Shazida Begum
Ms. Brannon
AP English
15 June 2017
A Split in the Community
People come to the United States because it is known to be “the land of the free and the home of the brave.” Many people from across the world come here to the United States to gain new opportunities and establish a better lifestyle. The Epic of America by James Truslow Adams discusses the true meaning of the American Dream. Adams describes this dream as “ that dream of a land in which life should be better and richer and fuller for everyone, with opportunity for each according to ability or achievement.” This description of the American Dream specifically wants every individual to be able to to accomplish any goals in their life, but currently it has been difficult for people to follow their true dreams. Islamophobia is the dislike of Muslims and it has caused many people to judge who they are as individuals. This religious group has faced many hash judgements and it can get in the way for them to be successful in life. As a result of this, the American Dream is harder to attain because people discriminate others based on their beliefs. Some may argue that the American Dream is attainable because through hard work and unity, people will begin to work together to better each other lives, however, the American Dream is unattainable to Muslims because the discrimination prevents them from going far in life and reaching full happiness and success.
Being able to achieve the American Dream is one of the biggest accomplishments for any individual. President Obama’s speech on the American Dream proves that it is still alive in America and had hopes to conserve and bring back the true meaning of it. He says that he is “impressed by the values and hopes that we share” such as having affordable health care and education. Obama believes that the American Dream is what unites us Americans and that we all can accomplish it together. He mentions that “we also have the responsibility to make sure that our children can reach a little further and rise a little higher than we did”. Obama’s purpose of saying this is that we all have to work hard in order to benefit the future generations and overall better America. The American Dream can be accomplished because with hard work comes progress and a closer step to achieving your dream. If everyone shares the same values and works together, their dreams will quickly be achieved, however, Muslims are separated from everyone else and equal opportunities are not given to them, making the American Dream unattainable. Equal opportunities are not given to Muslims because of the concept of Islamophobia, which causes people to believe that they are not capable of strengthening America. Those who follow Islam are viewed as a threat, since many people think that we are a threat to the nation.
Head scarfs hold value is the Islamic religion and when one wears them it symbolizes their dedication and connection to God. The hijab is worn by many people who follow this particular religion but, it can be a risk since women actually get harassed for wearing it. A Brooklyn cop, Danielle Alamrani wears her hijab while she works and her fellow officers are actually the ones who torment her. They started calling her “terrorist” and started to say she is apart of the ‘Taliban”, not only is this disrespectful, but it violates her as a human being. These two officers “attempted to rip her Hijab off of her head”. This demonstrates the unjust treatment Muslims get and that they aren’t respected. Being that Alamrani is a cop and is someone who is willing to jeopardize her life for Americans, she should be viewed as a well- respected individual regardless of her religion. The American Dream will be harder for Muslims to achieve since they are not supported enough in their society. Muslims are restricted from a “better and richer life” since they are harassed from being different. Islamophobia creates an idea where it is an “us versus them” society which hinders everyone from working together and establishing unison.
The Islamic religion is associated with terrorism after the 9/11 attack. This is not a positive look on Muslims but people genuinely believe that keeping away this race will provide protection for the US. President Trump is against immigration and will only target 7 Muslim nations “Iran, Iraq, Syria, Yemen, Somalia, Sudan and Libya.” Isolating foreign nations from entering America based on religion is unconstitutional and unfair to those who aspire to achieve the American Dream. This travel ban will affect not only world affairs , but affect the people who actually want to improve their rough life. America is perceived to be a free country but by having this ban will prevent so many people from accomplishing their goals. The Middle Eastern countries are now rejected from entering our nation since they’re viewed as a threat. By Trump making such a broad accusation that all Muslims are terrorist goes against what America truly stands by which is giving everyone equality and freedom. Terrorism has no religion and Muslims should not be restricted from wanting to improve what they are doing in life. This proves that the American Dream is unattainable because everyone is not given the chance to live a full and prosperous life. The discrimination against Muslims inhibits them from ever gaining new opportunities and does not allow them to believe or be motivated to follow their American Dream.
Overall, the American Dream is what most people aspire to achieve but many people face discrimination as an obstacle and it prevents them from progressing. The dream can be misleading since it claims that it offers equal opportunity, yet people still aren’t treated as equal. America is still viewed to be a free nation compared to others, but as a nation we have a lot of work to change how we respect one another in order to make this dream easier to achieve.
Works Cited
- Whitehouse,Kaja. “Muslim Cop: I was bullied, beaten and harassed for wearing a Hijab”. New York Post. http://nypost.com/2017/02/02/muslim-cop-i-was-bullied-beaten-and-harassed-for-wearing-a-hijab/
- “ It’s a Muslim Ban, and it’s unconstitutional”. Cable News Network. http://www.cnn.com/2017/02/06/opinions/muslim-ban-unconstitutional-opinion-pate/index.html
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