“Now we have not received the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may know the things freely given to us by God.” ~ 1 Corinthians 2:12
The American Dream -- Reality, or Mere Fantasy?
The American Dream. Was it ever real?
Many don't believe so. They're disillusioned about our nation's character (and I get it!), tracing its moral decadence (erroneously, I will add) to the country's entire founding.
The proverbial jury is still out as to the real reason for the cognitive dissonance. But regardless of whether it's a result of witnessing a country's devastating condition only in its decline, or of having had their perceptions tainted by indoctrination, our youngest citizens have never seen much, if any, reason to put credence in the "American Dream."
Can our children even dare to dream in today's America?
Anyone who opens their eyes to see, can't help but be stunned by the problems we have been seeing in recent years across America. The distraught populations of its major cities contend indelibly with homelessness, the increasingly high cost of living, and rising crime.
It is easy to become disheartened, to say the very least. Do we have to wonder about the unbelievable rate of suicide -- and especially among our youth?
There are people in positions of influence, though, who care deeply about these issues and have ideas to improve each of those horrific conditions. Not only that, but these thinkers are active in giving their projects feet.
Dr. Ben Carson is one of them. A retired pediatric neurosurgeon and America's 17th Secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development offers hope and inspiration!!
Today, Dr. Carson is 72 years old, but when he was a younger man of almost 34, he performed the first successful surgery to separate twin boys, who were conjoined at the head. At the time, Dr. Carson was serving as the director of pediatric neurosurgery at Johns Hopkins Hospital and specializing in "traumatic brain injuries, brain and spinal cord tumors, achondroplasia, neurological and congenital disorders, craniosynostosis, epilepsy, and trigeminal neuralgia." *
Even as he is truly appreciative of the land where he was afforded open-ended opportunity and so could successfully pursue his childhood dream of becoming a neurosurgeon, Dr. Carson understands the predicament in the heart of this land. That an enormous disconnect exists between the nation which continues to mean so much to him, and several of its youngest generations. That reason helps drive Dr. Carson's efforts to share the four extremely important principles that have been so instrumental (not only so, but absolutely essential) throughout his whole life, and that are, in essence, what make this country great.
His life's work now includes having founded the American Cornerstone Institute and Little Patriots program. The goal is to share and clarify how America was established and built upon four great principles: Faith, Liberty, Community, and Life. One of the institute's primary objectives is to promote education as the key to prosperity.
Listen to Dr. Carson below, with his audience at Repairing the Ruins 2023, in Pittsburg, PA, as he shares what he has learned about the wonderful brain, through education and his fascinating experience as a world-renowned neurosurgeon. He easily ties in the information with the import of human potential and the impact of knowing the history of the American Dream.
A brilliant look at the American Dream
If you find Dr. Carson's take on the American Dream ultra-compelling, like I did, you can find out more about his life story here.
*The information in quotes was accessed on September 25, 2023, from an auto-generated summary at https://search.brave.com/search?q=Dr.+Ben+Carson+pediatric+neurosurgery&source=desktop