The American Dream Is Not Collier 1

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The American Dream Is Not Worth Pursuing

L’Asia Collier

2130 American Literature

South Georgia Technical College- Katrice Taylor

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Living life at times can be extremely hard or complicated. Imagine living a complicated

life while also trying to live out the American Dream. The American Dream is often defined as

“being the opportunity and freedom for all citizens to achieve their goals and famous if only they

work hard enough” (English 2130, 2019). This is a common definition when defining the

American Dream, but truthfully, everyone has their own “American Dream”. It is interpreted in

many different and conflicting ways. To some people their American dream may be freedom

while for others it may be endless opportunities. There are many questions concerning the

American Dream that may go unanswered, but the one that remains after time and time again is...

Is the American Dream still worth pursuing? The American Dream is not worth pursuing due to

freedom not meaning “free” for everyone, to inequality among all races, and discrimination

among Americans as a whole.

Is freedom really freedom for everyone in the United States of America? According to

the Oxford Dictionary of English, freedom is defined as, “The power to act, speak, or think as

one wants” (n.d.). According to research, “Historically, aspirations for greater economic

opportunities have been a core motivation of many immigrants” (Tu, Zhou, Wong, Okazaki,

2017). Immigrants often think that coming to America is the gateway to success and freedom.

Research proves that, about one-third of Hispanics believe that they are achieving or have

already achieved the American Dream by simply coming to the United States (Lopez, Barrera,

Krogstad, 2018). Immigrants have come to believe that anything is better than their home and

that America is the place that they want to be. In order to be allowed into the United States and

in order to cross the border to live here legally, immigrants must get a visa. Although immigrants

come to America and follow all rules and laws necessary, they still face obstacles and are not

guaranteed to have legal citizenship. When coming to America, immigrant families are risking
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their families and possibly losing them to deportation. Research proves that “...many Hispanics

see the American dream as hard to reach, and belief in it declines as immigrant roots grow

distant...” (Lopez, Barrera, Krogstad, 2018). Immigrants want to come to America for a better

life, but Americans are not so fond of the idea and treat them badly and with no respect. This

again is against what America is supposed to stand for and against the dream.

Inequality is defined as, “difference in size, degree, circumstances, etc.; lack of equality”

(Oxford Dictionary of English, n.d.). America the land of opportunity, is a place where equality

is nowhere to be seen. Everyone is supposedly equal in America, but the opportunities that are

presented to people are not the same nor are they equal. People of color are one of the racial

groups that are targeted when speaking on this specific topic. African Americans are faced with

police brutality, unfair pay wages, as well as prejudice from other ethnic groups. It is proven by

research that, “Families of color will soon make up most of the population, but most continue to

fall behind whites in the building wealth” (McKernan, Quakenbush, Radcliffe, Kalish, Steuerle,

2017). African American people often find themselves living in housing authorities owned by the

state, living off welfare checks, or living paycheck to paycheck. In a real-life scenario, a woman

of color could be at the same educational requirements as a Caucasian man but receive less pay.

Yet, it says that “Americans" living in “America” are free, why is this justifiable? It has

happened and has been happening for decades and there is no change because it is not a priority

for the people that it does not phase. It seems as if a problem is not coming from a white man of

power or a white man that is wealthy, the problem is not a problem and does not matter.

Because the problems that many African Americans face are not considered a priority,

police mistreatment and brutality against black men of all ages has become a worldwide

problem. “Despite the contemporary public's discourse regarding the embrace of human diversity
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within the United States, Black males still are perennially brutalized, killed, and negatively

stereotyped” (The Dehumanization of Black Males by Police: Teaching Social Injustice- Black

Life Really Does Matter!, Adedoyin, Christson, Moore, Robinson, Boamah, Harmon, 2019).

Black men have been gunned down for no logical reason or excuse and the policemen walk away

with suspended pay from work. The mistreatment of African American men of all ages goes

seen and reported, however there will be no consequences of the acting officers who are

harassing these men or beating these men. The officers go unharmed and cry a plea of “fearing

for their lives”. When will the justice arise? How many men must be murdered? How many

families must suffer? The list of questions will go on and on but most importantly, who will

change the world and lead by example? The families of these men grieve alone and must suffer

in silence because even though they are protesting the Police Departments, nothing is being

done. This alone hinders the younger African American men who must follow the footsteps

behind these same men who are being killed and abused with no logical reason. Not only has

police brutality become a severe issue among African Americans, overall opinions and statistics

show the same results. Merritt Fields, a high school Social Studies teacher says, “In my

opinion... the American Dream means being able to come from nothing and become successful.

