In Martin Luther King Jr.’s “A Testament of Hope”, he begins by talking about the American Dream. The idea of the American Dream has manifested the mind of many over the centuries. It has provided a sense of optimism when there was little hope to be found. King states, “America is essentially a dream, a dream as yet unfulfilled”. This really stuck me because people question if the American Dream actually still exists, but King recognizes that it does in fact exist but it has yet to be discovered. Through his essay, he describes the things that are preventing the dream from becoming a reality: a lack of sympathy for our neighbors, the building of military bases, and the belief of racial superiority/inferiority. He urges people to recognize the fallacy of these things and pushes for making the American Dream a reality.
2 thoughts on “The Unfulfilled American Dream”
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I also found this quite interesting. Another thing about King’s speech of similar mentality that caught my eye was the notion that the level of one’s happiness and success is dependent upon the happiness and success of the rest of the world. Does anyone agree with this? Why / why not?
Katie, I found that secondary point interesting as well. I think King’s reasoning stems from the thinking that one cannot feel pleasure unless s/he has felt pain. In one breath, this would translate to an inverse relationship between the level of one’s happiness and success and the happiness and success of the rest of the world. At the same time however, I think it is tough to be happy when those around you (those that encompass your world) are not. These analyses are completely opposite, however. I still think either of them could be a form of the author’s intent. Does anyone agree/disagree? Which analysis would you choose?