The Most Important Issues Facing America Today
What are most important issues facing america today essay will take an attrmpt to answer this question throught the perspective of the idea of American dream. “Nature or nurture” is a question that has long been asked by society. In asking this, society is trying to determine whether humans are more swayed by their inherent and natural qualities or by the influences of their surrounding environment. However, a concept arose as early as the mid-18th century that challenged this long-asked question: the American Dream. The American Dream is a national ethos of the United States, which promises that any individual can achieve success and social mobility through hard work and determination, regardless of both nature and environment.
Throughout history, the American Dream has served as a national idea that Americans mold as it pertains to their own life experiences. The principles and values of the American Dream promise that people have the ability to define their destiny, regardless of upbringing and circumstance, and be self-reliant. When analyzed relative to the American Dream, the phrase “we are products of our environment” loses substance and is often disregarded by the cultural landscape of America.
However, does the American Dream truly treat and reward all its citizens equally? Or, does it find itself still relevant today because it advocates for the tolerance of hardship and encourages hard work from its citizens? The Founding Fathers aimed to craft a society that grants individuals the opportunity to advance in society without hindrance. However, many Americans still believe that they are born into an environment that inherently inhibits their potential. Benjamin Franklin’s The Autobiography and Ralph Waldo Emerson’s “Self-Reliance” paint an idealistic image of the American Dream – Franklin’s “rags-to-riches” story that allegedly can be emulated by any American; Emerson’s belief that through self-reliance and self-actualization, anyone can achieve their own destiny– that is available to all Americans regardless of situation and environment, while Gwendolyn Brooks’ “kitchenette building” and Langston Hughes’ “I, Too” provide more realistic accounts of attempting to find fulfillment in America –Brooks’ critiques on the effect of a low economic status on the ability to dream; Hughes’ questioning of the American values of equality and liberty – and offer contrasting opinions on the extent to which the culture and environment of the United States impacts the development and experience of its citizens. Though these works offer varying degrees of the impact of the American society on the development and experience of its citizens, all four offer a unique perspective that both promote and challenge the validity of the American Dream.
One important piece of work that helped craft early ideas of an idealistic America was Benjamin Franklin’s The Autobiography. In this piece, Franklin illustrates his “rags-to-riches” story; a perseverant American who defied his poor background and was able to make a name for himself through hard work. This was Franklin’s intention. He aimed to portray himself as an ideal American; a person whose self-actualization and success could be emulated by all his American peers. He states that “having emerged from the poverty and obscurity in which I was born and bred, to a state of affluence and some degree of reputation in the world, and having gone so far through life with a considerable share of felicity, the conducing means I made use of, which with the blessing of God well succeeded, my posterity may like to know, as they may find some of them suitable to their own situations and therefore fit to be imitated” (Franklin). From the opening lines of his autobiography, Franklin aimed to use his story as a narrative that establishes the foundation for the American Dream. By celebrating individualism and hard work, Franklin hoped that future generations would look to his story and believe that success was truly available to them too. The Autobiography serves to validate the aspirations of the “dream” in a newly crafted American society by instilling ideas of hope and optimism in its citizens.
Ralph Waldo Emerson’s works built on the American values first put out in The Autobiography by Benjamin Franklin. He embodied the newly created idea of the American Dream and added his individualistic philosophy through his works. He assured the American people that genius and ambition grew from personal experiences and within. Emerson’s ideology, and consequently his essays, had a focus on the ability of each person to “manifest” their own destiny, an idea that has become closely associated with the American Dream. In order to truly understand the principles and values that uphold the American Dream, Emerson’s essay “Self-Reliance” must be taken into account. This essay establishes and calls to action the values that comprise the American Dream in literature. While The Autobiography by Benjamin Franklin illustrated the unmistakable image of what an American citizen chasing the American Dream looked like, Emerson’s essay “Self-Reliance” expands on the portrayal by building on the image of the idealistic American who overcomes the circumstances of their situation to fulfill their own destiny. If America was the land full of opportunity, then Americans would be the ones to fulfill their own destiny and capitalize on these opportunities. In his essay, he states “Trust thyself: every heart vibrates to that iron string. Accept the place divine providence has found for, the society of your contemporaries, the connection of events. Great men have always done so, and confided themselves childlike to the genius of their age, betraying their perception that the absolutely trustworthy was seated at their heart, working through their hands, predominating in all their being” (Emerson). Although he is saying to accept one’s environment and circumstances, great men have overcome the odds to achieve the success that they want through hard work. Through his principles of self-trust and self-reliance, Emerson builds on the optimism and hope that was established by Franklin. The individual spirit is something that cannot be underestimated, he claims, and success relies within, regardless of environment. With Franklin as the catalyst, Emerson’s “Self-Reliance” confirms and builds on the idealistic spirit of the American Dream; it focuses on the obligation each person has to manifest their own destiny in a nation filled with opportunity and demonstrates that true fulfillment can only come from within.
