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Why The Hypocrisy When All Men Are Created Equal

1366 Words6 Pages

With Liberty and Justice for Few The Declaration of Independence’s universal excerpt “All men are created equal” was primarily composed by Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin Franklin; ironically, these two men were slave-owners at the moment they spawned this infamous phrase. To further the hypocrisy, besides slaves, they owned the three traits that give an individual an unequal advantage to prosper as an American: wealth, Caucasian skin, and a penis. After brief analyzation, it is not difficult to discern the hypocrisy behind this proclamation of equality and the unjust advantages an individual can possess to clear the obstacles on their journey to the American Dream. Hypocrisy also lies with the idea that each hardworking individual, regardless …show more content…

False personas must be sustained in public as well as social media, such as Facebook and Instagram; this can be achieved by “Being cautious about what one posts online [which] can avoid false labels and assumptions” (Lowry 503). Granted this sounds simple; one must be extremely alert to every social media broadcast; for example, being an activist for marriage equality or appearing too friendly towards a same-sex friend may spark rumors and assumptions. Pressured to meet society’s expectations, an ultimatum settles on the individual who must now choose between achieving the American Dream or identity freedom, as “…True freedom would be mine only when I was able to make my own decisions about what I wanted out of life instead of accepting those thrust upon me by the Dream” (Jennings 522). Nevertheless, the struggle to make a decision must be underscored; however, no one is forcing anyone to do anything. In reality, the American Dream is overrated, specifically considering that even the poorest Americans live more comfortable lives than the majority of those living in third world countries. Americans may always have some freedom; however, True Freedom can only be acquired when Millennials realize the labels and assumptions others may attach to them, in retrospect, are trivial. These American Dream-chasing …show more content…

Unfortunately, stigmas stemming from superficial reasoning, normally derived from superannuated religious text, harass some individuals into choosing whether they will express their true identity or chase their American Dream. Some individuals decide to live their lives wearing miserable masks of false personas to deceive society, and themselves, into believing they are someone who they are not; regrettably, this path only leads to self-suppression, the loss of personal freedom, and depression, which may potentially lead to self-harm and suicide. Often faced by harassment and ostracization from peers, family, and authority figures, those who choose to give up their dream in order to embrace the liberty of living as their true identity may experience feelings of remorse or guilt, believing they owe society and these authority figures an apology for revealing their true identity. Obviously fraudulent and overhyped, the made-up promise that all races, ethnicities, noninvasive lifestyles, sexes, genders, spiritual individuals, and skin colors have equal opportunity to flourish in this country, should no longer be known as the American Dream, but instead be known as the American

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