opinion? This is a big problem for America and only when Americans can talk to each other about their opposing views and accept the individual for who they are will we be able to grow into a better America. “We’ve strayed away from our ideals created by the founding fathers, and became more idealistic and selfish.” This is from the article “What Does it Mean to be American?” I understand what Eddie F. means by this, but have Americans really strayed that far from the ideals of the Founding Fathers? Honestly, we have to go off of better ideals than what the Founding Fathers had, we need to make new ideals. The Founding Fathers were slave owners, they were the same ones that did not treat black men as equals and dehumanizing them. How can we speak so highly on the ideals set by the Founding Fathers when they treated black men as animals? We must stray away from the ideals set by them and make our own ideals on what it means to be American. We must stray away from the hate, the racism, the prejudistic ways and we must come together and work as one. We are all American and we need to stop treating each other as if we’re not. We must make new ideals and live by them, teach our kids of them and only then will America be a great country.