Research shows that most people born in poverty or born with brown skin have a smaller chance

of being successful or maintaining that success for future generations” (2019). America is the

“Land of the Free” according to the Star-Spangled Banner yet everyone does not have that

freedom and African Americans often meet racism at their front door. The list seems to go on

and on simply because one cannot live in America without being judged and having to face the

consequences.
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Another source of America’s unique unfairness and limited opportunities falls under

discrimination. Discrimination pertaining to sexual preferences, has become a growing issue.

Discrimination is defined as “the unjust or prejudicial treatment of different categories of people,

especially on the grounds of race, age, or sex” (Oxford Dictionary of English, n.d.). It has been

proven through research that when people are documented into the United States, those people

are not documented through name, number, or even a form of an identification number such as a

social security card. Those people of different ethnicities and racial backgrounds are simply

documented through their physical appearance (Stanley, Aliya, Andrew, 2014). That is

dehumanizing and unfair in many more ways than one. That would not occur if it were a

Caucasian man of power, so why does it happen when it may be an immigrant, an African

American man, or even a member of the LGBT community? A specific group that faces these

hardships is the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) community. Researchers have

proven that, “...too many hard-working Americans are facing discrimination in areas like

employment, housing and public accommodations, just because they are gay or transgender”

(Why Conservatives Support Nondiscrimination Protections for LGBTQ Americans, 2019). The

LGBT community are not the only people being discriminated against in the United States of

America.

One may pose the question, what is the relevance of speaking among the topics of

freedom, discrimination, and police brutality as they relate to the American Dream? It is relevant

because the United States of America and the people who make up the country are not being

truthful nor are, they are being fair. One may be quick to say that the United States of America is

the best place to grow and develop a new life for one’s family and that may be true in a sense,

but it does not make up for the mistreatment of certain people because they were not born in
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America or because of their sexual preference. That does not allow policemen all over the world

to mistreat specific individuals or Caucasian people to mistreat one simply because of the

pigment of their skin. Of course, there are issues that Americans face regardless of their skin

color or personal preferences, but those individuals are not at a disadvantage because of their

biological identifiers. The American dream is not a distant tale nor is it a hard thing to achieve to

for all Americans, just certain ones.

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Works Cited Page

Adedoyin, A. C., Moore, S. E., Robinson, M. A., Clayton, D. M., Boamah, D. A., &

Harmon, D. K. (2019). The Dehumanization of Black Males by Police: Teaching Social

Justice—Black Life Really Does Matter! Journal of Teaching in Social Work, 39(2), 111-131.

doi:10.1080/08841233.2019.1586807

Bailey, S., Saperstein, A., & Penner, A. (2014). Race, color, and income inequality across

the Americas. Demographic Research, 31, 735-756. doi:10.4054/demres.2014.31.24

Freedom | Definition of freedom in English by Oxford Dictionaries. (n.d.). Retrieved April 24,
2019, from https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/freedom
Fields, Merritt, personal communication, April 23, 2018

McKernan, S., Quakenbush, C., Ratcliffe, C., Kalish, E., & Steuerle, C. E. (2017,

October 04). Nine Charts about Wealth Inequality in America (Updated). Retrieved April 24,

2019, from https://apps.urban.org/features/wealth-inequality-charts/

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Tu, M., Zhou, S., Wong, S. N., & Okazaki, S. (2018). Realities of the American dream:

Vocational experiences and intersecting invisibility of low-income Chinese immigrant laborers.

Journal of Vocational Behavior. doi:10.1016/j.jvb.2018.10.009

Why Conservatives Support Nondiscrimination Protections for LGBTQ Americans. (2019, April
04). Retrieved April 25, 2019, from https://www.freedomforallamericans.org/why-
conservatives-support-non-discrimination-protections-for-lgbt-americans/