Carbajal Aguilar 1

Gladys Carbajal Aguilar

English 1T

Susie Huerta

1 April 2018

Don't let it die

The American Dream has been misrepresented since the founding of this nation in 1776.

But it didn't become a staple of “American” culture until the early 1900s. For ages anyone who

has wanted to step foot or has ever stepped foot in United States soil since those beginnings,

promises were made, false realities were sold -- all for the cause of what ? Many have been

subjected to societal means by conforming to what the generic definition of what this dream is. A

dream defined by higher education, a nuclear family, and financial stability. For years many have

idolized a concept that has done nothing but oppressed the minds of people of color. A concept

accepted as a norm in this country that is acceptable to all, when it is actually not. Immigrants

have come to this country either by force or because they were sold something false and have

come with such high hopes in making this dream as attainable as possible. In ​Between the World

and Me,​ African American Journalist Ta-Nehisi Coates explains to his son how he has came to

accept the false sense of security the “Dream” offers. He states that people need to wake up

because the dream is something not everyone can attain in the United States. To an extent I agree

with Coates, that the dream is not attainable to all and that there are dangers in wholeheartedly

believing in it. Although I agree with him to an extent I think we should still grasp onto the

concept of this dream because without it we probably wouldn't be able to makeup our own

destinies. People need to acknowledge the history behind how the concept of the Dream came to
 Carbajal Aguilar 2

be or else their lack of acknowledgement will lead into creating a false reality of one's own

dream. By acknowledging the history behind this concept of the American Dream we will be

able to create our own perspectives and create a true reality of how the dream can be attainable

by all.

As Americans we have the choice to whether we want to acknowledge the history behind

how the United States was built. Americans have to wake up from the Dream because the sooner

we do, the faster we stop from using that drive for the false reasons -- a false dream. When

choosing to wake up from the dream we create our own choices. However it is human nature to

blame society and those around us for the mistakes we make while trying to attain our own

dream. For years the United States Public Education system has failed to teach the history and

the foundations of what makes this country so “great”. The government has lied and covered its

tracks by not teaching the cities and states that needed it the most. Like Baltimore, Maryland

Coates’ city growing up, and one of the most violent cities in the United States. As Coates

explains through his memoir, he recalls moments when he was in school and all he could

remember were his teachers telling his peers and him about acts of nonviolence that his people

did throughout history, and that, that is the only way they should stand up to those mistreating

them. Coates coming from an educated household where his parents had knowledge of events

that their people had gone through were able to teach him about the truths in their history. When

Coates says “ They seemed to love the men who raped them, the women who cursed them, love

the children who spat on them, the terrorists that bombed them” (32). Coates already having

previous knowledge in the history of his own people led him to acknowledge and question why it

is that this Public education system fails to show the whole picture to everyone. He knew he was
 Carbajal Aguilar 3

getting fed nothing but lies from a system that was “supposed” to be teaching him. While Coates

had the knowledge to question this system, his peers didn't, which is where our educational

systems have failed. They have failed to teach the youth of this history, thus leading to the failure

of not acknowledging it. Although the public education system fails to teach the history, when

one is aware of what is going on we have the choice of whether we acknowledge it and choose to

acknowledge it. Just like Coates chose to acknowledge the past history, leading him to create his

own perspective.

People of color are oppressed and are more subjected to oppression through the public

schooling system. Public schools oppress students by encouraging them to not stand up to what

they think is right. ​It has been set up so ​ that the minds of people of color stay chained to a

system that constantly oppresses them leading many to not question the concept of what the

