11.21.2013

The American "Dream"

Earlier this week House Speaker John Boehner announced that the House would not be considering immigration reform this year. President Obama, earlier this year, said that immigration reform would be something that would come to light before the year’s up, but the House replies that there simply not enough time to enact something expansive enough to cover all aspects of citizenship. In fact it seems like the US is working in opposition to this aspired equality.

This article states that last year President Obama deported over 400,000 people, tearing families apart and also creating more means for protest and activism on behalf of immigrants. On June 25 the Supreme Court shut down the Voting Rights Act, which allowed states like Texas to reinstate the strict voter ID laws, ultimately restricting immigrants from voting who are citizens but don’t have the correct ID to be able to vote. A chain reaction across the United States has occurred where more voter ID laws and "show me your papers” accusations are becoming reinforced.

These laws are more constrictive to our citizens of color and many are comparing this to the discrimination given when citizenship was first granted and the eligibility to vote was given. It seems that once a rung is acquired in the latter to equality the US finds a way to demolish that progress by taking care of another issue.

The article also touches on the American Dream and I think it's funny that the American Dream is so tangible to some but nobody really understands what it is. It also seems that the funnel to get the American Dream is so narrow, you have to fit all of these qualifications in order to even consider for yourself that you’re living the American Dream. I feel when something has so many qualifiers and many people aspiring to obtain it, but the “it” the “dream,” the concept of it is cloudy and unclear, that it no longer becomes a dream, but more so a myth. Where all trying to live the American Folklore.


No comments:

Post a Comment