The American Dream

The American Dream! Now that small phrase sounds good. The American Dream. I remember the first time I hear it. A politician was running for office and he was promising to furnish, if elected, the great American Dream. His political opponent’s answer was, his American dream is a chicken in very pot and a two car garage. Yep, this American Dream was the socialist view of the government providing care for the citizens.

Since then I have always had a mental twinge when I hear American Dream. It seems that politicians love to campaign on the aloof great American Dream. President Obama loves to talk of the American Dream and his vision of the American Dream. It seems that when politicians use the term, it becomes a little muddled. This dream can be a chicken in very pot and a two car garage, it can be equality as Dr. King spoke of, it can be the opportunity to achieve your potential and become what you want to be as President Obama feels he is representative of. Most often, it seems to be a vision of getting wealth, having material things. What is this elusive dream?

“There are those who will say that the liberation of humanity, the freedom of man and mind is nothing but a dream. They are right. It is the American Dream” So Archibald MacLeish states. Bob Marley has his version of it, “Every man gotta right to decide his own destiny.” “America lives in the heart of every man everywhere who wishes to find a region where he will be free to work out his destiny as he chooses,” echoes Woodrow T. Wilson.

In these three quotations, a different expression of the American Dream points to freedom. But just for argument sake, let us use a more current expression of the American Dream. The speaker is an immigrant from Pakistani, a woman who now lives in New York. She has now thrown her hijab away. “I got freedom in this country. Freedom of everything. Freedom of thought.” That is right, in Amercia less than a year, she realizes that the freedom is the American Dream. Freedom of thought and choice is a new experience for her. Freedom, the removal of government, religion, education, science or community from having control over an individual’s thought and choices.

Freedom has been the American Dream since before this nation existed. One Samuel Adams in a speech to the State House in Philadelphia, August 1, 1776, advocating independence said, “Freedom of thought and the right of private judgment, in matters of conscience, driven from every other corner of the earth, direct their course to this happy country as their last asylum. Courage, then, my countrymen, our contest is not only whether we ourselves shall be free, but whether there shall be left to mankind an asylum on earth for civil and religious liberty.”

Now, this country, the United States of America, the “last asylum” for freedom, sadly, is disappearing. Soon immigrants as the lady above will not have the freedoms she now enjoys.

There are those, elected and appointed, in the federal government who wish to take away freedom. They pass laws which the people of this nation know nothing about. Slowly the innocuous laws cut off one freedom then another then another. At first it isn’t noticeable but after the pattern of several laws, rules, regulation, and presidential indicts, the loss of freedom becomes evident. “A great wave of oppressive tyranny isn’t going to strike, but rather a slow seepage of oppressive laws and regulations from within will sink the American dream of liberty,” as George Baumler reveals.

This nation is divided not by political names or philosophy, religious names or beliefs, race, wealth or education. It is divided by individuals with two very different views. Clearly the struggle is between those individuals who for some reason feel a superiority or special endowment which allows them to believe they know what is best for those that don‘t understand. They believe they are endowed with the right to control those who do not understand the greatness of their thought and their way. In order for these people to control the masses, they must limit at the minimum or better would be to destroy freedom of thought and choice. Thus, only their superior thought would remain.

Those who oppose these individuals are people who believe this nation is the last asylum for freedom and they want it to continue so Muslim immigrants can feel the exhilarating high of freedom. These people still dream the real American Dream, freedom.

“Freedom is the last, best hope of earth.” Abraham Lincoln