The American dream envisages a just and fair nation in which everyone has equal access to opportunities and is treated as one would treat themselves in real life. This dream gives a roadmap to becoming wealthy in America by one avoiding debts, working towards attaining a virtuous character and succeeding in everything they do. By doing all those and following on their dreams, one is destined to become wealthy ultimately. In the dream, it is outlined that all men are created equal and that they are created with certain inalienable rights that one cannot take away from them. These inalienable rights form the basis of the American dream. As is evident in the film The Color Purple, Franklin’s assertion that the American Dream is available to all people is incorrect because, in America, there still exists some form of racial discrimination that cannot allow the citizens to be equal in all fronts. There is also the religious segregation that has drawn boundaries between the citizens and, consequently, chasing the American dream may be a mirage. Equally, there is some form of oppression that does not give all the citizens equal freedom to do the things they wish to do to achieve their dreams of being successful and wealthy.
Racial discrimination has been a deterrent to the realization of the American dream in so many aspects. America, as is composed, has so many people of different racial backgrounds and culture that have not lived together in harmony to enable one to achieve their dreams in the society. There are whites, blacks, Hispanics, Asian Americans and several other smaller immigrant communities in the country today who are not Native Americans. The differences in race and skin color made it hard to form a cohesive nation in which everyone has equal opportunities. For instance, in elections of leaders who represent the public in political posts, it had been hard for the native white Americans to vote for a non-native based on race. Elective posts were as such a preservative of whites and the other races felt discriminated against in the quest to be enjoined in leadership and management of public affairs. When people fail to get employment opportunities based on their skin color, they cannot be economically empowered to live their dream life. Without money, it is actually hard for one to chase his/her dream. This discrimination, by all means, did not give everyone equal opportunities in the country in most sectors of the economy and has, therefore, been a hindrance to the realization of the American dream.
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Other than racial discrimination, there also existed another form of discrimination based on the religious affiliation of an individual. Even though there existed some form of freedom of worship, this was mainly theoretical as a large number of people were classified based on their religious orientation. To get opportunities to further their dreams, one had to be in the right religion, otherwise, such an opportunity would pass them by. For example, in marriages, it was extremely hard, and to some extent impossible for a person with views and following Islam to marry another who follows a different religion like Christianity. Additionally, there were other opportunities where one had to belong to a certain religion in order to get placement. This form of discrimination limited chances for the affected persons to chase their dreams and become wealthy according to the assertions of Franklin in the story of the “Way to Wealth.” A society where people cannot be viewed as equal in the management of public affairs and others are discriminated against based on their religion is an unbalanced society where the realization of a common dream is nearly impossible, availability of opportunities notwithstanding.
The other issue that also contributed to the decline in the realization of a just and fair society in America was the lack of freedom for everyone. Freedom would basically enable one to do what they wished to do without anyone standing on their way so long as their actions were within the law and did not hurt other people. People need to be free to choose how to live. It can be hard to live the dream without the freedom to live it the way you would want to. Such freedom did not exist in the foundational days of America thereby setting an unequal balance it the country and has since made it difficult for everyone in the country to achieve their individual dreams. In the early days of America, more so during the colonial era, blacks were taken as slaves by the majority white population and, therefore, were not allowed to have the same rights and privileges that their masters had. By so doing, it meant that their freedoms had been curtailed. For instance, there were places that only whites could go to and not blacks. There were also job opportunities that were specifically left to whites and blacks could not access. This denial of the blacks freedom to be where they could be contributed to slowing down the realization of the American dream. It in effect derailed individual progresses one could make towards their success because of denial to access equal opportunities and services.
The American dream was one noble idea whose realization was possible and would have made the biggest difference between America and other countries in the world today. The idea of a just society in which every person is born equal with unalienable rights that no one can take away from them was a very good foundation. Sadly, the existence of impediments to this dream such as lack of equal freedom, racial, and religious discrimination among other issues have contributed to derailing the realization of this dream where everyone would be successful and wealthy. Today, more than before, most Americans believe that the dream is out of reach for the majority but maybe it could take a different shape for the coming generations and hopefully they put it back on track .
