Some Americans Are More Equal Than Others

By Anonymous / Fall 2020

Before moving to the United States, my mind was filled with endless possibilities of just how much I could achieve in a new country. I was not the only member of my family to be excited, in fact my entire family was excited for the potential of moving to the United States, the academic and professional opportunities were truly a potent incentive. By moving to the United States, I hoped that my parents could earn higher salaries by working in better jobs that could sustain our lives far more conveniently than before we had immigrated. We believed that our academic and professional backgrounds abroad would aid us in enrolling in a very prestigious school for higher education. Furthermore, as medical insurance was comparatively simpler for us before moving to the United States, we were under the assumption that full medical insurance was provided and health issues could be managed with ease. We came to the United States with the belief that there would be significant opportunities for success and equality for all but many of those expectations were unfortunately not met for a long time, if at all.

Despite my family’s ambition for improvement and a better life in the United States, we were faced with a myriad of challenges - some of which diametrically contradicted our prior beliefs of what we would experience in the United States. With respect to the many cultural and societal differences we experienced, it took approximately five years to adjust and start accomplishing what we had originally set out to do in the United States. My parents had to start with low-paying jobs to make any money they could. This created significant challenges for us as the cost of living is significantly higher in the United States compared to many other countries. Although my parents were making money through their jobs, the collective salary was simply not enough to cover even basic expenses like food, gas, or other utilities. This situation forced them to look for another job to have two incomes. We were surprised to learn that this dynamic is normal as most Americans are two-income families. With further observation, we reached the conclusion that in America, one has to work with superhuman vigor to reach their goal. One job is not enough, and as the cost of living goes up, one job will never be enough. Additionally, I also spent a lot of time looking for a job. Despite my perseverance and dedication, it took me six months to find a job after having sent out a myriad of applications. Although I was given an opportunity to improve my English through immersion, there was a palpable barrier between me and my fellow coworkers, who seemed to treat me more as an outsider rather than a member of their team. The complexity my family experienced during our time in the American workforce did not reinforce any of the pre-existing assumptions we had of America.

We were shocked when we understood the complexities of American healthcare. Coming from a country that has government-mandated universal healthcare, we had the expectation that hospitals in the United States had free medical coverage that was accessible at any healthcare institution. We were contradicted in our belief that the government has the best interest of the American population at heart. Many medical costs were simply not covered by insurance, and in fact there were often several obstacles one would have to navigate to get even partial coverage on a minor procedure or a short and ultimately useless trip to the emergency room. I was disappointed at the state of American healthcare because the bureaucracy, complexities of insurance, and lack of government-facilitated universal healthcare did nothing but highlight the disregard of the American Government for an individual's life and pursuit of happiness. Naturally, one who is severely ill cannot maintain a stable job, and therefore they cannot make enough money to cover their medical costs. Withholding universal healthcare subjects such individuals to a life of rotting and chronic pain without a chance of help.

America is far from a perfect country. Despite the fact that it has several amenities that cannot be accessed in other countries such as freedom of speech and free education that can help to fulfill personal dreams. They are often several barriers to entry when it comes to job advancement, navigating healthcare in the United States, or understanding the inherent complexities of racism in America. There was very apparent racism against people of color both in everyday society, and professional environments like academia or work. It comes as no doubt that America’s success can be attributed to the hard-working nature of the average American. That being said, the lack of resources one can accesses at any given time (a fairly paying job, access to stable healthcare, etc.) only facilitates a decline in the capacity of the average citizen to perform to the best of their ability. Despite originally putting a great deal of faith in “The American Dream”, I have come to learn that the concept is nothing more than smoke and mirrors. The average citizen may never experience the lifestyle and amenities that our Founding Fathers had originally envisioned for our country. I am thoroughly disillusioned by “The American Dream”. The constitution of the United States explicitly states that “all men are created equal” but it has become increasingly apparent that, despite our vehement opposition to communism, we have reached a rather significant milestone in American Society were all men may be created equally, but in the words of Orwell “Some animals are more equal than others”.