American Dreams

I am Julia Burns, a senior at UNC Greensboro in the BLS Program.  I chose this program because the possibilities are endless.  I am not just limited to a particular discipline; history is my favorite.  At first I thought about using my degree to further my education and teach adult students but I am learning that there may not be an opportunity for me to do that.  I find that with the new government budget for the next decade, there will be many cutbacks in the education field.  I may end up staying in my current working industry which is hospitality except attempt to grow more in my field.  I am also a single parent, who works full time, that has 2 adult children, takes care of a wheel chair bound mother, and an elderly brother with Alzheimer’s disease.

1. Dream of Dreams

I have listened intently at least two times of the “American Dreams” opinions that Bill Moyer has put together so neatly in video.  I find that all the people basically have the same consensus of the American Dream. Each speaker in videos are wanting a humanity and economically type equality to where people are free enough to realize their American Dream.

I personally think they are all somewhat delusional compared with the other societies throughout the world. Use the continent of Africa for example.  There is rampant racism among African regions.  A good friend of mine spent some time in the country and was surprised at what she learned.  She was part of the reparation of American Slave Descendents in Atlanta.  She also spent time in Paris.  Her experiences were equally disturbing to her.  She learned that African Americans were not discriminated against but some European descent Americans were.  So equality is just a myth – it will never happen.

Economically speaking, equality is a myth also.  Ethical and humane treatment stands a better chance of being a reality than having 100% equality.  We cannot ever have a society that will be perfect to meet everyone’s needs.  It is impossible. Only a few select will only be able to be free enough to realize their dream.  We cannot go back to the way it “was” in the beginning of our country. The only solution is to go forward, realize our weaknesses and strengths as a country to make the changes necessary to be able to function.

I have always been a contender that charity begins at home.  Well it is time to stop or slow our worldly economic involvement until we get a grip on our own continental soil economically and equally before we start getting involved in our ally’s problems again.  Because of our vast diversity, there will always be a group of people who is more self- oriented politically and economically;  there will always be a group of people who think their entitlement is greater than anyone else.  That is just human nature.  It has been that way long before America came along and it will continue to be that way in the future.


2. Dreams or Nightmares

I am angry over the fact that the dollar bill held more justice than an individual person’s rights to the pursuit of life and liberty and happiness.  I was not happy when I heard this and am still not happy.  The same situation has happened in Winston-Salem, NC dealing with the building of a ball stadium.  All though there was a ball stadium built but some of the people that had to move were in affordable housing and group homes for persons with mental illness. I have helped one of these people who are too afraid to live in a house anymore.

In the case of Kelo, three years after all was said and done, still no economic development. This is a fine example to what I believe that the American Dream is just an illusion.  What might seem to be the greater good for a few doesn’t necessarily mean that it is good for the majority?  In the case of Kelo as mentioned, the city of New London spent years and money for economic development that didn’t ever happen.  It seems to me there were some politicians who might have stood to make some money on the deal or they political leaders might have trusted money more than their common sense.  This is a clear case of economic inequality.

3. OECD Reports on Immigration, Child Welfare, and Health

Statistics are a pain in the southern region of the human body.  For some reason they were created and are here to stay.  I imagine they stem from the Freudian era of alleged scientific research. Statistics, scientific research, control modules, unknown factors, or any other type of famous research can be controlled on paper to have a given outcome to support whom-ever wants the outcome to be favorable in their corner. I can use the FDA for this example.  Back in about 1983, it was not ok to eat eggs because they cause an increase in cholesterol which causes heart attacks.  Now it is ok to eat eggs because only 3% of our cholesterol problem is caused from our diet and the 97% of it is caused from genetics. Another example, cigarette smoking causes lung cancer. No it doesn’t.  The truth of the matter, it is the chemicals used to cure the tobacco that causes lung cancer contributed with the current air pollution and excessive amounts of chemicals used in the foods that we eat.
What does immigration, child welfare and health issues have in common?  There is an economic value placed in the billions of dollars and someone wants a piece of that billion dollars.

