Does The American Dream Exist?

Last evening, the Meddlesome Priest was invited to debate the question: “Does the American Dream Exist?” 

Upon arrival his 15 minutes allotted time was inexplicably chopped to 10 minutes, and the other members of his affirmative team were batting for the other side. In reality, the debate event was a Bernie Sanders rally. 

But it was all in good fun. And a good time was had by all. Here are my complete prepared remarks which I was not allowed to finish. Let them be written here for posterity.

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Does the American Dream Exist?

Debate: November 4, 2015

Santa Barbara City College Room PS-101, 5:30 pm

For the affirmative: Professor Mark McIntire

Prepared remarks:

Mr. Chairman: Well. I’m delighted to defend the proposition ‘The American Dream Exists’. My argument is as un-nuanced as it is unapologetic. Tonight I get to practice what I preach in my Phil-111 course Critical Thinking and Writing course (good seats are still available if you register now):

1.             State my thesis

2.           State my valid syllogism concluding with that thesis

3.           Define my terms precisely

4.           Offer best evidence for the truth of my premises and definitions.

5.            Sit down and shut up.

Mr. Chairman, I know I can manage the first 4….but the 5^th one might require some help from the chairman of these proceedings.

With my thesis is clearly stated. My reasoning can be easily understood by this valid syllogism:

(p_1.)  If the founding principles and values of individual freedom enshrined in both the Declaration of Independence and the Bill of Rights are preserved, protected, defended, nurtured, and given as our legacy to future generations, then the American Dream exists.

(p_2.)  The founding principles and values of individual freedom enshrined in the Declaration of Independence and the Bill of Rights are preserved, protected, defended, nurtured, and given as our legacy to future generations.

Q.E.D. Therefore, the American Dream exists.

As I badger my students to define their terms after front-loading their thesis argument, let me define what I mean by ‘the principles and values enshrined in the United States Constitution”. These founding principles and values of which I speak are contained in a single proposition. Let me give a narrative, but nevertheless precise definition of that proposition.

As our first American Ambassador to France in 1779, Dr. Benjamin Franklin spent a lot of time at ‘salons’ being wined and dined by beautiful French aristocrats each with even greater wealth than Donald Trump today. At one particular salon, where bacchanalian delights were intermingled with philosophical discussion a lovely courtesan asked old Ben, “Dr. Franklin what does it mean to be an ‘American’ anyway?”  With a sip of fine champagne and a wave of his elegant silk handkerchief he responded with the very definition of the American Dream;

        “To be an ‘American’, Madame, is to assent to a proposition, and Mr. Jefferson wrote the proposition; All men are created equal and they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.”

I could quote a lot of old dead white guys translating that proposition into the ‘American Dream today, but would rather quote a contemporary black woman. Whoopi Goldberg’s translation is as eloquent as it is precise:

Recently, when Pope Francis addressed American at Independence Hall, and referenced Mr. Jefferson’s proposition, this is what he said.

 "Those ringing words continue to inspire us today, even as they have inspired peoples throughout the world to fight for the freedom to live in accordance with their dignity."

Speech in Philidelphia

Mr. Chairman, at the heart of this question about the American Dream is the question of what Mr. Jefferson meant by ‘unalienable rights’.  A superbly literate man, Jefferson was no doubt influenced by, among others, Mr. William Blackstone of Oxford. Mr. Blackstone thought that unalienable rights were absolute rights because they came from the Creator who is absolute.  Since the Creator was, is and will always be, then so to these unalienable rights of freedom were, are, and always will be. All humans are ‘endowed’ with these rights meaning that we cannot be separated from them even if we wanted to be separated from them. These rights are, therefore, not only for Americans, but for all humans on the planet. This is unique in the long history of the world, and it is the exceptional basis for the American Dream. Until the Declaration of Independence was signed and the Constitution ratified, no other nation on earth made such a claim. In the long history of the world, nothing like Mr. Jefferson’s proposition had ever been written before. Therefore, in the long history of the world no nation used this proposition as the foundation for all its laws, codicils, rules, regulations, and traditions. For this proposition alone, America is unique among all the nations of history that have arisen out of barbarism and passed into decadence. Mr. Jefferson’s proposition is why America will never abide socialism in any of it manifestations for very long if at all. As the enlightenment philosopher John Locke stated;

“All mankind... being all equal and independent, no one ought to harm another in his life, health, liberty or possessions.” John Locke

Alexis de Tocqueville, after his extensive tour of America reported to the French government:

