The American dream is the freedom to achieve. It is because we have our boundless freedom given to us by our forefathers that we have the gift to dream and make dreams real as grand achievements of our making. Our system is set up in such a way, that a man living in the slums of the city can rise up beyond this lowly station, and become an unprecedented success. Just as freedom gives us the means by which we can achieve great things, so does achievement give us greater freedom, from which we could achieve even greater things in never ending cycles. This is because that, when there is freedom, then there is always hope for the future. If we are not free, then we cannot impose our will upon the current systems, hence they will never change, and without change, there is no achievement.
Though most countries are tied down by their ancient traditions from achieving sufficient progress, here in America, we have a unique blend of all different diverse people, each person playing a role that contributes to the greater good of society. It is metaphorically depicted as the melting pot, a mixture of many different cultural ingredients, combining together to produce a dynamic and ever changing system. This immeasurable amount of freedom each and every individual under all conditions and cultural backgrounds has is of inestimable value. This is the very reason why we, as an American country, have achieved such great things, and why we are the most powerful country in the world.
Eventually the achievement we can make manifest with our freedom will extend beyond our current country, and into the whole of the world. I can make this prophecy with a Daniel’s confidence, since in order to survive and flourish, the next step we will need to take in this direction is to achieve world peace, and the only way world peace will spring into being, is if all the nations of the world are united under one banner. Under this one banner, all countries will respect each other’s differences hence all countries will be free to undertake the quest for achievement. We will all work together to draw upon the resources of the entire Earth in a way that no catastrophic destruction ensues the developments. This would be the making of what theoretical physicists classify as a type 1 civilization. The internet is perhaps the best current example we have of this, as a testament that we are moving forward into right direction for the fruition of this blueprint to spring into being, as it is the internet that unifies all people into an interconnected network that annihilates the barriers of distance, culturally and geographically alike. If we are to live the American dream then, which is the freedom to achieve, it follows that we must all be connected with bonds unbreakable, like the stars of the heavens.
Finally, when we mastermind this almighty achievement upon the Earth, eventually we will one day in the far future reach out into the deepest depths of the Universe, into the unknown regions of space. In this way human achievement will first extend its mastery upon the Earth, then upon the galaxy, and then ultimately upon the Universe, and whatever may exist beyond it. With such power, we will truly be living the American dream of freedom, as with this freedom, there will be no end to all the wonders we as a human race achieve. We will have, from a figurative standpoint, gone from the ghetto and into a royal palace, where all things fall under our jurisdiction and command. All of these achievements have their origins in our freedom as Americans, as citizens of the world, and as masters of the Universe to shape the future into our dream’s desires and to be the architects at the forge of destiny. In order then to maximize our achievements, lay the foundations, and point the way for those who are to come, we must begin by seeking our own personal liberation, as a collective human species.
To quote Giordano Bruno, “Unless you make yourself equal to God, you cannot understand God: for the like is not intelligible save to the like. Make yourself grow to a greatness beyond measure, by a bound free yourself from the body; raise yourself above all time, become Eternity; then you will understand God. Believe that nothing is impossible for you, think yourself immortal and capable of understanding all, all arts, all sciences, the nature of every living being. Mount higher than the highest height; descend lower than the lowest depth. Draw into yourself all sensations of everything created, fire and water, dry and moist, imagining that you are everywhere, on earth, in the sea, in the sky, that you are not yet born, in the maternal womb, adolescent, old, dead, beyond death. If you embrace in your thought all things at once, times, places, substances, qualities, quantities, you may understand God.†(Giordano Bruno)
Quoted in F. A. Yales, Giordano Bruno and the Hermetic Tradition (1964), 198.
The above quote seems to me as sufficient an analysis of the American dream as is possibly conceivable. The theme behind the quote, I believe to be, is the equivalent of the idea I have been advocating, which is the freedom to achieve. Though I have only promoted the concept without an actual allegory, Bruno here puts this amazing proposition into a divine perspective, quite literally. God is the infinite potential we are all aspiring towards, with a limitless horizon ahead of us, a sky filled with numberless sparks, each a star we can point towards, and direct our ways. With such knowledge of this enormous magnitude, as depicted by Bruno, all things could fall under our jurisdiction and will, incredulity being the only restriction.