4. Immigration

I was sitting at a café in Matamoras, Mexico in May of 1980.  It was hot.  So hot, I could feel the heat from the dirt streets penetrating my shoes.  I remember driving the car back over the border wondering about all the people who were walking to Brownsville, Texas.  They were migrants according to the border patrol.  The first time I was ever exposed to what a homeless person was in Mexico City.  There was a woman who slept on a sidewalk with her three small children.  One of the children begged for Pesos.  That was 1976.  Our interpreter told us they are allowed to sleep on the street, on a blanket, until sunset.  The police come along and make them move.  The mother only had one leg and the child doing the begging was about 8 years old.  My friends and I got up early one morning, purchased them food and gave them money.  The interpreter and police yelled at us not to encourage their begging because the church would feed them.

It would be cheaper to close the borders and feed the hungry directly and not give the government funding to the political leaders who pocket it.  I can remember the Ethiopia food crisis.  The US sent food to feed the hungry.  The Ethiopian government seized the food and traded it for oil or another commodity and pocketed the money or they let the food rot.

Closing the border is not an inhumane act but an act of saving a life.  To feed these people who be an act of saving a migrant child from a predator.  I have to agree that the NAFTA economy helped cause this.  But because of the growing immigration problem, these people are still suffering at the hands of less than honorable Americans.  They are further being exploited by commerce like Tyson, Inc.  Tyson was just fined $100,000.00 for employing hundreds of illegal workers in Mississippi.  They also cheated our government out of thousands of tax dollars in doing so.  What happened to the illegal migrant worker in that case?  They were separated from their families after being here for years and sent packing.

But to contend with another issue is the prejudice that America has against a migrant individual.  My Lewis ancestor fled France and then Ireland because he had committed the murder of an English Lord/landowner.  He built a life for his family in Staunton, Virginia. (Family of John Lewis, by I Lewis, 1960) My McBride ancestor came over with his sisters and his parents.  His parents died on the boat. He and his sisters became indentured servants. (Planters and Pioneers, Life in Colonial VA, by P Rouse Jr, 1968)  I then think about the accounts that Daniel conveys.  Immigrants at no time have been treated exactly fair, use Governor Tryon for example prior to the Revolutionary War.  My Clower ancestors were given land grants in Hillsboro, NC. They disagreed with Tryon.  He decided to run them off their land and seize it.  They went to Georgia. (History of Old Tryon and Rutherford Counties, NC 1730-1935, by C W Griffith, 1977) (Oxford History of American People, by S E Morrison, 1965)  {These are old sources from my own personal genealogy notes.)  

But none of this changes my thoughts. No matter how unrealistic they may seem our borders need to be closed.  In doing do so, we could possibly help.  Instead of putting immigrants in jail we could use those funds to feed more than enough to help them stay in their own country.  That is the humane thing to do.

5. Healthcare Reform

Once I have read all the material that was presented for this discussion I would have to come to the conclusion that I do not know anything about this issue.  I have to ask do most Americans understand what they are unhappy about and why pertaining to the Healthcare issues? No!  After reading all the material I am more confused than I was to begin with.

But here is the bottom line – money. Why are the costs so great?  There is one reason – greed.  I hope that the future of Healthcare reform is one of equalization.  Who decides who gets the better healthcare?  The dollar bill does.  Well remove the dollar bill factor.

I am not sure that I comprehend the European-style single-payer system and or whether or not it would be good or bad for the U.S.  I would like to see a set premium for all persons based on their income to receive equal healthcare. If the wealthy don’t like, they can get on a jet, fly to Paris and take the next plan to Cuba – I understand they have the best cancer treatment in the world.  They can afford it.  They can also afford Cancer Treatment Centers of America.  My dad couldn’t afford the better treatment and died.

