Why Do Immigrants Insist The American Dream Is Still Alive While Americans Insist Its Dead

Why do some Americans think America has to be the best in the world?

I think there are a few contributing factors. We're really kind of indoctrinated from a very early age to believe that. We recite the pledge every day, they tell us rather one-sided versions of our nation's history, often glossing over the worst parts of our atrocities, we're constantly told stories (both in school and in the media) about American heroes who preserved our way of life (as though we have it patented) and about the American Dream and really kind of led to believe that everyone in every other country in the world would rather be American — and we and the few immigrants we take are the lucky ones. If you grow up believing that, it's hard to wrap your head around the fact that Great Britain didn't fall into utter devastation when won our independence, that we did not, in fact, defeat the Nazis single-handedly or that we really aren't the only ones who live "in a free country." When you add to that how utterly uneducated some of us are about how our own country works, much less what's going on in other countries, you have a recipe for uneducated opinions about how awesome we really are on the sliding scale. Don't get me wrong, America is freaking awesome, it's just that we do need to understand that we're ages behind other countries in certain areas.I think it's also important to remember that we have a lot of people who don't have Internet access — either by choice because they don't care/don't know how to use it or because they can't afford it (or the devices one would use to search it), which is an invaluable tool for getting information that isn't disseminated to the lens of being American.And our relative isolation can't be discounted. Sometimes the only exposure we have to other places is what we see on TV (for better or worse) or the Internet (which isn't always accurate if we're getting it from U.S. sources) and I don't care how smart or open-minded you are, it's going to color what you would otherwise think. Europeans are very lucky in that way. Most Americans can't actually rectify that situation because it's a very expensive plane trip to do so. The Internet is helping because now we have the input from those who actually live there, but you do have to give it time. Things won't change overnight. We still have people who are attached to the Confederate flag.

Why don't more Central American refugees stay in Mexico with its shared language, rising middle class, and similar culture? Why insist on traveling through Mexico to the very different United States?

As a Mexican, I am terribly embarrassed to say this, but it is my duty to honour the truth:In Mexico, there is a stigma against people with dark skin and Central American accent. As Mexico -as a whole, and in terms of nationalities- is not such a diverse country, we really haven’t had exposure to the situation of other Latin American countries so directly as we have now with the rising number of Central American migrants, and -unfortunately- the national perception towards this group of people is of mobsters, not of people fleeing from a terribly violent environment.Central American people are very likely to be stigmatised if they stay in Mexico, so I guess it is safer for them to -in case they can reach the US- try to build a life there, as they would be considered “latinos” and could better integrate than if they stay in Mexico.Mexicans were very offended (and still are) by the way some people in the USA have treated their illegal migrants… but - at the same time - they (citizens, together with authorities) treat the Central Americans worse in so many ways.I am ashamed to say that we - as a country - lack critical thinking and consistency in dealing with migration related topics.———ADDENDUMWow, just a few hours after writing my answer and so many comments. Thanks so much for that!While it hurts discussing one of the things that I deeply regret taking place in my homeland, as someone who has experienced the challenge to migrate, I believe that it is important to -no matter where we come from- to be critical in a constructive manner. Particularly, having met in Belgium political refugees from several Latin American countries, I find it a duty to share the other side of the story: THEIR story. Migrants have a name, a face, a family, and a story: they are not just a number.I will go through each of your comments to share my thoughts, but first wanted to add this note as an invitation to always go deeper into what you read and try to place yourselves in the shoes of others. Doing so has helped me to see some facts through a different lens.// Update on June 30th., 2018:Considering that the increasing number of xenophobic comments that were selfish, irrational rants, I reported them and disabled the comment section.This space should be a safe environment to learn and share, not to exteriorise someone’s prejudices. I hope that some people can really reflect on this. //