America was founded on a dream, a pursuit of personal freedoms and a better way of life. Millions came to these shores seeking what became known as the "American Dream". Different as we were, that dream meant the same thing to all -- this was a place where life would be better and we could achieve anything we wanted to achieve.
To some, the American dream meant safety -- a place where they would be protected from death squads and political upheaval.
To others, it meant freedom -- to worship as they believed, to pursue vocations and avocations alike, to express themselves through any medium they chose.
The dream that was America also included gainful employment, a home in which to raise your family, clothes on your back, food on your table, education for your children, and access to the best healthcare in the world. If you think back to psychology 101, those don't sound like outrageous wants; they sound like the most basic levels of human needs.
Now, thanks to poor decisions in Washington and the ultra-conservative movement in this country, there is no longer an American dream. For millions, it has become the American nightmare -- a horrific downward spiral from which we cannot wake.
The dream of home ownership has been destroyed by the subprime lending practices and inflated real estate prices. More and more families are threatened with homelessness every day because of misleading practices and foreclosure. Yet Congress does nothing.
The dream of free education for our children is being threatened by bureaucratic mandates, emphasis on test scores, and calls for privatization of our schools. When education is no longer public, many children will be left behind, uneducated because their families cannot afford America's new system. And Congress rallies behind this new direction.
The dream of a college degree is quickly becoming a thing of the past as tuition costs escalate at public and private institutions alike. And Congress backs plans to eliminate Pell grants and students loans, the only hope for many seeking higher education.
The dream of gainful employment has vanished for millions as businesses close their doors and corporations are rewarded for eliminating job or shipping them overseas. Worse yet, Congress fails to acknowledge its role in this situation and do anything to change it.
Dreams of affordable healthcare, a safe environment, saving for retirement, marrying the person of your choice, supporting the elderly and the disabled have all vanished. Dashed by people who do not comprehend the principles upon which America was founded, the principles by which our government is supposed to operate. Damaged by elected officials who serve a political ideology instead of the United States Constitution and the needs of the people. Destroyed by those who place their own self-serving wishes about the general welfare of the nation.
America is poised on the edge of a black abyss, a chasm from which Congress can pull us back if our elected servants are willing to look at issues logically. First, we must hold everyone accountable for their fair share of the tax burden. Placing the overwhelming burden for America's revenues on the working class is, quite simply, short-sighted and ridiculous. Corporations, millionaires and billionaires have made their wealth from America. They owe something back to the nation that enabled them to achieve the dream.
Then, we must have affordable healthcare. We must have free public education and affordable higher education. We must provide support for our elderly and disabled. We must control the Wall Street attacks on peoples' savings and investments. We must maintain the monies that working Americans have already invested in Social Security. We must protect this nation from terrorist threats. We must treat all people fairly and equally, without regard to race, gender, religion or sexual identity. We must create a safe, healthy environment for ourselves and our children. In short, we MUST take care of the basic needs of this nation. Everything else must take a back seat until the general welfare of the nation has been met.
Only then will we awaken from this nightmare and return to the ideal that is the American dream.
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