6. 2- Million Minutes

My reactions to the documentary on students preparing for college were boring.  It really was not beneficial for me and or probably any other person watching this documentary.  I state this because I disagree with our current educational system. By the time students get to high school they should take the basics in the 1st two years and then prepare for college or trade in the next two years.  This is not really being done on a consistent basis through our educational system.  

In my high school time, I was busy playing in the band, traveling across country with my high school band, and partying the rest of the time.  Education was not an emphasis in my family because I was a southern female.  Music was not an option. I was raised that higher education is where a young woman of marriageable age goes to get a husband.   But because I was short, wide, and dumpy, I was told to get a job. I was not college marriageable material.  I wasn’t only led to believe this by my parents but there were numerous educators who told me the same thing as well as old blue haired matrons in my extended family. I wasn’t college material and did not have the necessary aptitude to attend.

Many of my high school female friends went to college and married very lucrative.  Some of my female friends have professions not near as honorable as I do.  I stay in contact with so many of them and realized something very valuable. We each chose our own roads with what information we learned at the given moment.  Who cares?  We just all accept each other period without too much restrictions because most of us are over 48 and just don’t give a total “?” anymore.  But at this point we are of the consensus that high school, college, masters, PhD, and trade programs are a vital part of a young person’s life.  If you start one program you need to complete it without stopping.  Bottom line is that high school grades do not make the better college student either.  Testing does not necessarily reflect anything.  In the real world you either know or you don’t and if you don’t better find out the answer or learn it.

7. Virtual Realities

The virtual life is not a reality.  There is only a controlled emotion in reaction to one’s self and not other people in a physical context.  The problems that are being incurred with the “virtual life” is that people have lost their identity, for whatever reason, and have invented someone knew to themselves and other people they come into contact in the virtual sense. I have to question, how does a person live up to an animated object?  In viewing all this material I can’t help but think about Dolly the cloned sheep.

Dolly was the cloned sheep that died.  Life does not sustain in something that is made without the greater powers of God.  I may not believe in organized Pagan/Religion rituals of the modern evangelical societies/church as being the true authentic worship as originally intended, but I have a very strong faith that mankind shouldn’t go messing around in the deep spiritual world of our creator, God. God may have afforded us certain secrets as man but that doesn’t mean we should be performing on his behalf in things we really know nothing about.  This is the world of virtual reality.

We can look at it but we should use it as a tool, and not for the opportunity to stop living as who we were intended to do.  I am afraid that a vast amount of our society has crossed over that fine line.  One day all good things must come to an end and in America, once the good has been all used up then where will we be in the world of “virtual?” Will anyone really know what to do and or how to carry on? Of course society will probably adapt to something new or will it.

8. King’s Dream

Reflect on the interplay between the themes of freedom and justice in this speech.  Who is King’s intended audience?  Who is expected to usher in this justice that he is calling for?  Take note of his rhetoric: what writings are alluded to in the speech?  What force does this have?

I have come to learn as I have gotten older that freedom can be obtained without having justice. There can be justice without freedom.   I state this very precariously because the individual must really look past the words to understand the meaning.  Freedom and justice to me is nothing more than a state of mind.  But the honest truth about it, in our society is anyone really free? Does everyone actually have equal justice under our governmental guidelines? The answer is no.  It has never been that way and it really never will be.  The American Dream is based on freedom and justice for all that is equal to a given.  Well the given was a property owning white male: not a female nor person of color (we just didn’t understand important issues.)

