What is the dream? The ultimate dream of man is to live without restraint. Sometimes we label that as freedom. Freedom, in its' strictest definition, means free from accountability or responsibility. You can just do as you please, at any time. Without having to consider how those actions affect others, we are free to act. But our God(s) or man developed a mechanism, often called a conscience, that places restraints on those choices. Religion performs that function, at least as far as accountability goes it does, whether it provides the fear of eternal damnation or some other undesirable outcome, its' purpose is to restrain us. We also tend to call that instruction, to make it sound more palatable. No one wants to be restrained. The real challenge in all of that is to live in harmony with others. They also want to be unrestrained. Problems arise when their freedom interferes with your freedom! How can we all live free? Is it even possible? I'd say no it isn't. That's the reason for government, to restrain mankind and form societies. Government is the attempt to create a common dream, a dream with boundaries. But isn't that a contradiction in terms? Yes it is certainly a contradiction, yet that is the goal.
A dream is an individual thing. For that reason alone you can not expect one dream to be shared by all. Do not confuse goals with dreams. Consider the words of Martin Luther King. He said he had a dream, a dream that one day his children would be judged by their character, not the color of their skin. That's a goal. He was dreaming of a goal! Have we reached that goal in America? No we haven't. That's the simple truth of it but it is slowly changing. The change has to occur in the hearts and minds of the people however, not just in legislation. Have we reached the limit to legislation? Yes, it is my thinking that indeed we have. Some would argue that legislation has even skewed the field in favor of minorities. As far as basic rights goes is anyone excluded? No they are not. All American citizens are entitled to the same rights, there are no exclusions. The same opportunities are available as well. If you are a minority, and your dream is to be a majority, that isn't something that can be legislated.
So what is the American dream? For me that dream is a simple one. It is the opportunity to work toward whatever goal I choose for myself. That dream doesn't include a guarantee of success, although we always succeed in our dreams don't we, kinda why they are a dream. The issue is having an equal playing field. Well circumstance plays a major role in all of that and it is something you have no control over. When I was 17, I choose to join the Navy. I did so based upon my circumstance. If circumstances had been different, a different choice would have been made. I made my decision in the hope of maximizing the circumstances I was born into. Was it white privilege? No, any race could choose the same path as long they qualified to do so. The requirements were basic enough, U.S. citizenship, (there are exceptions to that requirements), a minimum scholastic score (there are exceptions to that based on race and gender) and passing a physical examination, no exceptions there. That leads me to question any white privilege in that regard anyway. Those exceptions are granted based on " legislated " quota's to ensure equal opportunity. Can you really legislate equality? No you can not, only the opportunity.
But what of economic circumstances. Is being born into a poor family a matter of equality? Is the poor person somehow less a person? If you are born into a wealthy family is that a guarantee of success? The circumstances are certainly different, that much can't be denied. My question is, is it wealth, or the environment that creates character? Remember what Dr. King said about character? It was his dream that his children would be judged by their character, not the color of their skin. What was he saying? I believe his intent was to point out that the color of your skin has nothing to do with the character of the individual. He was speaking to his " people. " And just who was his people? Was it only people of color? No, I don't believe it was, at least not in his mind. He was speaking to the people. trying to present an idea, a concept that he understood. All men are created equal! It is only circumstance that aren't equal. It is up to the individual to change the circumstance, not the government, not legislation.
Yes, certainly in his time legislation did exist that impeded that dream. That has long since been eliminated. What stands in the way today? Economic inequality? Is that it? Well, that effects every race, not just select groups. It's a universal thing across the globe. So what is the answer? If everyone enjoyed equal wealth everyone would be equal in status and stature? Is that correct? Dr. King wanted his children to be judged by their character, not their wealth. How do you obtain good character? Is it something you are granted by legislation? Is it dependent upon wealth? Just where does character come from? How is it developed? Answer that and change begins. The truth is everyone knows the answer but not everyone accepts the answer. When we establish a common goal we can work toward that goal. The dream is the way to define that goal. For in dreams all things are possible. Dreams don't come with a price tag.
