One might want to know what A.D. stands for. It does not stand for After Death. I believe that is used in biblical terms.
When talking about A.D. I am referring to the "American Dream." The American Dream is a dream not only about wealth but is about everyone getting a chance to do their best no matter what their family or financial background. The question that has been asked in many different ways is, do you think the American Dream is alive and available to everyone? The American Dream is only available to some and not others because not everyone can afford it and others are not treated fairly.
According to Brandon King, in The American Dream Dead, Alive, or on Hold?, many liberal economists and activists say that the American Dream is dead, "but I say that it`s more alive and important than ever." He most likely feels that everyone can attain the American Dream. I do not agree with his statement. Most people might think that the A.D., but I believe the American Dream is dead. If the A.D. was alive why are there still individuals who are struggling?
I find it ironic how blind people are to what is really going on with a certain ethnic group or culture. For example one might assume that "Immigrants remind us that the American Dream is still possible." People think that if some immigrants come to America and find okay jobs, the American Dream is still possible. This is so not true. Immigrants are one of the groups of people that are struggling to acquire the American Dream. Most immigrants come to America to try and achieve the American Dream. Some of them do reach it but there is still a huge chunk of them that do not. They have to go through so much just to live in America. If you do not have the right kind of paperwork you cannot be in this country. They have to constantly renew green cards in order to stay here. Some of them are only allowed in America if they are working or going to school. The overall goal for them coming to America was to make a better life for their family and or themselves. How is kicking someone out of America for not having proper paperwork helping them achieve their American Dream? No one should be forced to stay in a country they do not want to. Unless some immigrant's version of the American Dream is to come here and get kicked out, then the American Dream is not available to them.
Homeless people are another example of why the American dream is not available to everyone. There are a number of reasons why there are still homeless people in America. Affordable housing is the most common reason. It practically cost an arm and leg just to live in a studio apartment. A lot of people are not even purchasing homes any more. According to the They Say I Say handbook, "A recent study showed a decrease in home ownership from 69% in 2005 to about 66.5% in 2010, and an increase in renter households of 1.1 million."
My guess to why this happened is because of non-affordable housing. I know there are hundreds of housing programs out there. These programs are supposed to accommodate people who cannot live in market-rent homes and apartments. Here is the problem with these programs: If you do not fall into a certain group, population, or category it is hard to get accepted into these programs. Also if you are lucky to get into some of these housing opportunities the expectations are extremely high. These places require you to follow stupid rules and do a billion things just to maintain your spot in the program. One of these obscene rules would be, no overnight quests. If you are not a person that likes to be alone this could be an uncomfortable situation. It is impossible to live the American Dream when people are constantly breathing down your neck about rules.
I have witnessed a lot of mentally ill people not living the American Dream. A bunch of these people cannot afford their medications. Medication is way too expensive. People end up in mental hospitals and sometimes dead because they are no longer on their medicine. "Mentally ill people would be able to afford their medications if the income gap was closed. This would possibly lead them to more productive lives and on their way to living their A.D.
The next group of people I feel the A.D. is not available for are veterans. Brandon King thinks that "People do not want to live lavish lives, they just want to live average, save money, and have a secure job." He probably thinks that living lavish has become so farfetched in people's minds that they settle for average living. I am not disagreeing with that. Sad part about that is not everyone will be able to live an average lifestyle either. This is really hard for veterans to accomplish as well. I feel they get the worst treatment out of everyone when trying to achieve their American Dream. They fought for our country and can barely get any needs met. There are billions of veterans who suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder, homelessness and addiction. These three things make it impossible to maintain employment. In my opinion they should be the first in line to receive any help, job or housing opportunities. They go fight for us so we can obtain the American Dream only to come back from combat and basically be treated like dirt.
The final group of people I would like to touch base on are poor trans people of color. I am not just referring to African Americans. I am referring to anyone who is not Caucasian. One would like to believe historian James Truslow Adams when said the American Dream was "that dream of
