When you think of the American Dream, the first thing you might think of is having that big house in the suburbs with a white picket fence. So many individuals have the dream of being able to make it in America. For the purposes of the project of Obituaries of the American Dream, the phrase is defined as the “ideal that all individuals can achieve upward mobility based on their hard work.”
Dominican artist Lizania Cruz is the curator of the project and she asked people to write obituaries for the American Dream. People all over the country, and the world, have shared when and how the American dream died for them. Each statement that has been shared in the project has brought up many different topics from immigration, discrimination and racism.
The more and more statements I read, I realized that the American dream has failed us all. People of all ages, ethnicities and walks of life have unfortunately been failed by this so-called American Dream.
One line written by Corrine really stood out to me and I resonated with it. She wrote “My idealistic American Dream had been on life support since second grade when I realized that no matter how hard I tried, I would never be as important as the boys.”
It’s a statement that feels all too real because even though so much has been accomplished for women, it still feels like there is still so much left to accomplish. From a young age, I believed that I would not be as important as my male counterparts. As I got older, I wanted to prove that was not the case. This country is changing so much and there will be a day that men and women will be held to the same importance.
I’m still holding on to my American Dream because I believe women will conquer that and so much more. Has the American Dream died for you?
