I spent the greater portion of high school discussing the “American dream” in English class. Considering the state of our nation this past year, it is a conversation we need to be having more.
Immigration is at the forefront of issues in America today. From Syrian refugees, to DACA recipients, this hasn’t been the first “immigration crisis” we’ve experienced, and I’m sure it won’t be the last. However, we need to remember the history of immigration in our country. People used to flood here on boats in hopes of getting their “American dream.”
The “American dream” used to be the idea that you could come to the United States, work hard, make enough money to bring over your family, and you could all have a better life. For some immigrants, that still is the dream, but people continuously forget that people who come here have abandoned their home and everything they knew to come to a country that seems to not want them. It is unfortunate because no one abandons their home and the life they know without a really good reason.
The “American dream” also applies to American citizens. For us, the dream is to go to college, get a degree, and get a reasonable job that pays enough to live comfortably. In reality, most Americans need multiple degrees to be qualified for the lifestyle they want to live, and most children will become latch-key kids because most parents will be working long hours just to make ends meet.
Over the years, the “American dream” hasn’t really changed, but it has become virtually unobtainable and inaccessible. Most of my generation will have to earn multiple degrees just to get a decent paying job that allows us to live paycheck-to-paycheck so that we can maybe retire by 70-80. That’s the goal, but that’s not what I call a dream.