The American Dream

Why can’t we live that dream in our own country, without moving far away from our families? Are we scared to invest in our own land? We have so many resources out there waiting for us to develop and take advantage of them, but we do not do it.

By José Reyes Murillo
For many decades, the United States of America has been home to many immigrants from all around the world. Latin American people fall into this category. They go to the Unites States for a reason, to pursue the so-called "American Dream". In their attempt to help their families and achieve a better way of life, many of these people fail to achieve this dream. Some people now ask themselves if this American Dream really exists. The reason for this is that most Latin American immigrants are not treated equally by North Americans who complain about them and the negative consequences that they are seen to bring. Although it is true that immigrants may carry with them some negative consequences, they also have something positive to contribute.

The reason many North Americans complain about immigrants is that immigrants take away jobs from them. Others say they are overpopulating the country. Still others complain that illegal immigrants do not pay taxes, and others just complain because they have racist feelings. What many North Americans do not see is that immigrants have greatly contributed to their economy.

It is often better for an owner of a restaurant in the US, for example, to hire an immigrant from Latin America than someone else. If the owner were to hire a US citizen, he would have to pay at least the minimum wage to that employee. If he does not pay him accordingly, he can can be sued. On the other hand, if the owner were to hire the immigrant, the immigrant would have to accept a lower wage than what is stated in the law, since he cannot sue the owner. This reduces the expenses and increases the profits of the owner, which can motivate him to lower the price of his goods and services. This reduces costs for US consumers who can then use their savings to help provide a better education to their children. Then their children can obtain higher paying jobs in the future.

Immigrants also contribute in cultural ways. People from different countries who go to live in the US carry their cultures with them. The Japanese divide different labors among their workers, making them work as a group. This method requires less labor from their employees individually and increases the quality of their production. US businesses can apply this method to their way of working. High quality products mean more profits for business owners, and higher salaries for employees... while most immigrants continue working for low salaries. Immigrants start getting desperate, and the saying, “work hard to achieve your goals”, starts to ring hollow and sound like a lie. Many of these people gradually become aware that their low paying jobs will not get them anywhere, and so they turn to crime.

So why is there so much effort to try and attain the American Dream if so many people end up giving up? Why can’t we live that dream in our own country without moving far away from our families? Are we scared to invest in our own land? We have so many resources out there waiting for us to develop and take advantage of them, but we do not do it. Instead, we let foreign companies buy our land for very low prices and profit from them, when we could be the ones doing so. Life is all about making decisions. Some of those decisions require us to take risks and make sacrifices. Nobody wins the lottery without buying a ticket!

If we made full use of what we have in our country, we could provide more job opportunities for many people. With more jobs, people would not need to leave their families to look for jobs outside of our country. Honduran families that stay together are better able to nurture those who will forge our next generation... those who will take our place.

In my opinion, the “American Dream” is just a dream. Some have the opportunity to live it, and I am really happy for them, but we should not depend so much on other countries. We have a lot of potential; we just need to seek it. We must change our conformist attitudes and always try to go the extra mile and risk hoping for a better outcome. (3/3/10) (photo courtesy Internet)

Note: The author is a 10th grade student at Brassavola Bilingual School in La Ceiba, Honduras. He wrote this piece for Mr. Cameron's English class.