While the American dream has not become fully accessible over time, the hope that it will one
day be attainable for all does endure.
Because of the prevailing issue of inequality in the United States, the American Dream
has become just that: a dream. The American Dream is built on the grounds of individual free-
dom and equality. However, deep in our country’s roots lies inequality, which makes the Ameri-
can Dream hard to achieve. In his “Civil Rights Address,” President John F. Kennedy emphasizes
how one’s race can take away from their opportunity to achieve, stating that an African American
child has about one-half as much chance of completing high school as a white child and one-
third as much chance of completing college and becoming a professional man. These opportuni-
ties that African Americans were deprived of would determine how much they could achieve.
The discrepancy between the rights of African Americans and whites is further highlighted in
Martin Luther King Jr.’s famous “I Have a Dream” speech. King says that the Negro is “crippled
by the manacles of segregation and the chains of discrimination.” Because of this, the American
Dream, something that is based on equality, was not achievable then, nor is it now. In his No-
vember 2007 speech on the American Dream, President Barack Obama acknowledges that this
discrimination still exists, in addition to many other aspects that separate Americans. He says “…
we're becoming more separated by geography and ideology; race and religion; wealth and oppor-
tunity.” Although the prevalence of inequality has immensely decreased between the time of
Martin Luther King Jr.’s speech and Barack Obama’s speech, the fact that Obama highlights the
ongoing issue of inequality in the present day emphasizes the fact that this issue has yet to be re-
This study source was downloaded by 100000850872992 from CourseHero.com on 03-01-2023 08:18:51 GMT -06:00
https://www.coursehero.com/file/49970413/0605-Cultivating-Commentarydocx/
day be attainable for all does endure.
Because of the prevailing issue of inequality in the United States, the American Dream
has become just that: a dream. The American Dream is built on the grounds of individual free-
dom and equality. However, deep in our country’s roots lies inequality, which makes the Ameri-
can Dream hard to achieve. In his “Civil Rights Address,” President John F. Kennedy emphasizes
how one’s race can take away from their opportunity to achieve, stating that an African American
child has about one-half as much chance of completing high school as a white child and one-
third as much chance of completing college and becoming a professional man. These opportuni-
ties that African Americans were deprived of would determine how much they could achieve.
The discrepancy between the rights of African Americans and whites is further highlighted in
Martin Luther King Jr.’s famous “I Have a Dream” speech. King says that the Negro is “crippled
by the manacles of segregation and the chains of discrimination.” Because of this, the American
Dream, something that is based on equality, was not achievable then, nor is it now. In his No-
vember 2007 speech on the American Dream, President Barack Obama acknowledges that this
discrimination still exists, in addition to many other aspects that separate Americans. He says “…
we're becoming more separated by geography and ideology; race and religion; wealth and oppor-
tunity.” Although the prevalence of inequality has immensely decreased between the time of
Martin Luther King Jr.’s speech and Barack Obama’s speech, the fact that Obama highlights the
ongoing issue of inequality in the present day emphasizes the fact that this issue has yet to be re-
This study source was downloaded by 100000850872992 from CourseHero.com on 03-01-2023 08:18:51 GMT -06:00
https://www.coursehero.com/file/49970413/0605-Cultivating-Commentarydocx/
