Recently, I have been reading a book by Eboo Patel, an Indian American Muslim, called Acts of Faith. It is a story about the journey he took to find his identity. This morning I came upon an interesting definition of the American dream. In his mind, the American dream is "the idea of different communities retaining their uniqueness while relating in a way that recognizes they share universal values" (Acts of Faith 92).Right off the bat I disagreed with the statement that this is an American dream. I have found that most communities are pretty uniform. And when you do find a unique community, it's as if you're in another country. For example when I visit Devon (Little India), I feel like I am an ocean away from America's values and it's structure. This is how America is, and I don't think individual communities try to "relate" to other communities. That is why the nation is so racially and culturally segregated. Chicago is a prime example for that.
Further, there is no way that all of America "shares universal values." That goes along with the idea that every American's dream is different. Definitions of success are different. Family values are different. When you have a such a disconnected nation, it is near impossible to instill the same values in every person.
I don't usually read these books, but I have found this one to be really, really interesting. His discussions about identity and American culture are so relatable, so I was surprised when I read this definition of the American dream and disagreed. Maybe he's focusing on the handful of activists from different communities that advocate for a more cohesive America, but I just think that when you look at the country as a whole, you cannot conclude that individual communities of America are trying to reach out and relate to each other. What do you think?
Ozakh, this books sounds extremely interesting! I'm thinking about taking a look at it next time I go to the library. I understand why you disagree with the book's idea of the American dream and I don't think that is uncommon. I think for every person, their American dream will differ slightly. I agree with your statement that "Definitions of success are different. Family values are different" because that is what I think of when I think of the American dream. But what exactly do I mean when I think of success and family values? I truly don't have an answer to that right now at my age. But I can guess that as I get older, my idea of the American dream will constantly change.
ReplyDeleteI definitely agree with you Ozakh that this definition of the American dream seems a bit off. You bring up good points about the cultural and racial segregation in America with all of the various China towns, Little Indias, etc. I am not sure that I believe this is "a disconnected nation". Perhaps at a point in time America was, but I believe that America is now a melting pot, as its nickname says. With all of the new technology out there, I think different people are much more aware of others beliefs even if they do not necessarily agree with them. In my opinion, we are a connected nation that is filled with disagreeing people.
ReplyDeleteNaomi- I agree that different people are aware of beliefs other than their own, but that doesn't mean that they are relating to each other. For example, we are aware of the hardships on the South Side of Chicago, but we aren't trying to connect with the people living there and most of us aren't trying to put ourselves in their shoes in order to understand what they are going through. Recently, the theory that America is more of a "salad bowl" as opposed to a "melting pot" has come about. I think this is a more accurate representation of what America is- which isn't necessarily a bad thing.
ReplyDelete"Salad Bowl"- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salad_bowl_(cultural_idea)
I have heard about the new salad bowl analogy and I believe you are right that America is certainly not a homogeneous country. However I am not sure that it accomodates all of the different ethnicities that ARE interacting. Nowadays there are so many children of mixed decent that I would argue that we may in fact have returned to a melting pot. With the mixing of all of the different groups, ideas have mixed too, bringing me back to the idea that we are a connected nation.
ReplyDeleteThe issue, though, is not whether groups are mixing or not. The issue is whether or not the groups can relate to each other and whether or not the different groups are trying to understand each other. Of course, it's a process. Maybe one day we'll return to that melting pot we once were said to be.
ReplyDelete