Although these principles of self-reliance and individualism painted an idealistic version of the American Dream, the works of Gwendolyn Brooks offered a more dissenting reality of life in America. In her poem, “kitchenette building”, Brooks invites us to reflect upon the validity of the American Dream and how it is often dismissed when an individual’s environment and situation is acknowledged. The piece focuses on the struggles of a low class African American, where the need to survive ultimately denies access to the American Dream. The poem begins with the speaker saying “” Dream” makes a giddy sound, not strong like “rent,” “feeding a wife,” “satisfying a man.” The opportunity to pursue success and fulfillment as illustrated by Franklin and Emerson is simply not available here. The desire to dream is quickly overcome by the needs and tasks that accompany a low-economic status. The speaker questions is the power of dreaming could ultimately defeat the “grayness” and provide them with their wishes. However, at the end of the poem, the hardships of real life snap the speaker back to reality, where there are still tasks that need to be done. No dreaming allowed for someone whose circumstances and environment do not permit it. Brooks’ made the strategic choice of opening the poem with the speaker doing basic tasks to survive and ends with those same basic tasks. The setting of “kitchenette building” adds the element of the speaker being a product of his or her environment. In this setting, the need for survival constantly lingers; leaving the speaker with no opportunity to advance past his or her less fortunate situation. Through Brooks’ use of juxtaposition, categorizing dreams as a luxury and a task like “feeding a wife” as a necessity, she highlights the struggles of lower-class America, specifically in the black community. They are not awarded the finer things in life, such as the ability to dream. There is no space to entertain the “giddy sound” as the hardships of reality weigh on their conscience. The poem concludes with the speaker implying that although his or dreams and aspirations will always exist, it must be dismissed to tend to trial of life. The life of the speaker in Brooks’ “kitchenette building” serves as a stark contrast to the idealistic opportunities that Franklin and Emerson illustrated in their earlier works.
Langston Hughes’ poem, “I, Too”, portrays yet another situation of pursuing the American Dream. To open the poem, Hughes declares “I, too, sing America”, in reference to an early piece by Walt Whitman (Hughes). By immediately comparing himself to Whitman, Hughes is suggesting that he is just as important as the workers in Whitman’s poem. He too, regardless of skin color, is a pivotal component of the American Dream. If America as a whole is a chorus, then the speaker is also a singer. Hughes’ emphasis on racial inequality is apparent from the beginning of the poem; he declares himself “darker brother” to represent the black community. He is not allowed to eat at the table and is sent away “to eat in the kitchen”, a scene that demonstrates the clear inequality that exists. Despite slavery being abolished at the time of writing, racial inequality was rampant throughout America. Through the lens of this inequality, it becomes apparent how the American Dream can differ vastly across people. Hughes had no control over the situation he was born into, yet his pursuit of the American Dream is vastly different from Franklin’s or Emerson’s. Despite being sent to eat in the kitchen, Hughes remains optimistic of the future and his appetite for success is not changed. He will not allow himself to be devalued and will not allow his mental freedom to be restrained, despite his poor treatment. He adamantly believes that he is equal to his white counterparts and will not allow his pursuit of the American Dream to be hindered due to a unequal society. He states: “Tomorrow, I’ll be at the table when company comes. Nobody’ll dare say to me, ‘Eat in the kitchen’” (Hughes).
Tomorrow is not implying the next day, but rather a future in which whites and black are treated fairly and equally. A “tomorrow” where the pursuit of the American dream is available to all Americans, just as it appeared to Franklin and Emerson. A “tomorrow” where the speaker in “kitchenette building” will be able to take time from struggling to survive to be able to sit back and dream. A “tomorrow” where the speaker in “I, Too” will be welcomed to the dining table with open arms. The American Dream serves as a retort to the statement “we are products of our environment”. However, through American literature, various authors have painted realistic cases where this is simply not the case. The American Dream is often awarded to only those who can afford to pursue it.
