I have thought a lot about this, and I'm in a series on American politics and beliefs, so it makes sense to say something about it.
Point 1: What is the American Dream? Wikipedia actually has a solid definition.
"The American Dream is a national ethos of the United States, a set of ideals in which freedom includes the opportunity for prosperity and success, and an upward social mobility for the family and children, achieved through hard work in a society with few social barriers."
People who believe in this believe that America should be the country that never stops any person from doing exactly what they want to do so long as it is legal. They are also often, but not always, people who are on the Right side of politics because they think society has few barriers...
Point 2: Loyalty to America as a nation is one kind of the American Dream
...They are proud of America; you know it when they call it the "greatest country in the world." They are the folks who are loyal, patriotic, at least moderately nationalistic. My impression is that, at least the nationalistic kind of the American Dream is largely fading.
http://www.npr.org/2011/09/28/140869378/americas-love-affair-with-nationalism
Point 3: American population is becoming more diverse and therefore, less loyal to America
I have lived in New York City for a long time. I went to high school here, college here, and now teach high school here. It is incredibly diverse. In the mid-West, diversity doesn't exist as it does in places like New York City and Los Angeles. These cities have become hubs for those who identify strongly with cultures, values and nations that are different, and sometimes even in conflict, with the American ethos...and they are also among the largest cities in the country. There is, in other words, a globalization effect on cultures in America. This article helps explain why.
http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/06/13/18934111-census-white-majority-in-us-gone-by-2043
According to Kaplan multiculturalism is “…a system of beliefs and behaviors that recognizes and respects the presence of all diverse groups in an organization or society, acknowledges and values their socio-cultural differences, and encourages and enables their continued contribution within an inclusive cultural context which empowers all within the organization or society."
Point 4: Is there another kind of American Dream other than Loyalty to America? (Can the American Dream coexist with diversity?)
In other words (and this is my big point) while the American Dream seems to encourage people being able to live out their dreams and make a better life for their children, it crumbles when the very people in that nation doubt the American Dream, or believe in things that are in conflict with it. America begins to represent, as a culture, a lot of different worldviews that are native to places outside America where opportunity, freedom, prosperity and a better future are not necessarily valued or sought for because societal limitations are too great of a barrier.
Point 5: Some believe the American Dream needs diversity, and some strongly disagree
What consequences does our answer to the question of Point 4 have for our political ideals?
There are two ways to interpret this trend, and how you do it lands you somewhere on the spectrum we've already been talking about, the one that should indicate your own political assumptions.
1. America has been allowing its true dream to die out by letting too much diversity flourish.
2. The American Dream has never really existed because it's been guarded from the marginalized through societal barriers, and it won't exist, until it's free for everybody (AKA, until it allows for diversity).
P.S. Please don't argue with me about whether Loyalty to America, the American Dream, nationalism and other things I mention in here are good or bad. What I really want to know is whether you think diversity and the American Dream can coexist. If you do, you'll probably lean to answer 2. If not, you'll probably lean to answer 1.
First, before i go further, i like to point out that i disagree with your comparison of NYC to Midwest. I am not try to mean or picky but simply follow the sole purpose of internet blog by learning from each other in order to improve ourselves. We are all just human that often make mistakes. Please understand that NYC is a city while Midwest is a region. Within Midwest, there are big metro cities that are just as diverse as NYC. For example, Chicago is a big metro city that is not any less than NYC in term of diversity. However, there are small cities and towns that did not have much diversity. But, I think that exist in the East as well. I think you are trying to compare urban America to rural America.
ReplyDeleteNow for your queston. I think it depend on what you mean by coexist. I believe that American dream of "work hard then succeed" will always exist with diversity. Would every immigrant follow it? No. But i believe majority group of people come for the above version. They are often the unfortunate one in their home country that search for more opportunities in America. On the other hand, there are also people who come for other reasons than opportunity. For example, the elite Chinese who come here to escape for their wrongdoing, for better air, and for better education are few reasons that other than traditional American dream. But, to Chinese immigrant as a whole, these are a tiny percentage. Most of them are unfortunate one that follow the traditional American dream. I know that is just one group of people. But, that one group reflect many other different groups in the past like Irish, German, Japanese, or many other. I believe as long as America is still the richest country with many opportunities this trend will continue.
Anonymous, thank you for a thoughtful reply. Were you the one who replied to my previous post? I'll get to that one soon.
DeleteYea, I agree that cities aren't regions. I was making a generalization. The top 10 diverse cities on most lists are coastal cities with the exception of Chicago.
On the second point, what I think you're saying is that there are people who come with loyalties to America already there, and others come without those loyalties.
I think that if a person is loyal, they'll probably be the sort to believe in the American Dream. If they're not, they won't (answering my own 4th point).
So, if you think they can coexist, then do you lean to Answer 2? To me, the connection is that if the American Dream allows for diversity, there needs to be a recognition of its failure in big part, because social barriers did get in the way, even though the Dream says they won't (we can think of slavery, immigration restrictions, etc.). But if the American Dream can't coexist with diversity (some very loyal people think it shouldn't!) then it is okay that people were left out. It has always worked for the people it was supposed to work.
Should the hypothetical immigrant be restricted by social barriers? People who say Yes often do so because they see this person as a doubter in the dream, or someone who is too deficient to make it their own (connects with my social darwinian point on republicans on my post on the State of the Union). Diversity allows for doubters and the deficient.
Either doubt in the American Dream makes sense (there are barriers that shouldn't be there) or it the doubt doesn't make sense (because either (1) there are no barriers or (2) there should be barriers because it prevents people who don't work hard, don't have loyalty to America, etc. to not be allowed the chance at the American Dream).