Protect the American dream

By: KEVIN JOSEPH – ELECTRONIC MEDIA

According to a new 2014 Pew poll, 44 percent of US men and women are not proud to be Americans.

That is the reality the freest country in the world now faces. The idea that one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all, is something to not be proud of. The problem with America is that people don’t believe in her anymore. Whether you watch CNN, Fox News or get your news from another source, these realities are hard to deny. We read and hear that the American dream is dead, our school system is broken, our government leaders are corrupt and that our success is evil. Our own government has pinned us against each other in class warfare. We speak of a strong middle class all the time. Why can’t we have a strong lower class, middle class and upper class? We are stronger together than divided. Government has grown too big, and spent too much. People have abandoned the simple principle of personal responsibility. We have forgotten we are one nation under God. I chose to write for Flyer News because I believe in America. America isn’t just a name to me; it is the last standing beacon of freedom the world has left. Where are we supposed to go when she is gone?

I am a direct result of the American dream. My grandmother risked everything and left a subpar life in Lebanon to start a life here in America. She had five dollars when she landed in New York, and America made her rich because she worked hard. My other grandmother came from England, started a family and married an inventor who contributed a great amount to society. So, quite frankly, I am offended when someone tells me that they are not proud to be an American. You don’t realize what you have until it is gone. I feel compelled to be that someone who still believes in the freedom and ingenuity of America and that challenges the people who think otherwise.

That being said, it does us no good to sit around and write an article complaining about how we feel or who is to blame. It is time for those who care, to take a common sense approach to restoring what Ronald Reagan called the “shining city on a hill.” This Fourth of July sit down and think about what you’re celebrating. Read about our nation’s history, study the vision of our founding fathers and share your knowledge with others.

America is exceptional. There is no doubt about it. You don’t have to spend too much time looking around to find it. On the campus of the University of Dayton, average or easy is not in our vocabulary. UD is a place where the American values of hard work, responsibility and belief in God are all around us. It is a place where students are working together with faculty to solve the world’s largest problems. It is a place where our engineers are fueling American ingenuity by creating products for our disabled children. It is a place where our nationally ranked entrepreneurship program is spending time and money to create not only smart business leaders, but also job creators. It is a place where clubs like the Economics and Finance Club, Support our Troops, and Christmas on Campus are all playing their part in making America a better place.

For me, UD is the epitome of the American Dream. It is a place where my roommate, a small town country boy was the first person in his family to attend college. He worked hard, sacrificed and was dedicated to making something of himself. He is now a 4.0 student in the engineering school and will soon be working at one of America’s largest companies.

The American Dream is not dead. It is alive and well. At UD we share the same philosophy as our great country: “People laugh at us because we are different, we laugh at them because they are all the same.”

Happy Fourth of July.