The Undying Myth of America
Reflections of an Immigrant
I moved to the United States in 2015, at the age of nineteen, after finishing high school in Europe.
I signed up for a specifically designed course at an international school in New York State that was meant to prepare non-American students to attend US colleges. There, I met many young people, most of them around my age, some older and some younger, coming from virtually every corner of the globe. And, although most of us were shy and not particularly talkative, there was a silent bond uniting us all, a bond that could not be openly spoken of, but that we all shared and perceived in the air. We were all there for different reasons, and yet, ultimately, we were all there for the same reason, the oldest one, the one that had moved entire generations from their native countries to the American continent for centuries.
This tacit truth was only spoken out loud once, during a class where, after an initial question directed to the entire class, our teacher looked at us all in disbelief and said: “You all still believe in the American dream?”, to which the general class responded affirmatively. It was then that our teacher said: “Well… how many things do I still take for granted each day…”
The Myth of America and the American Dream persist to this day, unscathed by the many recent developments in American politics and society, unaltered even by the very unsavory issues that currently plague American society and its more than questionable taste in pop culture. In other words, America might as well be the Land of Trash Culture, but, in most people’s minds, it is still America. It is still an idea, before even being a country. And so many people keep chasing after that idea as it was that same gleaming beam of light that it was when, in 1776, the following, then-revolutionary words were put on paper:
We hold these truths to be sacred & undeniable; that all men are created equal & independent, that from that equal creation they derive rights inherent & inalienable, among which are the preservation of life, & liberty, & the pursuit of happiness.
Immigrants come to America in search of opportunity and a better future. For most of us, regardless of the country we come from, its name is synonymous with prosperity and possibility. What we could never dream to achieve in our native countries seems like a feeble chance, but a chance nevertheless, in the United States of America.
Naturally, things are not as easy as most of us would hope. After spending a total of six years in the United States, attending one of America’s top colleges and graduating with honors, I still, somehow, did not qualify for any type of work visa, or at least not any type that my money could afford. Once my student visa expired, going back to my native country felt like a defeat, and one that the many unaware people surrounding me couldn’t understand: “You didn’t find anything? Not one job that could get you to stay?” (good luck explaining US immigration laws to somebody who cannot pinpoint to New York State on a map).
Seemingly “sounder” alternatives like Canada do not seem to attract as many immigrants as the US does, even though their immigration laws and general view of immigration might be much more friendly than their American counterparts. And that is because of the undying, unwavering nature of the American Myth.
Once a story has entered popular consciousness, it can grow up to the size of a mythical legend. And when that story is fueled by people’s hunger for a better, happier life, and for ideals such as justice, liberty, and the right to pursue one’s own happiness, it becomes all the more powerful. It ceases to be merely an idea and, instead, it becomes a possibility.
I am not here to condemn or praise the idea of America and its mythology — I do not have the expertise or authority to do so, anyway. But I am here to voice that one, unspoken bond that unites so many people around the globe, the one that so many of us still carry within us, mostly unconsciously, when we think of the US, that legend that still fuels the power of America in millions of people’s imaginations: the undying myth of America.
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