The American Dream

John Smith saved Jamestown
through principles of hard work
and individual sovereignty

A struggle for sovereignty has been evident throughout the history of our world, and that struggle is the struggle between authoritarianism and democracy. Some claim the right to reign over others; others claim the right to reign over themselves. As this struggle has occurred throughout world history, our nation has risen up as a cure to the disease of tyranny. America is a nation that was founded upon principles of individuality. This truth has been evident since our humble beginning. For example, of the many first settlements upon this American continent, Jamestown is of the most notable. In 1607, a colony chartered by King James was founded in Virginia. Jamestown was first founded upon socialistic principles; policies full of good intent, yet terrible consequences. All goods in the colony were collected and redistributed equally among the settlers. This created many problems because people realized that they would still get their share of goods without having to work at all. People began to starve because the amount of available food went down dramatically. Amid this crisis, as a rising sun to a darkened city, a man by the name of John Smith arrived to save the starving settlement. Of the principles that Smith enforced to rescue Jamestown, the most effective was that of hard work leading to reward. By letting everyone know that "if you don’t work, you don’t eat," Smith turned the tides of Jamestown by motivating his fellowmen to work and put in effort for reward in the end. These principles literally turned swamps into gardens because they were based upon individual human sovereignty. These are the principles deeply ingrained in the roots of America.

This nation has always been known as a light in this dark world. Individuals under the chains of tyranny and slavery have come here from all over the world for opportunity. Some would give anything to just set foot in this chosen land. What has made this nation so great? What has made this nation the land of opportunity; the land of the free; the home of the brave? What has made this nation the unbelievably successful society that it has become? What has made the United States great is our working class. From the humble beginnings of the thirteen colonies to the Industrial Revolution of the early 19th century to now, the progress that America has made seems almost impossible, and that progress has occurred because here, you get rewarded for your work. 

Our forefathers started the fire by bringing forth a national republic that was based upon individuality. Unfortunately, like many societies of history, we have drifted further and further away from the principles that have made us great as a nation. People are becoming more and more apathetic because our government, through policies full of good intent but terrible consequences, has provided ways for men to be rewarded without being required to work through welfare programs that are encouraging laziness and reliance. Redistribution of wealth is being explicitly practiced through unfair income taxes and federal welfare programs. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, 35% of Americans received federal welfare in 2012. The federal government’s welfare budget is at nearly a trillion dollars. Because welfare is so accepted and easy, it has in turn created a culture that is turning away from individuality. Much blame can go to parents as generations have passed for not adequately teaching their children that work equals reward. Today, American children are corrupted with the rotten spoils of expensive allowances and overgenerous permissiveness as their parents are spoiled with free cell phones and guaranteed health care. We are creating a generation that is not strong. Take this example as proof that this "new American culture" is infecting the rising generation of young Americans with socialistic idealism.

Real competition is a good thing for society because it
motivates hard work and growth

I’m currently playing basketball with a team in a city league. Our team doesn’t win very many games, and we often find ourselves trailing the other team by a lot of points. However, as our games have gone on, I’ve started to realize that once our opposing team starts to gain a lead, the points on their side of the scoreboard start to stop increasing. So, I asked the scorekeeper about it, and I was informed that there is a rule in place that states that the deficit of points between two teams in a game has to stay at fifteen or under. On top of that, the deficit stays at fifteen until the losing team has actually caught up. So the deficit of points still exists between the two teams, only it’s not shown on the scoreboard. This is outrageous! Not only does this prevent the winning team from enjoying the fruits of their labors, but it eliminates all feeling of competition, even for the losing team, because they don’t know how many points they have to score to get back in the game. It’s socialist and it’s softening the next generation of Americans. I’ve been on teams before where we’ve lost games in deficits as large as seventy points, but it didn’t discourage us or cause us to give up. Seeing the true numbers on the scoreboard motivated us to work harder, and we eventually went on to win games because of it. That is the American dream, and it is fading because we are forgetting the principles of individuality that have made us a nation of success.

The regression of these principles in our society has led to slothfulness in every class of people. The poor are apathetic because they can get whatever they want without having to work for it, and the wealthy lose motivation to create wealth because it is taken away from them and given to those who take no action to create wealth for themselves. In short, the people of America as a whole are becoming reliant upon the government, and frankly, lazy; all because of government policies full of good intent, but terrible consequences. History has shown that the only way lazy people can be motivated to work is through the confiscation of their freedom. We are already deep in the grip of reliance on our own government and we are becoming weaker and weaker as individuals. Without strength; without recognition of our individual responsibility and sovereignty, outward forces threaten the freedom of the people of this nation. 

The strongest hope that we have is the spark of motivation that is inside each of us. In order to save ourselves from the engulfing chains of slavery that codependency has brought us, we must once again become self-reliant. We must abolish our government’s corrupted welfare programs that are only digging us a deeper and deeper pit. These welfare programs are making individuals lazy and reliant upon the tyrants of the government of America, they are getting those tyrants re-elected year after year because of that reliance upon them that has been created by our lethargy, and finally, these programs are getting our nation into trillions and trillions of dollars of debt to other nations, which is making us yet more reliant; even upon external forces. The progress that the world has made in the past two-hundred years when compared to thousands before has been incredible, and it’s because of the American dream. America has forever been known as the land of opportunity, and that is where we must return. Our history is enveloped with the love and charity of brotherhood that has always helped people to help themselves, and that is where we must return. We were once known as a nation of hard workers and dedicated self-masters, and that is what has made us great. That is what has given us progress and prosperity. That is where we must return.

As the spark of hope and freedom has become dimmer and dimmer, many of us have asked ourselves “is the American dream still alive?” I will not deny that it is slipping away from us, but the American dream is not dead. America still is the land of opportunity. America still is the shining city of freedom for the whole world to see. America still is great. However, we must take action to preserve our freedom and our sovereignty. We must throw off the chains of apathy and selfishness that are holding us down as a nation, and we must fight to preserve our individuality, our liberty, and our greatness.