MLK spoke so eloquently to a racial segment while covering the support of the “white man” for this initiative. He is correct in theory when he stated “and they have come to realize that their freedom is inextricably bound to our freedom.  We cannot walk alone.”  But 100% true equality among all persons will never happen.  Are we not fooling ourselves to think that it ever will?  Why?  Fear is the simple answer.  What does the white man fear?   The white man fears the unknown world of ignorance.
Being a “deep southerner” I can remember George Wallace inviting the federal government to “bring it on—all or nothing.”  I also remember him apologizing for the errors of his ways too with a big “crow pie.” I can remember many things about the Civil Rights Era. The funny thing is that no one mentioned how badly off the poor white man had it, or the adult female, or the white men and women who were also refused the right to vote in Alabama because they couldn’t remember the Preamble to the Constitution. Why doesn’t anyone mention how many white people received their jobs fairly but were put out of work because of Political Actions Committee (PAC) programs?   This is why I state there is no such thing as real freedom or justice.  You can give justice and freedom to one group and then you find yourself restricting it for another.

There was never a balance in the Biblical world so why does anyone think there is going to be a balance now?  Well it is time to understand this, deal with it, and go on about our business and look at the person and not the color of their skin.  That includes all people.

9. The New Jim Crow

She is correct.  The majority of the people incarcerated are African American males with a fast approaching Hispanic male population. The other factor is economic.  The true criminals are not in jail, just the “idiots” who got caught and couldn’t get out of it with proper defenses. (I have a trouble being politically correct – African American males…well they weren’t born in Africa!) (If I were 100% politically correct then I am an African/European/Saxon American.)

I have to get off the topic for one minute.  Have you ever seen a black Syrian?  They are white.  Have you ever seen a white Syrian? They are black.  There are times I get tired about hearing about racism in our country.  Vietnam kicked out all their “half-breeds” and sent them to the US through Catholic Social Services a long time ago. Those “half-breeds” belonged to many US Soldiers.  Many of those young people turned out meaner than a “yard-dog” because they were mistreated in their communities before they came to the US.

Our justice system is screwed up and out dated because of “hardening of the arteries.


10. American Empire

Ron Paul does have a point which would possibly make us an imperialistic government.  No way?  No America.  Let me see if I get this correctly. “911 was a blow back because were attacking countries and building regimes in the Middle East.”  (The Egyptian National Islamic extremist attacked the US on 911 because we were fighting in Iraq.) I definitely see a correlation; it is like one ply or two on the toilet paper roll.  Senseless!

I have been of the contention and will always be that money is why we are in the Middle East and it has to do with oil futures and the Caspian Sea Pipeline. I had to carefully think, read and further research these questions before I wrote about it. I needed some refreshing view-points, other than my own, to recollect why I thought the way I did. Once I finished looking into how I should respond then so many different feelings came to life.

The role of the acquisition of power and territory in sustaining the modern American Dream is not necessarily one of democracy or even humanitarianism. Of course many people (what I call politicians and political literary writers) would like us to believe that but it is just not true. America’s hands are dirty with greed of power and money.  

 According to Max Boot, “The September 11 attack was a result of insufficient American involvement and ambition; the solution is to be more expansive in our goals and more assertive in their implementation.” What is our expansive goal, who is the goal for and how much more assertiveness does America need to have? I have one comment for Max Boot. Get your head out of the sand! You wrote so eloquently to imply that issues with Middle Asia are just “humanitarianism” type issues. Oh really? You used a few Muslim terms (I feel out of context) to get your point across.
Let’s take a look at the American Humanitarianism effort. I attached a map for everyone to view. It is one of the Caspian Sea Pipeline. I will use this as an example to make a point. Of course we need to ask ourselves, what denotes power? Money is the answer. My father always told me “whoever holds the most money holds the power.”  Well Saddam Hussein saw an opportunity for great wealth but it was being block by an ethnic group in northern Iraq (the Kurds.) What did he do between 1987 and 1988? He eradicated an ethnic group standing in his way for great wealth. Why? Caspian Sea Pipeline. What company received a major bulk contract to build the pipeline? Was it KBR dba Halliburtan? Who is controlling the interest of the Caspian Sea Pipeline in northern Iraq as we speak? Aren’t there American troops in the area since it is so close to Iran? This pipeline will go straight to China. How much money does America owe China these days?

