Life In America

Life in America: The American Dream

America is unlike any other nation in the history of the world. When you think of those historic words written by Emma Lazarus that are on the Statue of Liberty, they summarize wonderfully the amazing history of this great nation.

 

Lady Liberty

Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breath free. The wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me. I lift my lamp beside the golden door!

 

This is a nation of immigrants. It is a nation of people who came here from far away, fro something better. If you looked into the hearts of those brave immigrants, you probably could find as many diverse reasons for their coming as there are people who populate this great land. But there is and was one unifying desire in the heart of each of those immigrants that lives on in the hearts of all citizens of this country, they all held deeply in their hearts the American dream.

 

 

In America, the American dream is so much more than “two cars in the driveway and a chicken in every pot.” That phrase, so simple and elegant, encapsulates a deeply held desire for greatness that make this country, and the people that are its citizens so unique in the world.

 Family Life In America

Part of  life in America and the American dream has to be love of family. For so many, the struggle to get here was difficult and costly. Many worked for decades, maybe gave their lives in the struggle for that one dream they held dear. That dream was to make a better world for their children to live in. And that better world could only be dreamed of in America.

Another part of the American dream cannot be minimized in any way except to say it is a dream of greatness. America is a land where greatness is possible. It isn’t only possible to the privileged few. It isn’t only possible to the rich or to those in a closed society at the top of the economic pyramid. Greatness is possible for each and every American if they will work hard, not give up the dream and reach for that dream without giving up.

 Unique Culture in America

There is no question that a wonderful part of the American dream is to be part of this rich and diverse culture in America that is so unique in this country. From the sports in America; baseball, basketball, and American Football, to the music in America: Broadway, jazz, blues, rock and roll, and county music in America, the American culture is the envy of the world. It is such a magnetic culture in America, that much of it has been copied in other countries around the world. But nobody can be Americans like Americans can. And the dream of thousands, maybe even millions around the world is to be one of those privileged few that can live in America, and call themselves Americans.

There is so much that makes up that unique American spirit that each immigrant and citizens strives for each and every day. It is a commitment to community that makes us a great nation of volunteers. It is a love of humor and fun that makes the arts and humanities in America so diverse and enjoyable. And it is the devotion to principles and to freedom in America that makes this nation one of deeply held convictions that are demonstrated each and every day in the lives of its citizens.

 Love of Country: our Special Ingredient in America

But of all the ingredients in America that makes the American dream so unique and precious to the soul of this country, it is that love of country that is in the blood of every citizen to cherish what is their inheritance in this great land. That love of country surfaces in many ways. It surfaces in a passionate debate about the future of the culture in Americas thriving system of government. It surfaces in the churches, synagogues and mosques in every state in this union as each citizen links their love of God to love of country. And it surfaces in sacrifice that our citizens and soldiers give each time they must give it all to keep this nation secure and free.

The American dream is not just a slogan. It is what makes life in America great. It is what has held this country together through incredible hardships and challenges for over two hundred years. And it is the American dream that will hold this countr

y together for many centuries to come as long as the citizens in America commit to never turn their backs on a nation that will never turn its back on them.

The Great Experiment in America

There is a tremendous reverence and respect for the founding fathers of America in our country. These brave and brilliant men forged a constitution and made a reality a new nation that was more than just another new country. It was and is a country the likes of which has never been seen on earth before.

But what is not commonly known is that those very same founding fathers viewed this new society and the government they put in place to protect it as a great experiment. And it was a great experiment in America that even the founding fathers did not know for sure would actually work.  ....Read more on "the great experiment in America"

 

The Melting Pot In America

England is full of Englishmen. France is full of Frenchmen. Italy is full of Italians and Russia is full of Russians. So what is America populated by? This little mental exercise points out one of the amazing things about the way America was envisioned by the forefathers. When you think about it, America stands out as most unique of all the nations of the world because we are not the homeland of an ethnic people. Now, we do have our ethnic population in the form of the American Indian native population which we value and prize as much as any population that lives here. But “America” as a nation is remarkable not for the dominance of one ethnic group but for the lack of one ethnic group that defines what it is to be American.  ....Read More "Melting Pot in America"