President Obama wrote a book about the dreams from his father. Those dreams differ greatly from the dreams from my father. But the right to hold and express contrasting beliefs is an integral part of the American Dream.
Americans declared long ago that we are endowed by our Creator with certain unalienable rights. The Laws of Nature and Nature’s God entitle us to the right to express our beliefs freely.
The dreams from my father were passed on to me via many channels. Song selection was one method, although I am certain it was not intentional. I think the songs my dad played after a hard day at work were those that made him feel good. Frank Sinatra could often be heard declaring “I Did it My Way” from our living room stereo, while my father listened with closed eyes from the couch.
The lyrics of that song came to mind a few years ago when my daughter graduated college. She had been job hunting all summer like so many others. Advice was coming at her from all directions. That song’s message of personal responsibility going hand in hand with personal choice popped into my head as I tried to give some helpful advice to my daughter on how to deal with so much good intentioned advice from others.
Our president saw the worth of putting forth the dreams from his father. We too must pass on to the next generation the dreams from our fathers, mothers, grandfathers and grandmothers, some who were born Americans, many who were not. The vast majority of people who came to America dreamed of living in a nation where individuals could pursue their happiness in a land of liberty. That was the American Dream, and still is to many, but I am fearful that we are witnessing a redefinition of the American Dream.
The new definition of the American Dream is rooted in envy, not freedom. The new definition has a collective nature, rather than one of individuality. Before the new American Dream replaces the original, Americans and those who wish to become Americans, must speak out about the American Dream that is individual freedom and a chance to pursue goals of one’s own choosing.
Too many messages directed at Americans today are of victimization and unfairness. Too many politicians want us to turn to government for solutions, instead of looking to ourselves. We are being led to believe that the American Dream is a guarantee of some sort from the government, not a chance to freely pursue our goals. With that chance of success comes a chance of failure. But failure is not an end result, it is only a misstep. In America we are free to get up and try again.
The dreams from my father, mother and grandparents were dreams of equal opportunity, not of government guarantees. This is just common sense. How could any government guarantee all its people equality of outcome?
A few years ago a short story my daughter was reading for English class led to our discussing living under the control of a government that tried to bring about equal outcome for all its citizens. Harrison Bergeron by Kurt Vonnegut Jr., explores the notion of a nation that has tried to guarantee outcomes. It is a world most of us would not want to live in. In the world portrayed in Vonnegut’s story, no one is allowed to excel. Everyone must be equal. So if there is a gifted ballerina, she must be weighted down so she is not seen as a better dancer than anyone else. People are hindered from thinking their own thoughts because earphones flood their brains with static.
My interest piqued; I wanted to know more about the author’s political views. I was surprised to learn Mr. Vonnegut had socialist leanings. I suppose even socialists understand government guaranteed equal outcomes can lead to less than desirable outcomes. Maybe there is hope that big government supporters can be convinced that there are real dangers of an overreaching government.
I believe most American’s dreams from their fathers, mothers, grandfathers and grandmothers are more in tune with “I Did it My Way” than with the mode of Harrison Bergeron’s world which was, “We must do it their Way”. The dreams from our founding fathers were of a nation as far from tyrannical rule as was possible without falling into anarchy. We must wake up and recount the American Dream of maximum personal responsibility being necessary to uphold maximum freedom and pass it on to the next generation before that dream is lost in our slumber.
Diana Erbio is a freelance writer and author of “Coming to America: A Girl Struggles to Find her Way in a New World”. Read her blog series “Statues: The People They Salute” and visit the Facebook Page.
Very good article. Here’s a slightly different perspective on why we are where we are at today: Just like we learned from what we heard from our parents and our environment growing up (music, values, what was taught in school, etc.), those of the younger generations also learned from what they were exposed to.
Unfortunately, most of our generation took a hands-off attitude when it came to checking exactly what was being taught in public schools. In essence, most of our generation was asleep at the switch for the last 50 years. The common refrain being heard was always something along the lines of “I / We have to work. So I have to rely on whatever the teacher is teaching.” or “When I / We get home from work, I’m too tired to talk or review what my child learned in class.” The assumption by the majority of our generation was that their children were being educated properly and that parental involvement wasn’t needed all that much. Fatal mistake to say the least. We we all know the old saying for when you assume something.
