Just a Dream?

Next Monday is Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. He was a polarizing figure whose message elicited a response from anyone who met him. Since I was a history major (with a civil rights emphasis) in college, Dr. King holds a place of particular interest for me. His 1963 speech in Washington DC is often quoted as a rallying point for equality and is familiar to many Americans. Almost 49 years later, if we reflect upon his ‘I have a dream’ speech, I am left asking myself how this admonition has changed things.

Dr. King waxed eloquently on race-relations at the time, but this passage from his speech can also be applied to our current homeless epidemic in the United States:

“In a sense we've come to our nation's capital to cash a check. When the architects of our republic wrote the magnificent words of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, they were signing a promissory note to which every American was to fall heir. This note was a promise that all men, yes, black men as well as white men, would be guaranteed the "unalienable Rights" of "Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness." It is obvious today that America has defaulted on this promissory note, insofar as her citizens of color are concerned. Instead of honoring this sacred obligation, America has given the Negro people a bad check, a check which has come back marked "insufficient funds."

If something is unalienable, then it is innate. You don’t have to strive for it because it exists independently of your actions. Theoretically, the genesis of our nation spouts (at the least) an opportunity to pursue happiness. Happiness, in this sense is not a mere feeling or emotion, but the chance to find gainful employment based upon what a person was good at doing. It was centered around Aristotle’s ideas (sorry, please forgive the history nerd) that an individual in America ought to be able to pursue a career that puts food on the table as well as a smile on the face. This is the American Dream.

But is it the American Reality?

This is not a political blog and I am not endorsing a particular belief system or party. My only real thought is that so many of us wake up and pour ourselves into uniforms or job descriptions that we never imagined we would be wearing. When did things change? When were our ideals substituted for the drudgery of a 9-5 world that dictates our very existence? When was the last time we dared to believe in anything? To be fair, many people have jobs they absolutely love and I cannot paint a picture depicting mass discontent because there are exceptions to every rule. But I know too many people falling into the former category.

I write this blog from the confines of an office with a view far more telling than any picturesque landscape or skyline. From my office I watch people every day who have given up on the American Dream because they feel like America has abandoned them long ago. Finding work in this economy, even with a college degree, can feel like an absurd battle. Try doing it with a criminal charge on your record or having gaps in your resume because you were in treatment for alcohol or chemical dependency.

There is a common and gross misconception that the ‘homeless’ are just looking for a handout or content to live off the government; they don’t work because they don’t want to. Do some people fall into this category? Sure. So do many people who have homes. My experience and observation tell me that most of our residents want to work. They want jobs. They want to feel a part of something bigger than themselves… like a community or (gasp) even a country.

So, my final thought is this: hire a homeless person. Help someone else dream big.