One Man’s Opinion – The American Dream
Guest Post by Dennis Miller at Miller On The Money
Today’s airwaves are filled with hate-filled screams about illegal immigrants.
Democrats depict them as poor folks fleeing their homeland in search of the American Dream. They highlight families wanting a better life, just like our ancestors. We should welcome them with compassion.
Republicans claim millions of immigrants broke US immigration laws (an invasion?) – while “free stuff” promised by the government, food, housing, cell phones, cars and health care is bankrupting the nation. They fill the airways with pictures of criminal gangs committing atrocities, and the plight of victims and their families.
Politics and the media are polarized, neither side appears willing to admit that there is some truth in both points of view. I’ll leave the political hysteria to others.
This whole mess has prompted me to rethink a basic question:
What is the American Dream anyway?
Kathy Fettke explains:
“WHAT IS THE AMERICAN DREAM & WHEN DID IT START?
The Declaration of Independence protects the idea and pursuit of the American Dream. It states, ‘We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.’
The Founding Fathers wrote into law the revolutionary idea that the ‘pursuit of Happiness’ is not just self-indulgence. Rather, it drives ambition and the desire to contribute to the well-being and success of society as a whole. The American Dream provides the opportunity to pursue one’s own happiness under an equal, fair and just democracy.”
Wikipedia continues:
“The ‘American Dream‘ is a phrase referring to a purported national ethos of the United States: that every person has the freedom and opportunity to succeed and attain a better life. The phrase was popularized by James Truslow Adams during the Great Depression.
Adams defined it as:
‘That dream of a land in which life should be better and richer and fuller for everyone, with opportunity for each according to ability or achievement. […] It is not a dream of motor cars and high wages merely, but a dream of social order in which each man and each woman shall be able to attain to the fullest stature of which they are innately capable, and be recognized by others for what they are, regardless of the fortuitous circumstances of birth or position.’”
Our founding fathers wanted a limited government while protecting citizens’ rights. They emphasized equal opportunity, but not guaranteeing equal outcome. Outcome was determined by “ability, achievement and innate capability.”
Kathy Fettke adds:
“Thanks to the vision of our Founding Fathers, everyone has an equal right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of one’s own happiness. The Declaration of Independence makes no attempt to define happiness or lifestyle.
Rather, it protects the right for everyone to have the same opportunity to pursue their personal vision of the American Dream. It fosters a belief in free enterprise where people can create and own businesses that operate without government control. It promotes a free-market economy where products, prices and services are decided by the market and not the government. Giving everyone an equal opportunity to create wealth however they see fit.”
Investopedia chimes in:
“The American dream also offers the promise that the circumstances of someone’s birth—including whether they were born American citizens or immigrants—do not completely determine their future.”
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