Stories by Makayla

The American Idea

The phrase "The American Idea" is a very vague concept, with a multitude of possibilities of what it could mean. I think we all come up with our own impressions of what "The American Idea" is: some people may think of freedom, some people may think it has something to do with patriotism.

As I've contemplated the last couple of weeks of what it means to me, I sense most strongly "The American Dream". Not the dream of big cities with a famous and fabulous life; but more of the ability for us all to pursue our dream, whether that be acting, singing, writing, or whatever.

I think a lot of this comes from the media I grew up with. From the time I was able to understand what was happening on television to when I was maybe twelve or thirteen, my parents would dictate what I was and wasn't allowed to watch. The only thing they seemed to be fine with was Disney Channel. That's what Disney Channel was all about: becoming anything you wanted to be. Most of the storylines would take place in a big or well-known city. For example, in "Wizards of Waverly Place", Alex, Justin and Max had been training for years to become the family wizard. They all had to work hard to achieve this. Alex ultimately won the competition. In shows such as "The Suite Life of Zack and Cody", their family was poor but moved to Boston and lived in the Tipton Hotel. However, they demonstrated that not everyone has a lot of money but working hard can open doors for you to pursue and accomplish your dream.

It doesn't matter if you want to live in a big city or a suburban area. The point is that we all have the opportunity to pursue our dreams and the freedom to choose how and what our dreams are.

"The American Idea" also makes me think back to Martin Luther King Jr.'s famous "I Have a Dream" speech. As generic and confusing as that may sound, some people still have this dream of America being a country about equality, including myself. Minorities still exist and, sadly, probably always will. People are still discriminatory towards people of color, the LGBTQ community, and other minority groups. For example, this past summer, a group of white supremacists in Charlottesville, Virginia walked around dressed as the KKK while holding torches and yelling racial slurs towards people of color who walked by them. Also, last summer there was a shooting in Florida at a nightclub for gay men by a homophobic man. While these are just a few examples, it shows that there are still groups of people that "The American Idea" is still out of their grasp.

"The American Idea" is a very individualized concept and can mean something that took place in the past, something we want to work on, or something that we already have. The possibilities are endless, and everyone has a different perception of what the term means to them, and I choose to believe that our world is open to us to pursue our individual goals and dreams.