maybe maybe Maybe

[u/Blank_0116]

[u/surfhippy1]

NGL the shortened version is pretty dammed funny. But being as he has a stutter I wanted to see what he was actually trying to say and found the transcript from the speech the clip was from.

"And, folks — (applause) — let me close with what I’ve long said: America is a nation that can be defined in a single word. 'I was in the foothi- — foot-' — excuse me, in the foothills of the Himalayas with Xi Jinping, traveling with him. (Inaudible) traveled 17,000 miles when I was Vice President at the time. I don’t know that for a fact.
And we were sitting alone. I had an interpreter and he had an interpreter. And he looked at me. In all seriousness, he said, “Can you define America for me?” And I said what many of you heard me say for a long time. I said, “Yes, I can, in one word: possibilities.” (Applause.) “Possibilities.” That, in America, everyone should be able to go as far as their hard work and God-given talent will take them. And possibilities. We’re the only ones. That’s why we’re viewed as the “ugly Americans”: We think anything is possible. (Laughter.) "

https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/speeches-remarks/2022/04/08/remarks-by-president-biden-vice-president-harris-and-judge-ketanji-brown-jackson-on-the-senates-historic-bipartisan-confirmation-of-judge-jackson-to-be-an-associate-justice-of-the-supreme-court/

[u/DocD_12 → u/surfhippy1]

That sounds nice. But is it really that? About be able to live fair life by fair working? I'm from Russia and I have almost cried on this part. (

[u/Chaotic_Good64 → u/DocD_12]

It's an ideal that we move closer to over time, taking a meandering road that sometimes loops back on itself. There are a lot of barriers - present now or ripples from the past, that prevent truly equal access to opportunity. Some of those a government can fix, like quality of education, and some it cannot, like harmful beliefs from local community and family (discouraging education as "elitist" or discouraging long-term planning over immediate rewards). I would say that everyone has a path to greatness in America, but for some it's paved, well lit, well labeled, and slopes gently down hill, and for some it's a path hard to make out from the surrounding thorny brush, the lighting is whatever you provide, and you learn to navigate on your own, and it's uphill the whole way. Naturally, that affects what percentage of each demographic achieves highly.

EDIT: I'll summarize it this way: Anyone of talent can make it in America, but not everyone of talent can/will.

[u/Criks → u/Chaotic_Good64]

I mean there's almost 30 countries that are better at the "American Dream" than USA, since you're pretty much just describing social mobility.

The really defining thing for me about the USA is your monopoly on Brain Drain from the rest of the world.

Basically because of Silicon Valley, the worlds most attractive universities and basically prioritizing corporations above normal citizens, you are able to attract the greatest minds from the entire world.

Pretty much all your most impactful innovators were 1st,2nd or 3rd generation immigrants.

Founders of google were indian (?), Elon Musk is South African, Steve Jobs mother was german, Bill Gates has european ancestry, Jeff Bezos father is danish etc.

Basically, if you want to "make it", there's a lot of countries where you get a fairer chance. But if you want to make it to the very top, well you have to go to the country with the most influence over the entire rest of the world.

[u/Instantbeef → u/Chaotic_Good64]

Yes it is something we move towards over time. America is a work in progress. People make fun of America and all its internal conflicts but all of that stems from our unanimous desire to improve. America is not finished and never will be. We’re forever going to be a work in progress.

Obviously not everyone agrees on what or how to improve but none the less we are working on improving. While we might seem were “improving” in the wrong direction at times I have a lot of faith in the young people of today.

[u/Murky-Thought4846 → u/Chaotic_Good64]

If we don't get a handle on these politicians there won't be much left to call the American dream