So, this question has been bouncing around inside of my head for some time, and I thought I would try to explore it here. Our Birthright as Americans has always been known as the American Dream. 

The American Dream: No matter what color you are, regardless of your social class, your level of education, or how much money you may or may not have, you can always improve your life if you work hard and keep at it. You can attain the level of success that you want. There are no limits. That’s the American Dream. That’s why people from all over the world want to come here and that’s why they always have. The law treats us all the same, and society encourages our individuality as we try to rise out of our current situation to attain a better one. Maybe it would be more accurate if I said that is the Promise of the American Dream. That’s what our founders sought to establish when they codified the values of a brand-new country.

I think MLK Jr saw this pretty clearly when he crafted his I Have a Dream speech:

This was coming on the heels of films and television shows and pop music that were beginning to explore racial injustices in the mainstream. “Roots,” “Roots II,” “Amistad,” “Ebony and Ivory,” and later, “Numbers,” “Glory,” “Django,” etc. I think it’s important to have programs and songs about this. I believe we should examine our history and scrutinize it. Even the bad parts. But since the late 80s, we’ve had a nonstop parade of them. “Malcolm X,” “Mississippi Burning,” “The Color Purple.” They just kept coming. “Selma,” “The Help,” “Do the Right Thing.” It never stopped. “Ghosts of Mississippi,” “Dangerous Minds,” “Pride.” The list goes on forever. 

One just came out called “Six Triple Eight,” about the only all-black female battalion to serve during WW2. I’d like to see it and maybe still will, but basically, the message is about racism at the hands of whites and how the blacks overcame and excelled. This is a good story. It’s an American story, but how many times do you need to see tales like this before you get the message? I don’t know, maybe a hundred? I get it and probably don’t need to see the message anymore. I understand that there are new generations that do, and before anybody calls me a racist, I want to make it clear that I don’t have any negative issues with movies that explore racism (and, by extension, movies that look at injustices about gays, etc.), but movies are not just about entertainment, they’re about messaging. And the messaging about racism, I get. Got it. I don’t need to be dining on that message ad infinitum. 

But I bring this up because it seems that popular culture has now become saturated with the message to the degree that it thinks this is the sum total of the American experience, and therefore, America is bad. Possibly, this has led to a general belief that we are a racist country now and beyond redemption. How did that get traction? Collective guilt, I suppose. Which, of course, when the glass gets full enough, leads to collective atonement. And when you hit that stage, you feel justified if not duty bound to usurp your once-held convictions that merit is good. Even racism can be good if pointed at the right people, and sometimes it is necessary to give up your birthright if it means adopting a new birthright where people are advanced because they are righteous in their color, sexuality, or politics and therefore oppressed.

I don’t know. Maybe I have a point here, maybe not. But still, the question nags at me. How did we give up our core American values so quickly and so easily? I admit that I am still vexed.