The reality is that the left has been using most colleges and universities as glorified socialist indoctrination centers since the late 50s to early 60s. Public education in K through 12 took a decidedly leftward lean after the Department of Education was created by Nixon as an olive branch to the Democrats. They used it like any socialist entity would, if given the opportunity. Control of public education quickly shifted from locally controlled to federal mandates from D.C.. The DOE quickly shifted from being about education to being about re-education of the nation’s youth. With a focus on promoting favorable views of socialist ideals and a denigration of history, critical thinking skills and what we refer to generally as American values necessary for a productive, growing society. Think of it as terraforming the mindset of America to reflect a desired outcome much more favorable to an eventual socialist United States. Hitler tried it in the 1930s with the Hitler Youth Movement. The old Soviet Union and communist China essentially followed the same model in their own countries.
Well 50 years later, what you have now in the United States is two whole generations of youth that have been programmed to view socialism in a much more favorable light than capitalism. They DO WANT government to give them everything. They are envious of anyone who has more than them and think it is only right for the government to take from others and re-distribute it to them. They DO WANT all the tenets of socialism enacted in the United States and they vote accordingly. The wake up call to our generation is about 50 years too late. We now have a country with two diametrically opposing sets of values that have no real common ground.
Welcome to the New Reset. I have wonderful memories of my youth. If people want to keep History alive we need to write down the facts as we were taught. There’s a movement to take most if not all history away from the youth growing up in the upcoming generations. That’s why statues are coming down. History is being lost. I come from the North. I lived in Florida for quite a few years. To take the history of the south away would be criminal. Their fathers, grandfather, great-great-grandfathers did what they were taught right or wrong it’s still part of history. If the Elite gets their way we will all be put in categories. So if you are young and have many years that you can work and provide a service they will pay you so much money. The less you know the less you will be worth. Is this the American Dream you want for your kids or grandkids? Research the New Reset come to your own conclusions.
I agree with Dinesh, and Barry and Frank Sinatra, especially his last stance:
For what is a man, what has he got? If not himself, then he has naught
To say the things he truly feels and NOT THE WORDS OF ONE WHO KNEELS!
The record shows I took the blows and did it my way!
Cheers to Dinesh for his persistence! For his fighting character! I think we on the “other side” of the Left should become MORE ACTIVE! We should show publicly what we believe in, for example, carry buttons, scarfs, any symbols that say I am a PATRIOT, I believe in FREE SPEECH, I believe in THE CONSTITUTION, I believe in THE LAW, and most importantly, I believe in EQUAL JUSTICE FOR ALL!!! And of course, NO TO SOCIALISM!!! Yes to CAPITALISM! Past them on our cars!! I do, but don’t see anyone else doing it!!! The left is very brutally active, carry their own symbols, while we are quiet, say nothing, do nothing.
i believe the gov can make outcomes equal and, as this article discussed, that comes from everyone failing. China cultural revolution/maoism tried and was successful in killing millions and making life miserable for all but the gov elite. NOW, the communists work hard to make everyone equal (poor) except for the gov elite. Socialism always picks the few winners who will take from the large number of losers. The dem knows exactly what they are doing and what the results will be. Unfortunately, they have learned from this election how easy it is to fraudulently control elections and then the people.
i do not believe the massive problem america faces is whether “i did it my way” vs “i did their way”.rather,america has forgotten to do it “God’s Way”.
Great article even a very liberal friend of mine said it was well written and all true
I tend to think in simple, concrete terms and have spent most of my life building things. A simple analogy this:
Any time someone builds a floor (guaranteed minimum results), the next step is to build a roof to protect it. So if you can’t fail, you also can’t achieve beyond the set limit.
Well thought out and well written. So much of this article articulates what most Americans at one time believed. Today’s ‘groupthink” and “wokefulness” appear to be the new norm. We should get back to the roots of our national character.