When I was 5 years old, living in the Bronx, New York, I had my favorite candy store. One day I was standing at the front counter, lusting after all varieties of sweets which I could not afford when I saw a little girl come in, grab a handful of candy, say the magic words "charge it" and go outside without transferring any money to the big guy working behind the counter. Intrigued by this mystery, I followed the little girl outside, who then put the candy in her pocket as she happily went home. Eureka! I had discovered the secret to life. I walked back inside, confidently grabbed two fists full of candy, shoved them in my pocket while simultaneously saying, "charge it." I then proceeded to go home. The big guy behind the counter came running after me. That was the first time I thought I had discovered the American Dream and the first time that my bubble was burst. I was dragged inside the store by the shopkeeper and placed next to a burly, uniformed cop who was eating his free lunch. The cop stared at me and said, "You don't want to go to jail, do you?" My face dissolved as I explained that that was furthest from my mind. I went on to clarify that I merely did what I had seen someone else my age do and assumed that this was the way to navigate a candy store. The cop smiled and assured me that I was wrong and he would make a deal. If I gave back the candy, I could avoid hard time. And so I did. It was only later on when I was delivered to my mother down the street that I learned from her what those magic words meant and they were not to be used by me. My American Dream shattered at 5. As I grew older other versions took it place.
I only mention this story because since 9/11, the words American Dream have been feverishly invoked as something to protect. Yet, it is clear that the term itself is vague and holds a different meaning for each person. As it should. For what is America, if not the freedom to have your own special dream. Our last President coined the term, "ownership society." He replaced the old "chicken in every pot" for "a private home for every citizen." However, "ownership society" became an excuse for transnational banks to sucker people into taking mortgages they could not afford, which led to an American nightmare.
Now we hear politicians talk about defending our way of life against terrorists. They rally us to fight the enemy in the extremes of Afghanistan and Iraq insisting that people in those and other similar countries are jealous and hate us for our lifestyle. However, if we believe we are to defeat those who would kill us for our way of life, then we best define exactly what that concept is. Is it a "chicken in every pot?" Or perhaps a schoolchild walking out with loads of sweets just by saying magic words? Comfort is nice. Who would refuse that? Is that why we fought our revolution? For the candy?
If we truly wish to defend our way of life, then we must understand what that means. For me it goes back to our Declaration of Independence.
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.
Slave owners wrote those words! "Unalienable rights." These rights are not defined in material terms, but rather the amorphous words, "Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness." I suggest that in order for each of us to pursue our "dreams," we must all have the opportunity to do so. To live in a comfortable house, while the child outside our door starves makes that house very uncomfortable. And as long as there is one citizen who is endowed with these rights but without the opportunity to pursue them, we are all diminished. If by defending our way of life is to eternally reach for that bar that our founding fathers so brilliantly placed on high so that we may always discover our humanity, then I believe our enemies will diminish.
To dream in America you have to be fully awake, profoundly knowing your place within the wondrous fabric that reveals light as it unfolds within the heart of each citizen. By so doing, day's eternal twin, darkness, has nowhere to hide. I believe this is a necessary element of how we defend our way of life; by living up to our eternal principles.