Meanwhile, we are writing about all the terrible things that Hussein did and how the American’s were humane in giving all those poor Kurds a decent burial. As early as 1982, during Regan’s administration, we decided to back Iraq (secretly), Hussein and his efforts to have a strong ally in the Middle East because of the still relatively new OPEC ventures. It wasn’t until 1996, that the US really started turning their sites (through the Western Policy Center) toward the Caspian Regions and surrounding countries because of the futures in the oil economy. The official findings came out in 1998.

To answer the questions for this post, the Dream is in the hands of those who have a controlling majority in a very valuable “energy” called fossil fuel.  In which at this time, US interest cannot be protected without exercising American influence abroad. The only way to flex American influence in the Middle Asia is through military force in some countries. It is sad that our men and women are dying for the power of greed.   Well after all, they aren’t use and do not know what they are doing in their own country, so we have to protect them. Well the protection of our US founding fathers has been really strong all these years. Wow!

I do not have an answer of how to reconcile our imperial tendencies to our roots other than to say, we as a country have gone too far over the line. Our government is not truthful with its people for the same reasoning our founding fathers used why people of color, women, and non-property owners could not vote.  We didn’t have the intelligence to really understand government or business. We need to be protected. From what? The truth? I have always been of the contention –tell a lie long enough and it becomes truth.  (History backs up that statement.) Well here is one way to look at it. People fear the unknown. The truth makes it all unknown. Well to quote the actor Jack Nicholson in A few good men “You want the truth? Well! You can’t handle the truth!” Neither can I!

I have supplied some definitions of words that were in our lesson. Also, below are a few website—reputable sources that back up what I am talking about. They make for really good reading – the site on Gendercide does contain some pictures that can be considered strong in content.

Mujahedeen in Afghanistan -- Muslim guerrilla warriors engaged in a jihad (jihad definition is to strive, effort, fatigue – effort to practice religion in the face of persecution or oppression – the military effort is not a necessity but one of last option.) (To spread the word by force is a stereotype.)  Mullahs -- an educated Muslim trained in religious law and doctrine who is usually is holding an official post.

http://www.hri.org/forum/intpol/sitil10.html
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/04/29/AR2005042901191.html
http://educationforum.ipbhost.com/index.php?showtopic=3218
http://www.gendercide.org/case_anfal.html
http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/NSAEBB/NSAEBB82/
http://www.energy-pedia.com/article.aspx?articleid=137212
http://www.corpwatch.org/section.php?id=15

11.    Beyond Vietnam

In my opinion, the significance of MLK’s speech, at Riverside Church should be classified as a “wake-up” call and not many people understood nor did they want to. The whole basic contention was that King and his followers were bringing about a war of justice and freedom that needed to be fought in America.  Yet our government sunk its money in Vietnam and not dealing with the home issues first. Our government was more concerned about protecting the interest of the wealthy elitist.

This speech takes MLK “I have a dream speech” as a reminder that the promise was for both black and white to come out of poverty with hope and new beginnings. Instead they have come out of poverty only to have been sent to war.  What was the actual significance? Were they to come out of poverty and have the dream of being killed? Did these young white and black men from poverty die for a country that really wouldn’t put in stock in them?  Meanwhile on the home front, violence was escalating; riots, drugs, and the very moral fiber of America was being threatened. I think what he was basically saying is that “charity begins at home.” The “domino effect” of communism didn’t ever happen as predicted.  I feel that King knew this war was for domination with power and money only.

He was correct in stating that American’s did destroy that country side.  The war crimes were great and not ever mentioned by the government until years later. The American people paid dearly for this war with the loss of their youth.  It also helped destroyed future solutions for any international intervention.  The reason I state this is because of Vietnam; the American trust to give and take on both sides for a fair solution had been damaged in the eyes of our society as well as others.  This lost of trust is very much relevant to why the Middle Eastern problems will never be solved.

