American dream Quote by Barack Obama
“Our job as Americans is to restore that basic bargain that says, if you work hard, if you're willing to meet your responsibilities, you can get ahead. You can get ahead. Doesn't matter what you look like, doesn't matter where you come from. Our middle class, when it's growing, when it's thriving, when there are ladders of opportunity for people to do a little bit better each year and then make sure that their kids are doing even better than them, that's the American dream. That's what we got to fight for. That has to be the north star that guides everything we do.”
About This Quote
Source Speech: State of the Union Address, 2012
Hard work and responsibility should lead to upward mobility, regardless of background, forming the core of the American Dream.
In simple terms: Work and responsibility should let anyone advance.
Key Takeaway
Promote policies that create opportunity ladders.
Themes
equality
opportunity
hard work
American Dream
Mood
hopeful
determined
inspirational
Type
political
motivational.
When to use this quote
- education reform
- job training
- small business support
- housing assistance
Key Concepts
Meritocracy
social mobility
intergenerational progress
Questions to Reflect On
- How can we ensure ladders are accessible to all?
- What policies best sustain a thriving middle class?
A Different Perspective
Economic inequality can limit real mobility despite effort.
![“That is another theme in the book [Dreams from My Father]. How do we exercise more empathy in our public discourse? How do we get the black to see through the eyes of the white? Or the citizen to see through the eyes of the immigrant? Or the straight to see through the eyes of the gay? That has…” quote by Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/00d/barack-obama-17_black_that-is-another-theme-in-the-book-dreams_10185.jpg)