“dream” is all about, and how attainable it can be for them. By one of the biggest branches that

makes up our government controlling the way many are getting taught, they have control of how

to shape the perspectives of many of these children. Students get their perspectives shaped, at

such an early age it has led many to adapt or create a dream or illusion in which they say the

dream is attainable because they have been taught not to question anything that gets taught to

them. Public schooling in this country has created generations of ignorance because many are

taught the things that are only beneficial to a system that empowers White Americans. Coates

especially mentions a time during his schooling when all he could remember were films showed

to him by his teachers about his people resisting to the violence. They were taught to not

question the system and to only show acts of nonviolence. This has cut the way many students

think critically and the way many might question these systems. Since at a young age many were
 Carbajal Aguilar 4

taught to not question, stay quiet, and obey. By e​ncouraging them to do acts of nonviolence and

to simply stay quiet comes to show that the systems have managed to show all these oppressive

events people of color went through in order to teach many that if their ancestors didn't put up a

fight then maybe they shouldn't either. Through the failure to teach our youths about the history,

to the oppression many constantly face in our systems it just comes to show some of the factors

and daily struggles they face in trying to achieve their “dream”.

The way our systems have been set up is so that those of lower socioeconomic status

have a low opportunity of learning in depth the darkness of these systems. The constant

conditioning that society has proposed in order for people of color is by selling this false reality

that if they work hard, don't question, and always pay attention they will most likely be able to

obtain what it is they are working for. However many haven't been told that this is an unfair

system governed by the color of your skin. In his memoir Coates reminds his son Samori about

the dangers in conforming to his surroundings and believing the falsies that many people get sold

about the “dream”. Falsies like “we are all equal”, “just work hard”, “get a higher education”,

when he inclusively says “You must struggle to truly remember this past in all its nuance, error,

and humanity. You must resist the common urge toward the comforting narrative of divine law,

toward fairy tales that imply some irrepressible justice”(70). By Coates reminding his son about

the dangers of believing in the dream being sold to him, he is telling his son how aware he has to

be around in his surroundings. Because they are people of color, many are in low socioeconomic

status leading many to be influenced by its own government, leading many to be lied to and told

they are able to accomplish anything when in reality the color of our skins is what ultimately

determines how successful, and attainable our own dream can be. Coates specifically states this
 Carbajal Aguilar 5

to his son when he tells him to not conform towards the narrative and fairy tale being sold, but

instead to struggle and understand why it is that their ancestors suffered just to get to where they

are, and how careful they have to be in order to make their dream attainable. Your overall

perspective of history, current events and anything in your surroundings will always determine

how attainable your dream is. They will affect the way you might perceive yourself in attaining

your dream, because it will make you think. Although there are many factors like knowing your

history, your background, the systems created for people of color, etc, being able to see things in

different perspective will help you create a dream that is more realistic than the falsies many

Americans tend to create. Because many are sold a false dream, we think we are able to obtain

that dream without paying a price, just because we have been sold something that we most likely

won't be able to enjoy. Like Coates mentions “The entire narrative of this country argues against

the truth of who you are ” (Coates 99). This leads me into explaining that this country will try to

mold people that will be beneficial for their chain of systems. Society will make you question

who you are as a person and what it is that you value more. However at the end of the day it all

comes down to how your generations have perceived the concept of this dream, and if, from the

beginning they started to idolize the concept of working hard, and getting a higher education as

the basis to what you need in order to make your dream attainable, they started instructing you

wrong. Those are just some of the factors that lead you into making your own dream attainable.

If you don't create your own perspective, but most importantly understand the perspectives of

others and how they “made”their own dream attainable, you must likely won't be able to create a

clear picture of your own dream, and will be a robot to society taking a sleeping pill for

generations after generations. Passing it down onto yours.

 Carbajal Aguilar 6

In order to make the dream attainable one must not be ignorant towards the past, and

learn how they can create their own dream without falling into the generics and mentality of

saying that the dream is attainable if you just work hard. People can still use the concept of the

american dream as a path into creating their own, but along the way should modify it in order to

makes one realistic.

 Carbajal Aguilar 7

Works Cited

Coates , Ta-Nehisi. ​Between the World and Me​. Spiegel & Grau , 2015.