All of this is just rumination on my part. I'm as confused, as angry, as frustrated as everyone else. We all have our dreams. We all live in different circumstances. First we are born into circumstance, and then we create our own. The struggle is to accept the circumstances, whether they are the ones you were born into, or the ones you have created by your choices. The goal is to be a person of good character. Is that freedom? Depends upon who is judging whom doesn't it? Sans a judge, we are all free to do as we please. To act without restraint. Thing is, man has always known there is a power greater than our own, we will have to answer to that power. We have always known the circumstance of our existence. The struggle is to accept that.
A dream is an individual thing. For that reason alone you can not expect one dream to be shared by all. Do not confuse goals with dreams. Consider the words of Martin Luther King. He said he had a dream, a dream that one day his children would be judged by their character, not the color of their skin. That's a goal. He was dreaming of a goal! Have we reached that goal in America? No we haven't. That's the simple truth of it but it is slowly changing. The change has to occur in the hearts and minds of the people however, not just in legislation. Have we reached the limit to legislation? Yes, it is my thinking that indeed we have. Some would argue that legislation has even skewed the field in favor of minorities. As far as basic rights goes is anyone excluded? No they are not. All American citizens are entitled to the same rights, there are no exclusions. The same opportunities are available as well. If you are a minority, and your dream is to be a majority, that isn't something that can be legislated.
So what is the American dream? For me that dream is a simple one. It is the opportunity to work toward whatever goal I choose for myself. That dream doesn't include a guarantee of success, although we always succeed in our dreams don't we, kinda why they are a dream. The issue is having an equal playing field. Well circumstance plays a major role in all of that and it is something you have no control over. When I was 17, I choose to join the Navy. I did so based upon my circumstance. If circumstances had been different, a different choice would have been made. I made my decision in the hope of maximizing the circumstances I was born into. Was it white privilege? No, any race could choose the same path as long they qualified to do so. The requirements were basic enough, U.S. citizenship, (there are exceptions to that requirements), a minimum scholastic score (there are exceptions to that based on race and gender) and passing a physical examination, no exceptions there. That leads me to question any white privilege in that regard anyway. Those exceptions are granted based on " legislated " quota's to ensure equal opportunity. Can you really legislate equality? No you can not, only the opportunity.
But what of economic circumstances. Is being born into a poor family a matter of equality? Is the poor person somehow less a person? If you are born into a wealthy family is that a guarantee of success? The circumstances are certainly different, that much can't be denied. My question is, is it wealth, or the environment that creates character? Remember what Dr. King said about character? It was his dream that his children would be judged by their character, not the color of their skin. What was he saying? I believe his intent was to point out that the color of your skin has nothing to do with the character of the individual. He was speaking to his " people. " And just who was his people? Was it only people of color? No, I don't believe it was, at least not in his mind. He was speaking to the people. trying to present an idea, a concept that he understood. All men are created equal! It is only circumstance that aren't equal. It is up to the individual to change the circumstance, not the government, not legislation.
Yes, certainly in his time legislation did exist that impeded that dream. That has long since been eliminated. What stands in the way today? Economic inequality? Is that it? Well, that effects every race, not just select groups. It's a universal thing across the globe. So what is the answer? If everyone enjoyed equal wealth everyone would be equal in status and stature? Is that correct? Dr. King wanted his children to be judged by their character, not their wealth. How do you obtain good character? Is it something you are granted by legislation? Is it dependent upon wealth? Just where does character come from? How is it developed? Answer that and change begins. The truth is everyone knows the answer but not everyone accepts the answer. When we establish a common goal we can work toward that goal. The dream is the way to define that goal. For in dreams all things are possible. Dreams don't come with a price tag.
All of this is just rumination on my part. I'm as confused, as angry, as frustrated as everyone else. We all have our dreams. We all live in different circumstances. First we are born into circumstance, and then we create our own. The struggle is to accept the circumstances, whether they are the ones you were born into, or the ones you have created by your choices. The goal is to be a person of good character. Is that freedom? Depends upon who is judging whom doesn't it? Sans a judge, we are all free to do as we please. To act without restraint. Thing is, man has always known there is a power greater than our own, we will have to answer to that power. We have always known the circumstance of our existence. The struggle is to accept that.
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