Violence is a major key issue in dealing with any type of social and or political change in the world today.  King couldn’t have summed it up any better when he stated, “….threat of death or share my life.”  I would must rather share my life then threaten imminent death.

12.     This land is your land

I think every 1st grader in America up to a point sang this song in the spring to commemorate “Founders Day.”  The best I can remember it was around President’s Day?  We were taught to be proud American’s and very glad that someone died so that we can be free. It was also a reason why we shouldn’t lie.  Our founding father, George Washington, who cut down that cherry tree, realized he could never tell a lie either.  (But other people sure as heck told some “Whoppers!”) (I think many people get our founding fathers and their deaths confused with Jesus.)

This is the first time I have ever heard the original song being played in its entirety. Wow! I feel it is a big questioning statement.  I feel a little nostalgic toward Charles Kuralt or think about Willie Nelson being “On the road again.” Of course I love Charles Kuralt and his cynicism.  I do have to question, was this land made for you and me?  No it wasn’t. My ancestors weren’t thinking about me when they fought during the Revolutionary War.  Many (Clower ancestors) were angry that Tryon had run them off their land in North Carolina.  In this particular case, I imagined they fought for the freedom to own a piece of land back. (They didn’t get it back either.)  My Lewis Ancestor came to the US fleeing a murder conviction.  His son was in the Virginia House of Burgess; they wanted to keep what they had because they fought with Lord Dunmore to wipe the Indians.   I didn’t even exist and they probably couldn’t comprehend that far into the future.   As far as my interpretation, well – it is American Literature at its finest.  Sell something bigger than life and have it hanging around for a few years, American’s will buy into like George Washington’s cherry tree.

American’s natural resources are owned by conglomerates.  We are not even free enough to breathe clean air.  Big corporation for years, like International Paper Company, has been telling us to breathe this air – there is nothing wrong with it. Public Utilities cost money.  Fossil fuel cost money. I own not one thin piece of America.  I pay for the privilege to lay my head in this country that I was born in. Before me, my father paid for the privilege.

Wow!  I just realized something.  To be free and have the right to liberty, justice, and all that comes with it, we have to pay for it one way or another.  That “payment” changes with each era in history.  That is why some people have more freedom than others.

13.     Economics and the American Dream

I do not think at this time period that the American economy is able to support the American Dream anymore.  Our current economic situation just didn’t come about.  It has been growing almost at an alarming divisional rate.  From what I can tell, the American Dream is to be able to live and have basic necessities.  Well I have everything. All of it!  I live and my needs are met.  What else do I need?  I know I will never be out of debt, I will never own a house, and I will never be able to walk on land that is truly mine.  (Oh boohoo! Cry me a river.) Those are just material possessions.

I can say what I have done for my country and my country has done for me.  I am a good American. I have not fought in any wars but I did march for Title 1 funding to be left intact for reading programs.  I did not save a life in a heroic rescue attempt but I did collect clothes for people who couldn’t afford it in the old closed coal mine towns of West Virginia.  I gave birth to 2 children (really great kids) who were good citizens (didn’t drink, smoke, don’t do drugs, or don’t break the law.) My son I am giving to the US Army.  I did not feed many hungry people this year, just 10.  I helped register people to vote. I may not always agree with my government on foreign policy, but I support our Armed Services proudly.  So to answer the question, is the American Dream being threatened by the excess of corporate capitalism? Yes.  The poverty level is getting worse.  Whose fault is it? Mine. I have to live with it, too.  My country and its support services have been there when I needed them the most.

Because the wealth distribution rate is widening the gap at an alarming rate, I cannot fear. (I am poor and there is always someone poorer than I am.) I have been granted free will to survive to the best of my ability and have hope. Even if I do not feel that the American Dream exists I can have hope that a light will shine for so many in despair. I have the freedom to change my situation (which may not always work.) and the freedom for me to keep trying.    

