The Founders's Vision Of Political Equality And The Pursuit Of Equality

America is commonly characterized as the greatest country in the world, the glorious “land of the free and the home of the brave”, “indivisible, with liberty and justice for all”. This idealization of the American identity conveniently focuses on what people want to hear and blurs out most everything else. In reality, Americans do not live up to the dreamscape created by our views, and we never really have. America is no longer characterized by its freedom and democracy, nearly every first world country can afford that luxury. Nor are we set apart by the great opportunities given to our people, for those are far from universal. We aren’t equal, we aren’t unified, we aren’t kinder or smarter or richer than any other country across the board. It’s easy to find the shortcomings of American culture, all the things we aren’t, but the things we are have proven to be more elusive. First, let’s examine the nots.

The dream of becoming an American has been sought out by people from all regions around the world for over 200 years. Its enticing promise of freedom and equality to all citizens has contrived the American dream, which inspires images of homes, well-fed children, employment, and the pursuit of happiness. Unfortunately, these aspirations are not always realized, because citizens do not live accordingly to obtain these promises. To be able to enjoy these things for themselves and extend this dream to the lives of others, they must see past being merely a citizen and strive to become a true American. I feel that three standards capable of defining a true American are: genuine patriotism, belief in equality, and the satisfaction of self-improvement.

All over the world, people hear about and strive to live the “American Dream.” In 1791 Thomas Paine, an intellectual revolutionary, believed that America was a diverse country that was accommodating for its people. In his book “Rights of Man” he says that in America “the poor are not oppressed, the rich are not privileged… and their taxes are few.” None of these ideals are completely true in America today.

The evidence portrayed by the authors in this paper suggest that in some scenarios the American Dream is still after many years a reality, but in others it will always be just a dream. This is important because it reveals to us that in order for Americans to achieve the goal of equality, freedom, and genuine happiness we must come together to give each other endless support and guidance. Anzia Yezierska, Langston Hughes, and Barack Obama all share a key characteristic and that is hope. Through hardships, discrimination, and setbacks they all still held a great confidence that one day America would truly be a land of opportunity, the land of the free, and lastly a united nation for people today and the life of the world to

America historically owns the reputation of being the land of opportunity, and for generations immigrants have fled to the United States to experience the freedom and equality our government lays claim to. At the root of this reputation is the American Dream, the belief that with hard work anyone can succeed based solely on his or her merits. While definitions of success vary, the American Dream defines it as the ability to become a "self-made man," thereby rising to a more-than-comfortable state of living. The American Dream is believed to be blind to race, sex, or socio-economic status and at a first glance, seems to be almost Utopian. Conversely, repeated examples and statistics of the lower-classes, those continually facing the harsh

The “American Dream” has always been this country’s greatest and most successful form of propaganda. The notion of the “American Dream” has bred entitlement since the term was coined by James Truslow Adams during the 1930s. Many Americans have, and still feel, entitled to achieving the “American Dream” even though this phrase has never been attainable for all members of American society. Despite Adams hoping the “American Dream” would transcend “birth or position” allowing anyone to attain the Dream, obviously this has not been possible for everyone living in the U.S. The wage gap between men and women easily makes attaining the Dream difficult, since the social order still does not pay women for the same jobs as men. Additionally, the racism which systematically pervades all of our institutions makes the Dream merely a dream for black people, as institutions are systematized to hinder the growth of Black Americans. White Americans face only the challenge of individual wealth. Owning a home is often impossible as these institutions have implemented ways to hinder the growth of non-white Americans.

Liberty and equality has always been a controversial issue in America. Based on the readings, people during the American Revolution had a different view on what liberty and equality meant to them, then what it means to most people in modern society. Liberty is defined as “the state of being free within society from oppressive restrictions imposed by authority on one's way of life, behavior, or political views” (Dictionary.com). Today’s definition of equality is the “state of being equal, especially in status, rights, and opportunities” (Dictionary.com). In the times of the American revolution the focus of liberty and equality only affected white men. In modern day and age, the focus is for all mankind to have the same rights, and people are no longer viewed as property. Throughout time since the American Revolution, the ideas of what liberty and equality mean has been influenced and evolved as the opinions and citizens within society have changed.

