Paul Cuadros And The American Dream

The American Dream – the dream of opportunity and prosperity achievable by one and all – has been, historically, whitewashed. The American Dream has been attainable only to those dubbed “Alpha” in our society – the white Caucasian male. However, this glaringly obvious division is brushed under the rug. As Paul Cuadros stated, “Whites deeply resented being labeled racist. But what they didn’t want to confront was that the economic and social structure of their communities favored them, to the disadvantage of others” (44).
Despite this social injustice, immigrants continue to flood America with hope for change and they flourish in spite of the iron fist of oppression holding them down; Paul Cuadros and the Jets and their ability to conquer both the challenges in establishing a soccer team and then to take
. . We [Latinos] love it, but America can be capricious with her affection, leaving us like jilted lovers, world-weary, but perennially hopeful” (56). Evident is the fact that America and her citizens create a split between “us” and “them”. Though immigrants contribute so much to our culture and economy, America systematically excludes them in any way possible. It is inflammatory and morally outrageous, the thought of treating other rational agents as inferior because of the place they were born. Paul and his team show such tremendous perseverance in the face of outrageous discrimination that it is impossible to feel anything but admiration and a sense of pride in their unfaltering drive. The establishment of the soccer team sparked the boys minds in just the right way; the description of their reaction after finding out they would be playing soccer for the school is the best summation of the moment the ball started rolling: “The boys looked at one another with a passing flash of wonder. It was coming. They could feel it” (Cuadros