Critical Reflection 3

April 2, 2018

Dear Ta-Nehisi Coates,

I am writing to you today in regards to your book Between the World and Me. For the past week or so your book was required reading for one of my classes. The class focuses on the life of the other and just how difficult said life can be. Of the numerous readings we had in this class, I would say that your book was one of the better ones. The three part letter you wrote to your son was honest, raw, and real, and I appreciated the transparency of the book. Thank you for writing it.

I would like to take this opportunity to expand on one of the concepts that was presence in abundance throughout your book: the concept of The American Dream. Towards the very beginning of the book you wrote a reflection that detailed the events of a Sunday morning you had spent with a television host. During your interview with said host she had brought up the idea of hope and when she did that you wrote that you “[had known] then that [you] had failed” and also that “[you] had expected to fail” (10). You then went on to articulate your sadness in varying forms. I am sorry to hear you say that. Perhaps one of the hardest things about implementing change is the resistance to it — not just the resistance but the ignorance towards it. I got the impression from reading this encounter with the interviewer that what was saddening to you was her ignorance towards the situation throwing out the idea of hope she seemed to have a lack of awareness of the real issues at hand. The issue is not a lack of hope; the issues are racism and oppression. Those are two things that cannot simply be eradicated with successful hopefulness. Hope, I have come to realize, is never going to be good enough. I’d like to think you feel the same way.

On page 11, you wrapped up your encounter with this interviewer by describing the American Dream or at least what it is made out to be. From that part about The Dream I understood it as a comparison between the American Dream and privilege. The idea of the American Dream has been somewhat mythical to me. It seems a little farfetched in the sense that I know that not every American is privileged enough to obtain it. At its core I would make the arguement that that should be the fundamental principle of the American Dream: forget the picket fences and the accolades. The real American Dream should be equal and obtainable rights and privilege for every US citizen. Those who have been privileged enough to have been brought up living the American Dream, like this interviewer you had written about, grew up sheltered, and I think this is another point that you were trying to make at this point in the book. The American Dream is a perfect quaint picture of existence that is free of conflict, or human rights issues. It is as if those who had the privilege to be a product of the Dream were kept from the real issues that exist in this country. Those who were pushed to live outside the American Dream are jaded towards it, and those who were brought up in the American Dream are jaded towards those who exist outside of it.

I really liked what you wrote on page 98 in reference to the Dream and Dreamers. Your writing holds a lot of validity, and your critique on not only the American Dream but also the Dreamers, I feel, is spot on. In order for someone to be a dreamer they have to accept the Dream as being all good. The Dream seems to be good at cutting gout the real parts of life and instead likes to idealize a lifestyle that is solely based on the good parts of life. I find it interesting that you used the word “just” in this section. I personally find the American Dream to be anything but just. If it were really just then anyone would be able to obtain it, and we all know that that is not the case. The American Dream is really only obtainable for people of not only a certain race, but also a certain socioeconomic status; it is a façade. Unfortunately, the ideas of grit, honor, and good work are not the major contributors to the American Dream. I would like to think this was your main point here. It seemed to me you were satirizing the American Dream which I certainly appreciated. You are absolutely right. Hard work does not get people as far as they would really like to give it credit. Sure, it does have its payout in certain contexts, but in relation to the American Dream it is not hard work that facilitates that accomplishment. It seems that being rich and white is the best way to successfully obtain the American Dream. Re-reading page 98 I see that the point you are making here is that Dreamers operate on a pipedream: a dream that asks that its “adherent”, as you put it, to put aside reality and to live according to a closed mindset. Dreamers who have possession of it did not get said possession because they happened to be born into the best possible set of circumstances. Now does that mean that we should be angry and upset with Dreamers or people who have been born into these circumstances? I think the answer to that question depends on the context. We cannot rationally be mad at someone for being born. No one on this planet asked to be born or to be given the circumstances they entered this world through. I think that the only thing we could rationally be upset about is what someone chooses to do with their circumstances. If a Dreamer is born into a rich white family, and does nothing with his/her power then I could possibly justify being irritated with those people. The people who have power and abuse it instead of using it for betterment are worth being scrutinized.

The last part of your book I would like to address is on page 106 when once again you have taken the opportunity to write about the injustices of the American Dream. You have critiqued the American Dream so eloquently and so thoughtfully. I really think you make a good point about how certain demographics of people are made to feel crazy for point out the injustice in the American Dream. I think it is common for people to put others down when they are feeling jeopardized. By challenging the justness, nobleness, and realness of the Dream you are putting Dreamers into a compromising position. That is why they try to make you, and others like you, feel crazy for seeing through the bullshit. Dreamers turn it on those who challenge them because they know that the accusations being brought against them are entirely true.

I’d like to conclude my letter to you Mr. Coates by telling you about the service project I am involved with currently. Once a week I get the opportunity to spend two hours of my Friday afternoons with a group of Vietnamese seniors in a mental health support group. The support group focuses on a variety of things. The group plays games, helps with English learning, and also assists with studying for the citizenship test. I have enjoyed my time there a lot. It has been a wonderful learning opportunity. Your book, and the parts about the American Dream especially, has really given me a lot to think about in regards to this service project. Many of the seniors in the group are Vietnamese immigrants. They came to the United States under their respective pretenses, but some came here as a way to get away from was associated traumas. The last thing I would say about his group is that they left Vietnam to come to America to achieve the American Dream. Not only that but I think because of their respective pretenses they have been screwed out of the American Dream. Much like what you have written about, the American Dream is really only obtainable for a very specific set of people. The members of this mental health support group fall so far outside of this certain set of people that I cannot possibly imagine that any of the members have really achieved the American Dream.

I would like to think that at a certain point in time the American Dream was real and attainable for the right reasons, but because I know the grotesque history of this country I do not think it ever has been. That is sad to think about. It makes me sad in the way that interviewer made you sad when she talked about hope. The American Dream shelters and confines; it is a breeding ground for hope, and as many of us know the world needs less hope and more action. The fact that the American Dream is so heavily influential to American culture and yet also so arbitrary really speaks volume to the gross discrepancies that continue to exist in this country.

Thank you for time. I have enjoyed writing you today, and I am anxious to see the fate of this country though I am sure that that anxious feeling nowhere near compares to yours and to that of your son. Thank you for your writing and insight.

Sincerely signed,

Jillian A. Valdez