On July 4, 1776, the Continental Congress adopted the Declaration of Independence, which in the second paragraph 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 United States of America soon went on to be founded on the principle of equality, and while it has faltered with women’s equality and race equality, it has always been the idealism that has helped some of the greatest social workers help expand human rights. Today there are several equality movements continuing to progress towards a nation where there is truly equality for all, but one movement in particular stands

“And when I speak, I don't speak as a Democrat. Or a Republican. Nor an American. I speak as a victim of America's so-called democracy. When we open our eyes today and look around America, we see America through the eyes of someone who has been the victim of Americanism. We don't see any American dream. We've experienced only the American nightmare.” –Malcolm X. The American Dream is the idea that every person should have an equal opportunity to obtain success through hard work, prosperity, and determination. Recently though, this American Dream isn’t functioning as expected. While some believe that America still provides access to the American Dream today by allowing the opportunity for people in America and those who immigrate to achieve

Ever since the first colonists landed on her eastern shores those making passage to America have all been seeking a new life. Whether it was those escaping religious persecution like the Quakers or Puritans in the seventeenth century, Eastern Europeans searching for work in the nineteenth century, or even immigrants today desperately attempting to give their families better lives, they have all sought after what is known as the American Dream. The American Dream rooted in enlightenment philosophy has been the beacon of hope for all, however in the past decades the dream has changed and it has left many to wonder did the dream ever exist at all.

The American dream is threatened by the widening gap of wealth distribution, in which the few at the top accumulates 75 times the wealth of those at the bottom (Kochhar and Cilluffo). The ultimate consequence of this nightmare is perhaps the nascent inequalities in America. In the New York Times op-ed column, David Brooks advocated for assertion of acceptance and unity among Americans and the imposition of rehabilitative judicial system, so that the “have not” Americans will successfully join their “have” counterparts. Brooks’ idealism of a more understanding, cohesive, and equal America remains, at large, mere optimism in a hierarchal society, where the finish line is predestined for only a few.

“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”. This infamous quote from the declaration of Independence not only personifies the hope and desperation for opportunity so many immigrants long for before coming to America, it also exemplifies the true “American Identity” that is embraced by native born Americans. This promise for a better life that America is dangled in our faces of other countries that bonds the people together stronger than anything that would divide them. The American identity has taken several decades to develop from the influences of old European ties, the meshing of

The American Dream has always been a driving force in the lives of Americans. It has become a foundation of ideals and hopes for any American or immigrant. Specifically, one of the ideals that always exist is the dream of America free of class distinction. Every American hopes for a society where every person has the opportunity to be whomever he or she desire. Another ideal in the American dream is the drive to improve the quality of life. As one’s idea of the American Dream gets closer and closer, often times political and social ideals of America cause their American Dream to take a turn for the worst.

All things pass, and it seems the American Dream, this image of the United States being a land of opportunity, is slowly fading away as well. Those roads of gold have corroded and Lady Liberty’s torch is flickering. But maybe I’m wrong, and this inner pessimism has gotten the better of me. Maybe the American Dream is alive and well? We’ve elected a billionaire deemed a bigot and a misogynist as our next president. Our unsustainable social security system is on a path to extinction, and social mobility has come to a screeching halt. Oh how this land of opportunity has opened so many possibilities for the collapse of our nation. As Ehrenreich will demonstrate, the great social mobility associated with the American Dream is a correlation that no longer proves to be true. And though Swift’s discussion in “A Modest Proposal,” deals with the plight that plagues the nation of Ireland, it highlights the point that the common people are suffering with no voice to express their struggles, but rather only with the authorities to remedy the pain that they themselves do not experience, something the American public is dealing with as well, since our voices do not seem to be heard at times as well. This is only one of only the many reasons why the American Dream is faltering, and these readings are all pointing to the American Dream being a façade now, a nice veil to hide the harsh reality that America is facing today.

The United States prides itself on being a democracy in which equal opportunity and the pursuit of happiness is a guarantee for all citizens. There is no uncertainty in the loyalty that Americans have towards this promise of natural, unalienable rights. However, as Croly correctly realizes, we may all have the same God-given rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, but the American dream is not something that is attainable by all. Due to our political and legal system, which protects and holds sacred private property, “those who have enjoyed the benefits of wealth and thorough education start with an advantage” (Croly 201). By examining both Meyer’s and Croly’s philosophies on the American life, it is evident that Meyer’s proposal to place human freedom at the center of the political order prevents political efficiency and natural equality.