Matthew Pendergast
The Deluded Dream
For centuries the American ideology has been “The Land of the Free,” with freedom of speech, religion, and voting, accompanied with equal opportunity in school, work, and society. This ideology is appealing at best, but it is just a myth; equal opportunity does not exist for everyone in America today. By equal opportunity I am referring to the most basic definition, which means that all members of society are given equal chances to enter any occupation or social class. Our country was said to be founded on equality from the time the Declaration of Independence was signed in 1776, which declared all men are created equal. However, the Declaration itself is a contradiction, after it was signed women still had no rights and African Americans were still enslaved. Although much has changed since 1776, inequality is still prevalent. We do not live in a society in which each person can rise to the status allowed by his or her potential; factors such as race, and social status truly determine one’s social mobility and success.
Due to the enslavement of African Americans, there is a significant economic gap between the middle class and the underclass among African Americans in our country. Our country treated them as property for so long they were never able to attain property of their own to make a life for themselves and their future generations. Shortly after the Civil War ended our government put into place the Southern Homestead Act, to compensate for the mistreatment of the slaves during this time. This act entitled each former slave to forty acres of land and a mule to start a new life for themselves, (Library of Congress) however, not every former slave received this. One can only imagine the current state of the black and white affairs if our government had actually gone through with this act correctly, our country today would be much different. Race is a determining factor of social success; because our country has mistreated African Americans throughout history, they have never bounced back from this injustice and as a result; the majority of the black community still struggles today.
America has the reputation for being a place to start over, to become whatever one desires, to have ultimate freedom to be whatever you set your mind to. However this is not the case for most people born into poverty. One may think they can become a doctor or lawyer if they work hard enough; this is an attainable goal for some, but not everyone can be doctors and lawyers. Most jobs that offer entry into the upper class require an immense amount of schooling only granted to those who can afford it, and in most cases college students already come from wealthy backgrounds.” Young Americans are facing higher levels of poverty, unemployment, and student loan debt than the two generations before them, and their predicament is fueling the view that the American Dream is bankrupt, according to the authors of a new State of the Millennial Report.”(Fields) It is shocking how much a college education determines ones success, but at the same time it is such an unattainable goal for lower class teenagers and families. In our country today the rich continues to gain wealth, while the poor continues to suffer, which overtime, reinforces this caste system. “The lack of economic opportunity for millennials has led them to delay significant life events, such as getting married or buying a home. Only 36 percent of Americans under 35 now own a home, according to the report — the lowest level on record since home ownership was measured by age. Meanwhile, 26 percent of millennials said that they still lived at home with their parents.”(Fields) In future generation’s impoverished kids will not be given a chance to display their talents and successfully function to their full potential because this caste system will hold them back from flourishing.
Our nation has passively observed the fatal problems of inequality for centuries now, and none has addressed these issues properly and resolved them. Part of the reason why inequality has gone on for so long in our country is because many individuals are so self absorbed they cannot see the long-term consequences of the system in which they live. We are so used to seeing things through our self centered view point that we don’t even realize we are being so selfish. We will be slaves to our cultural vices until we are able to wake up from our default narcissistic setting.
In our country today, factors such as race, and social status till influence an individual’s social and economical success. The American Dream is a illusion, equal opportunity does not exist for everyone. Economic inequality is the reason our country is locked into a caste system. In order to constitute a change it is a matter of changing each individual’s outlook on society as well as government institutional changes too. If changes are not made this inequality will lead to a loss of freedom within society as a whole. We will become a society in which people end up as the kind of individuals who are too enclosed in their lives to actively participate in self-government, instead they will stay at home and enjoy the satisfactions of their own lives. The American dream is a dead dream. We must make changes in to our current unjust caste system or our political liberty will be threatened.
Works Cited
“Primary Documents in American History.” Homestead Act: Primary Documents of American History (Virtual Programs & Services, Library of Congress). N.p., 24 Sept. 14. Web. 05 Mar. 2015.
Fields, Llz. “Young People Are Poorer, Jobless, and Believe That the American Dream Is Dead | VICE News.” VICE News RSS. Vice, 12 Jan. 2016. Web. 05 May 2016.