On July 4, 1776 the Declaration of Independence became one of the founding documents of the United States of America. Addressed to King George III, the king of Great Britain it explains the grievances of the American colonies and that they were leaving the British Empire. The preamble of this great document reads, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”(Jefferson) Declaring to the king of Great Britain, that they will no longer recognize his authority or live under his oppressive rule for they felt that he had violated the rights that the colonist seem to see as self-evident. This declaration although addressed to the king of Great Britain, was foreshadowing for all colonial rulers who held such power. Their colonies would no longer stand for being treated as second class citizens. To the world this was revolutionary, but to the newly free nation of America only the future could reveal whether that statement reigns true. Upon signing this document the fifty-six men of the continental congress had unknowingly created a dream, a dream that would take a colony of thirteen states and transform it into the hegemonic super power of the 21st century. This American dream’s intentions were to let freedom and prosperity reigns supreme, to be justified by the power of the Creator, and to be obtainable by all citizens of the nation. This dream in correlation with the preamble is and has been a well worded lie. A noble lie that would preached liberty and affluence to all but in reality was only meant for a demographic similar to the signers of the document. A lie that used the unquestionable authority of religion to be upheld. The American dream is the noble lie of America and has been backed by civil religion to vindicate for it. America was not the first to fall into the trap of a noble lie, it has plagued nations for centuries. Essentially the noble lie is a farce told by the elites or the creator of a society to maintain social harmony or to advance their own agenda. The great philosopher Socrates had deemed it necessary in the creation of a nation and so he entered it into his fabricated republic. Socrates suggested that they needed to tell the citizens a myth that should be believed by subsequent generations in order for everyone to accept the ruler’s position in the city. In Socrates’ republic the noble lie was the myth of metals, each citizen was born with a precious metal in them. Those naturally suited to be rulers have gold, those suited to be guardians have silver, and those suited for farming and the other crafts have bronze. (Plato 414b-415d) In this noble lie the rulers are able to ensure that the people would follow the social order and their offspring would stay in power without being questioned. This stalled the social mobility of the citizens, similar to the effects of the American noble lie. The American dream defined by the Oxford English dictionary is “the ideal that every citizen of the United States should have an equal opportunity to
…show more content…
King in his interpretation of the American Dream, there are some who disagree with his values of peace. Malcolm X another civil right advocate is one of the main opponents of Dr. King’s methodology. In the speech “The Ballot or the Bullet,” Malcolm takes the opposite approach to dealing with the noble lie that is the American Dream. After being lied to for so long Malcolm X preaches the philosophy of Black Nationalism to his audience. Black Nationalism is “the political philosophy of Black Nationalism only means that the black man should control the politics and the politicians in his own community.” As opposed to loving thy enemy Malcolm X cries out for ignoring our enemy. Rather than boycotting and sit-ins, use the resources and support black entities. Ignoring the white American counter-part as they have ignored the words of their founding document. Educating the black community so that they can take over the political nature of their
King in his interpretation of the American Dream, there are some who disagree with his values of peace. Malcolm X another civil right advocate is one of the main opponents of Dr. King’s methodology. In the speech “The Ballot or the Bullet,” Malcolm takes the opposite approach to dealing with the noble lie that is the American Dream. After being lied to for so long Malcolm X preaches the philosophy of Black Nationalism to his audience. Black Nationalism is “the political philosophy of Black Nationalism only means that the black man should control the politics and the politicians in his own community.” As opposed to loving thy enemy Malcolm X cries out for ignoring our enemy. Rather than boycotting and sit-ins, use the resources and support black entities. Ignoring the white American counter-part as they have ignored the words of their founding document. Educating the black community so that they can take over the political nature of their