I think the term “American Dream” to me means having a country that is accepting to all kinds of people, a safe place for all, and an equal society for people across all age groups, and across all races as well. I think the American Dream exists for some people, but not everybody. It’s two sides of America to people, for the longest time the American Dream really meant making enough money and having enough education to produce a good family, with a nice house, and a dog, and to set your children up for success for generations to come, but I don’t think that exists for most people, because since that was the expectation for past generations, minorities were not included in the so called American Dream, they were excluded from so much that it was a nightmare for them to live, living in the trenches and underdeveloped neighborhoods while their white counterparts excel because of the unfair discrimination and stolen opportunities they could benefit from.
I don’t know what the American Dream is, we have gone so far back in the progression of our society, with racism, sexism, homophobia, it is like we never made advancements to include all kinds of people from different backgrounds, some women have less rights now than their mothers in some states. I think it exists for people who benefitted from it when minorities were excluded, with wealthy families, being able to go to college, and grow up in a safe neighborhood with good schools, that is the American dream that people are living, and moving up in society, and gaining a worthy reputation among their peers, but individuals who were not a part of society for a long time, being forced to go to crappy schools, and having colleges being too expensive for them and they fall behind in a society because of these things, but that is how society was for a really long time, with people today still facing these discriminatory practices. I think the impact has been dire to minorities because of the ‘fallen’ American dream.
Many wish for society to ‘go back to the good old days’ where it was only good for you if you were white, and even better if you were a white male. There have been significant changes to society that have tried to include minorities in some spots that a lot of white people feel like it is their space that is being dominated. White people were allowed to advance their social mobility by having good schools, new books, helpful educated teachers, and having parents that were able to obtain an education and now have a nice paying job, with what brings a nice reputation and prestige, which already helps their children get a leg up on the people whose parents were allowed, or couldn’t afford to go to schools. We won’t have a true American Dream until it includes all members of our society, no matter how one may feel about their identity, job, or where they grew up, and how much money they make.
