What Is The American Promise

The American Promise is a phrase which has been used in all different areas of American life. From 1492, when Columbus sailed to the vast and empty land soon to become America, to 2017, where we are a superpower on a global stage, the American Promise has reigned all through history. The question that must be asked is, what is the American Promise? I believe the American Promise seeks to convey the ideal of a unified, equal, and free country that takes the weight of the poor man lifts his burden so that he may prosper. The American Promise is sham because it makes promises it cannot keep. To understand the American Promise, one must understand its difference from the American Dream. The American Dream is the white picket fences, perfect
I am the first one to agree and take a stance on the fight for equality. Logically, I know that as long as I am on this earth, there will never be true equality. The American Promise promises equality. There was no equality when, in 1862, Andrew Johnson says, “Africans are inferior to the white man in point of intellect-- better calculated in physical structure to undergo drudgery and hardship” (The American Promise 427). The African slaves of the past and sexually trafficked slaves of the present, are and were not equal. They have no control over their circumstances and very rarely rise up out of their circumstances. The Promise promises equality, being under a forceful authority is not equality or
Yes, in America there are many freedoms. More often than not, freedom is only guaranteed to actual citizens of America. Those who are trying to gain their US citizenship do not get the aspect of freedom that is promised. They are still under the rule of their former citizenship until they are approved. The only time they get freedom is when they are in trouble with the law. The American Promise begs the question of, what is freedom? Is it being able to speak freely, protest without being shot at, or praising your god without fear of persecution? Multiple times the Ku Klux Klan has been denied marching permits because of their view, they only want to speak freely of their hatred for non-white races, why deny them that right on a huge scale? When those who were peaceful protesting the death of Mike Brown in Ferguson, Missouri were being shot with rubber bullets and suffocated with tear gas by militant police officers, where was their right to protest (New York Times)? Earlier this year, as newly elected President Donald Trump signs the muslim ban, two muslim Mosques were burned down days apart from each other (Texas Tribune). Now many muslims live in fear of being persecuted for their faith. The freedom that the Promise promises is only for certain people. It does not extend across all ethnicities, races, and