The American Dream: Inclusive Ideal or Exclusive Club?
Details
We will be at Southeast Regional Library in Room C
About the Group: This is a friendly Socratic Café where we explore big ideas through open conversation. No philosophy background is needed, just curiosity, respect, and a willingness to share and listen.
1. Stories we tell about our past
1.1. When you picture “how America was built,” what images or stories come to mind first, and where do you think those ideas came from (family, school, movies, politics)?
1.2. If you found out that some of your favorite “nation of immigrants” stories left out major parts of the past (like slavery, Indigenous dispossession, or exclusion laws), how would that change the way you use or trust those stories?
2. Myths of merit and belonging
2.1. Many people say, “My family came here with nothing and made it—anyone can.” What feels true to you in that story, and what feels incomplete or misleading based on your own experience or what you’ve seen?
2.2. When you hear “immigrants built this country,” does that feel like an honest recognition of contribution, or like a slogan that hides other uncomfortable truths about who did the hardest work and under what conditions?
3. Choosing what “American” should mean
3.1. If you could choose three values or qualities that should define what it means to be “truly American” going forward, what would you pick, and why those instead of others?
3.2. Should being “American” be mostly about legal status, shared values, shared history, or something else entirely—and how would your answer include or exclude people already living here?
4. The future of the American Dream
4.1. When you think about “The American Dream” today, who do you honestly feel it’s realistically available to, and who feels quietly locked out, even if the doors look open on paper?
4.2. If we wanted the American Dream to be a genuinely inclusive ideal instead of an exclusive club, what is one concrete shift—in attitudes, policies, or everyday behavior—you think would matter most?