The American Dream

    The American dream, the ideal that brings people to the United States, the goal of many Americans that keeps us going to work day after day to jobs we don’t enjoy. The American dream, which brings us to college to enhance our intellect to get that dream job that will leave us forever satisfied and financially comfortable. The American dream which drives us to marry, start our family, purchase our home, and live happily ever after. The American dream which is the idea that anyone can be successful in America. The American dream is our story of "rags to riches". But, overtime, our journey towards the American dream has become a broken path.

     Owning a nice home for your family is a goal for many striving for their American dream. And with this philosophy it should be possible for anyone to do so. But instead, those who are of good fortune with well paying jobs are put into situations where they over borrow, refinance, and overspend to secure a home above their means, just to idealize this perception of achieving the American dream. As we have seen this leads to individuals who are unable to afford their homes and are left with multiple mortgages, debt, foreclosures, and a giant step backwards from their dream. Then there are individuals on the opposite end of the spectrum who are not searching for a fancy new house, but simply want a roof over their heads. These individuals who can carry all of their belongings in their hands are also searching for their American dream. Fortunately, there are organizations that can provide shelter to those in need. Unfortunately, these organizations do not have the essential funding or space to assist these individuals and families in need. And it gets worse; the small amount of funding these organizations currently have will be reduced by our government even further. For these families the American dream is just that, a dream.

    Access and quality of education has also been a lure of America. The equal opportunity for knowledge for anyone interested is an American value. But value is not equivalent to practice. In practice our values have faltered. The standard for education varies between states, counties, districts, and neighborhoods. Throughout our nation, public education is failing our children at every level. Test scores in America are lower than many other industrialized countries, violence in schools has increased, and many students cannot read or write when they graduate. There was a time when our education system was the best in the world. Today students are not motivated to learn and many of those who are motivated are not receiving the attention and enrichment necessary to be successful. Several political leaders and pundits have speculated as to how to improve our education system. One thing that is certain is that cutting funds for our education system is not helping our society. Not only is it important for us to ensure our children are adequately educated, but our adult learners as well. Our education system failed these individuals and to ensure this cycle is not perpetuated we must provide them with the necessary tools to educate and enhance their lives and our future.

    The American dream has been a deep value because it illustrates a “rags to riches” story and gives many individuals hope. Somehow, someway we must find our way back to the practice of anyone having the opportunity to succeed regardless of race, gender, ethnicity, creed or sex. In the news today, a Georgetown student with an opportunity to achieve his dream with a dream job in the works faces deportation. True, he is an illegal immigrant with his work permit ending soon, but this is America, the country built by immigrants. Juan Gomez is graduating magna cum laude from Georgetown and has worked hard for this opportunity and should be able to see his dreams come true. America has come along way and has made great triumphs, but in some ways we have taken several steps backwards and need to find our way back to the path of equal opportunity. 

--Krystal