14.    Global Dream

The consumption of consumer goods and natural resources effect of the American Dream is one I cannot determine. Poverty is a world-wide disease.  According to our reading, “The rising global demand for energy resources is expected to have profound effects on global, national, and local economies, influencing everything from the cost of our food to the heat in our homes and the gasoline in our cars.” I would say to stop and take a look at what is the top priority of the global pressures.  Have the leaders of the corporations gotten so big, that they have really lost touch with reality? (The bigger you get the harder you fall.)

If I take this concept and put it to history what does it say?  The last article referred to wealth distribution having a wider gap between the rich and the poor – shrinking middle class. With the global demand being made and not met on consumer goods and natural resources, it would seem that cost would be driven up in business.  The demand is greater and the costs go up; demand is less and the costs go down.  This is where a halting stop has to be made.   This is where people have to start understanding the difference between necessity and want.  Does a person really need that consumer good? Do we really need to have that new car?  Do we really need to heat our home with that much heat?  Do we really need to run our air on that much electricity?   We can use some of our older methods of lifestyles to reduce this growing demand.  For example: some products and services are not withstanding their usefulness. Use the washing machine. In 1970, my mother purchased a new washing machine for $250.00.  She retired it in 1993.  I purchased a new washer ($499.99), same brand in 2007.  Its motor is shot in 2010.   Well I purchased a used washer and it is better than the new one I paid for in 2007.  I wonder if the there is pride in the making of new consumer products? Part of the problem is also advertising that has flooded the consumer market.  People are led to believe they have to have.  These are the negative affects to the global demand which is a growing epidemic in American today.

I noticed over five years that my light bill has kept getting bigger and bigger.  I do not have heating and or air conditioning where I live.  Why is it getting bigger?  Demand.  A solution in America is really easy.  If everyone were to cut their power to their home for one day for one hour, I guarantee, there would be a substantial difference. If everyone would choose two days a week to car pool or ride public transportation, I guarantee, there would be a substantial difference! (My weight stayed off as long as I took public transportation. I had to walk 1 mile to the bus stop to and from work every day.  I was healthier too.) There is the answer.  “We the people” have caused the problem.

I am making a stance as a good American. Starting on April 4th, I will be riding public transportation again but for selfish reasons. (I am going back on my strict diet and I want to get back to being healthy again. The only problem is at night, the crime rate in my neighborhood has increased. I will just have to get smarter that the criminal.)

15.    American Dream and Environmental Nightmare

The American Dream is not compatible with understanding the earth as primary and humans as secondary.  History tells us this.  What was done differently in 1811 compared to 2011?  Humans lived off the land.  They took care of their land and what it produced. A child at 8 years old (in 1811) knew the apple came from the tree.  A child at 8 years old (in 2011) knows the apple comes from Food Lion.  In 1811, a child would walk to town or take a wagon.  In 2011, a child is clamped into the car seat for a ride to town.  People had more sense of community. There was some play in 1811 but in 2011, there is too much playing even by children.

The ultimate costs of sustaining the American Dream are that we have destroyed ourselves and our true independence. It has cost dearly in the destruction of humanity.  “To make it better for society” has in actuality made it worse. The really interesting thing about this is that those in the poverty level will survive and the elite wealthy will not.  History is full of poverty stricken people who have survived to rise again.  Many of the wealthy elitist didn’t make it. (Examples are: Nicholas and Alexandria, Louis and Antoinette, Mrs. Julia D. Grant, Nero, Julius Caesar, or Cleopatra.)  Even though Mrs. Grant was a political elitist she was basically broke,
shunned and out casted in a “sweet way” by other elitist.

In closing this journal, Americans can never regain what was.  People cannot change the past. They can only go forward.  Charity begins at home, so we better charitable with ourselves and starting lining up with the natural order of life, get our heads out of the pill bottles, raise some “verbal sand” about big business, and take control of our lives.  If we do not we will be figures in a history book with the headlines reading, “They just didn’t want to change is why that society ended.”