“Democracy and socialism have nothing in common but one word, equality. But notice the difference: while democracy seeks equality in liberty, socialism seeks equality in restraint and servitude”. Alexis de Tocqueville

Even if you don’t believe in God as Jefferson’s Creator, as many reasonable people do not, you can still ascent to his proposition by substituting the word ‘Nature’. In either case, you come to the same conclusion in Jefferson’s argument. Our unalienable rights as humans are not given to us by any government regardless of form; we are endowed with them by Nature. Moreover, so alarmed were Mr. Jefferson and his co-conspirators about ‘government’ infringing on our unalienable rights, they wrote The Bill of Rights to protect our naturally endowed individual rights.  It was not by mere happenstance that they wrote the Second Amendment to protect the First.  As rebels in eyes of King George, “…either we hang separately or we hang together.” quipped Dr. Franklin after the Declaration of Independence was signed. As British subjects at the time we were fighting to overthrow a legitimate government, however tyrannical. Many history professors are fond of glossing over this aspect of our Revolution. I don’t know why. Freedom is never free.  The founders of the American dream had material security, but the valued spiritual freedom more than mere possessions.  Most of the 56 signers of the Mr. Jefferson's original proposition suffered catastrophic material losses for their defense of individual freedom.

Mr. Chairman, evidence for the minor premise of my argument that our founding principles of individual freedom can be found, it seems to me, in recent SCOTUS decisions notably Citizens United v Federal Elections Commission and Obergefell, et al. v Hodgers. In these two decisions the Supreme Court; I believe, have preserved and protected our American Dream as a legacy of human individual freedom. It matters not that I agree with the first decision and dissent from the second. It matters not that I would have preferred these decisions by vote of the people rather than by a single Supreme Court Justice, Mr. Kennedy

We are now embroiled in a titanic struggle about the legacy of freedoms we will leave for future generations.  Mogul Donald Trump and Senator Bernie Sanders, political outliers both, are leading armies of policy revolutionaries against established powers in both the Republican and Democrat parties. One promises the freedom to arise from poverty, work hard, invest, build, buy, sell and finally be rewarded by untold wealth and success. The other promises the freedom from poverty and oppression caused by the greed and avarice of America’s ruling oligarchy through taking wealth and property from the rich and redistributing it to the poor, the needy and the oppressed. Neither one of these gentleman will, in my opinion, ever be president of the United States. I say this because both of them only define the American Dream as material opportunities and possession. Material opportunities are not the basis of the American Dream, non-material freedoms are. Whatever temporary infatuation we may have with cultural Marxism that measures the pursuit happiness by the attainment of higher wages, more gadgets and gizmos, a trophy spouse or bed partner, a string of lavish homes from Hope Ranch to the South of France will soon be forgotten.

Mr. Chairman, 71 years ago I arrived on this planet, and since then I’ve studied the 13 temporary occupants of the White House, (as General McArthur used to refer to our Presidents divisively), to learn their idea of the American Dream. After all, these presidents are the masks that the mob has put on from time to time so that the mob (us, you and me) would feel a little better when they looked into the mirror every morning.

As an Irish-Catholic boy from Boston, one of them our former Presidents fits my tenor and tone in this advocacy. I conclude these remarks with the last paragraphs from his only inaugural address on January 20, 1961. To my thinking this is the best articulation to date of the American Dream existing as the pursuit of happiness through the defense of freedom not just for Americans but for all human beings. This is what he said. This is what John Fitzgerald Kennedy said: 

    “Let the word go forth from this time and place, to friend and foe alike, that the torch has been passed to a new generation of Americans--born in this century, tempered by war, disciplined by a hard and bitter peace, proud of our ancient heritage--and unwilling to witness or permit the slow undoing of those human rights to which this nation has always been committed, and to which we are committed today at home and around the world. 

“Let  every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe to assure the survival and the success of liberty." 

“In the long history of the world, only a few generations have been granted the role of defending freedom in its hour of maximum danger. I do not shrink from this responsibility--I welcome it. The energy, the faith, the devotion which we bring to this endeavor will light our country and all who serve it--and the glow from that fire can truly light the world."

“And so, my fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you--ask what you can do for your country."

“My fellow citizens of the world: ask not what America will do for you, but what together we can do for the freedom of man.”

  

Thank you, Mr. Chairman

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REASON ARGUE REFUTE:

 Critical Thinking About Anything 

by Mark McIntire 

Link: http://amzn.com/B00CC12QNE