Independence Day and the American Dream
I grew up hearing about "the American Dream".
No one ever told me exactly what it was. I had to infer from context. And the contexts could be confusing.
To some people, the American Dream was freedom from fear of going to jail or being killed if they worshipped the "wrong" God or had the wrong name or supported the wrong leader or failed to support the "right" leader. They were grateful just to be here, to be able to walk freely on streets where people weren't looking over their shoulders or ducking into doorways or following them in windowless vans.
To some, the American Dream was being able to cast a vote, to write a Letter to the Editor, to publish a newsletter, to run for public office, to have a campaign sign in their front yard, to attend a Party caucus or meeting- to take an equal and active part in allocating executive and legislative power.
And then there were those to whom the American Dream meant someday being able to buy any house they could afford, in any neighborhood. And their children having access to good public education in well-funded schools, taught by teachers who were good at their jobs and paid adequately. And being hired to do any job they qualified for on an equal basis with other applicants, regardless of skin color or religion.
To many of the young men I went to school with, the American Dream meant not being conscripted to become cannon fodder and die in a meaningless war they had no say in starting or continuing. To the young women I went to school with, the American Dream meant having equal legal status in the economic, political, and social spheres, and the right to decide what to do with their own bodies.
As I grew a bit older, I encountered people to whom the American Dream meant the freedom to get rich without restriction. The freedom to do whatever they wanted to do, regardless of whether it might cause harm to the land or the water or the air or the safety of their neighbors. Freedom from "government interference" telling them they couldn't enjoy themselves or make money in ways that might harm others.
Even more recently, I have run across those to whom the American Dream means using the force of law and government to make everyone abide by the rules their own God has ordained, and the right to not be made uncomfortable by being confronted with people or beliefs who are different, or by having to acknowledge the injustices and suffering that resulted from privileges their predecessors arrogated to themselves by virtue of race and gender and religious faith.
But in order to make those latter two "American Dreams" cone true, it has become necessary to kill all the other versions of the American Dream.
America, is this a good bargain? Is this really the price we want to pay?
Perhaps we need another Declaration of Independence.
somberly,
Bright
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