I would like to begin by presenting an abridged account of what I believe to be the American Dream. The American Dream is, to me, not an individualistic concept, but rather, a collective one. It is the achievement of a higher-order state of being on a national scale; a collective consciousness that is unified in its enlightenment and reform. A dream not centered on any individual's capacity to acquire materials, but one that places its emphasis on psychic harmony as the necessary predicate to ultimately achieve a higher standard of living for all. My American Dream is not my career, my car, or my castle; it is not an end but a means to an end, a means that collects the cooperation and talents of each individual, yet remains greater than the sum of its parts. .
Tolerance towards differences in each person's or groups of peoples' race, sexual orientation, gender and lifestyle is critical to the realization of the dream described above, as this branch of tolerance is evidently progressive. However, their exist particular sorts of differences that are at best incongruent with, and at worst detrimental to achieving the above said dream. