The American Dream And Empathy Analysis

Despite the many flaws of the connection between the American Dream and empathy, there is a shared point of origin between the two. In fact, former President Barack Obama has found that the embodiment of empathy has been a common occurrence over the course of his life. After traveling and witnessing the diversity of Illinois, Obama reflects on his experience overall, “By the end of the week, I was sorry to leave. Not simply because I had so many new friends, but because in the faces of all the men and women I’d met I had recognized pieces of myself. In them I saw my grandfather’s openness, my grandmother’s matter-of-factness, my mother’s kindness” (Obama 50-51). What Obama discovers is that despite the stark differences between different areas of Illinois, there are qualities that appear in the people of Illinois that also appear in those close to him, including his grandparents and his mother. …show more content…
And while not directly stating a connection to the American Dream, Obama does find that these common values are encompassed by the pursuit of the American Dream, which he uses to his advantage while trying to pass legislation related to the death penalty, “Instead of focusing on the serious disagreements around the table, I talked about the common value that I believed everyone shared” (58). Obama’s political empathetic stratagem mirrors the common pursuit of the American Dream, by acknowledging that contrasting values emerge from personal views. Similarly, this theme of empathy is also indirectly embodied in DNA.. The most frequently used word in Kendrick Lamar’s song is DNA, for DNA is the scientific explanation of how — not humans, but — all organisms are connected by a common