To quote Emanuel Swedenborg, “When someone's body can no longer perform its functions in the natural world in response to the thoughts and affections of its spirit (which it derives from the spiritual world), then we say that the individual has died. This happens when the lungs' breathing and the heart's systolic motion have ceased. The person, though, has not died at all. We are only separated from the physical nature that was useful to us in the world. The essential person is actually still alive. I say that the essential person is still alive because we are not people because of our bodies but because of our spirits. After all, it is the spirit within us that thinks, and thought and affection together make us the people we are. We can see, then, that when we die we simply move from one world into another. This is why in the inner meaning of the Bible, "death" means resurrection and a continuation of life.†(Emanuel Swedenborg)
Heaven and Hell #445
This quote signifies for me a transformation of sorts, a belief, however irrational, that if true, would mean that our journeys of freedom, from which we achieve great things, shall never come to a close. It follows then, that perhaps, just as importantly as the American dream itself is, there is also the eternal continuation of this dream, in never ending cycles. Whether then the secret to immortality shall be discovered in religion, like Swedenborg says, or in science, such as the artificial prolongation of life, or even the breaking of the physical barriers of this plane to whatever higher levels of creation may exist, a world in which we never die, keeping this quest for achievement alive, would be a wondrous work we could wreak upon the world in and of itself.
According to the ideologies of the founding father Thomas Jefferson, all of these abilities to achieve we have at our disposal, are tools we can use, in the operations of pursuing happiness. I personally hold though, even if the competitive philosophy promoted by the foundations of America differs, that happiness is not perfect until it is shared. A philosophy of shared happiness is accurately illustrated in the description of the following song.
The song titled, Secret Garden, by Madoka, is reflective of freedom, the capital American right given to us by the sacrifices of our forefathers. A has a very optimistic vibe to it, a spirit of adventure. There are multiple references to a paradise, and flying away on invisible wings. It even features the gift of friendship, reflected in such lines as staying together, and talking heart to heart. Freedom is even directly mentioned, and likened unto water as a metaphor, flowing in the directions of our dreams, and ultimately, our freedom. The beginning of the song features the brightness of the sunshine, perhaps another symbol for hope and high aspirations for life, as well as all of the wonderful accomplishments we can reach upwards towards. These grand visions can expand the volumes of our minds, showering us with hope, filling the soul with exuberance, and all of the ever outpouring excitement.
In conclusion, I have always had a philosophy, that whatever we will, we can spring into being, that nothing is impossible, even if such futuristic feats exceed all the eons in the time required for their accomplishment. I also hold a firm conviction, that there is a great mental power flowing throughout all of existence, and that if we can tap into this infinite source, it can bring about the illumination of all things into our minds, and ultimately manifest into the matrix of creation. Those who are too weak to seek this profound power will failingly falter, while those who persevere, throughout all the pains and pleasures of the path, will become unprecedented successes. From nothing, we must create to everything, from poverty, to the position of perfection.
To quote Allan R. Fuller, “Pandeism is another belief that states that God is identical to the universe, but God no longer exists in a way where He can be contacted; therefore, this theory can only be proven to exist by reason. Pandeism views the entire universe as being from God and now the universe is the entirety of God, but the universe at some point in time will fold back into one single being which is God Himself that created all. Pandeism raises the question as to why would God create a universe and then abandon it? As this relates to pantheism, it raises the question of how did the universe come about what is its aim and purpose?†(Allan R. Fuller)
Thought: The Only Reality. 2010. Page 79.
The question as to what the nature of God is may be the greatest question in all of known existence. Questions of great importance on this matter could be God’s relationship to the Universe, if it is possible to reach him, if he is the Creator of it all, how much he intervenes in the creation, and what his ultimate purpose for us may be, the meaning as to why we are here. The quest to answer such great questions would, for me, be a noble objective in the pursuit of happiness.
The first question in the above paragraph is what the nature of God is. I believe God to be an all-powerful Force that can see things from all possible perspectives and dimensions, and is moving all things into causation, the will of creation. The next question is what God’s relationship to the Universe is. I hold that God, though he may be the omnipotent Creator, is neither benign nor hostile, but rather he wishes us to fend for ourselves as he leaves us to our own devices, unless of course we diligently seek him, kind of like how Jesus says that if we nock the door shall be opened unto us. This also answers the question as to whether he is reachable, if he created the world, and how much divine intervention he does. The last question though is like asking what the meaning of life is. This I make no claim to have any definitive answer for, though I will speculate that the meaning of life is achieving infinite mastery of creation, as it is because there is creation that existence even exists at all, which in and of itself gives us meaning.
To quote Stephen Hawking, “To confine our attention to terrestrial matters would be to limit the human spirit.†(Stephen Hawking) America must not only be an earthbound civilization, nor must America only contain the entire globe. America must reach out into the very edge of infinity. America was built upon the foundations of freedom, and if we are to have full and complete freedom, it follows that there must be no restrictions to what we, with our amazing minds and creative powers can accomplish. To reach a position of perfection, we must liberate ourselves of all restrictions, as nothing is more perfect than freedom, the limitlessness of infinity.