by Elsa Feigenbaum

We get very few choices coming into this world. We don’t get to choose our nationality. We have no influence over who our parents are. We don’t choose what religion we are raised in; we don’t choose what the world will throw at us. We don’t get the choice of what country we were shoved in to. Somehow a few of us are lucky enough to get shoved into the elite club called the United States.

In America we pride ourselves to be a nation of freedom, “the land of the free and the home of the brave.” The country where anything is possible. It’s called the American dream, the thought that America is the place where you can make something out of nothing. Immigrants come from far and wide trying to achieve this and more.

Our American dream is slowly dying. This world of opportunity is starting to reveal its true colors.

When they speak of all the opportunities here, they forget to mention how much we will prejudice against you. Better get rid of that accent, it could ruin your chances of getting a job. Want to fly somewhere as a Muslim, be prepared. You will be “randomly” selected for a special screening due to the fear that you are a terrorist. This country likes to be hypocritical in this way, restricting freedoms on whoever it deems unworthy.

The freedom of religion and the freedom of speech, both things that immigrants now have to check at the door in hopes of making it in the United States. Following a certain religion unknown to our unadjusted eyes could pose you a threat, giving reason to keep you at a disadvantage. On the other hand using your free speech could destroy you. A Middle Easterner can say whatever they want about how much they miss home, but since we Americans don’t love that particular area, you can bet it will throw a target on the person’s back. Now the people coming into the United States may be given freedoms, but their ability to use them is greatly hindered by our prejudiced minds.

Without freedoms such as these, the chances of success diminish significantly. Someone with nothing cannot make everything if they are unable to do something as simple as speak their mind. This country will decide if you are worthy of the dream on its first impression of you. It all makes it much harder to create a better life in this world of false opportunity.

The American dream is not impossible yet, just very unlikely. Proof is my grandfather who came from England, a family of coal miners. With his nothing he made it big in real estate, another hope for those seeking a better life here.

Arnold Schwarzenegger, a commonly known piece of evidence of our dream. Schwarzenegger came from a small Austrian town in 1968, and worked his way up the movie ladder, receiving his big break in “The Terminator” in 1994. Later he became the governor of  California. All of this came from the knowledge that if you can achieve your dreams anywhere, its in America.

It is time to rebuild and save our American dream before it comes crashing down. It is time to offer more opportunity, to give more chances to those who need them. Our forefathers knew what they were doing, and they knew that this was a world of new beginnings. We must work to keep it that way.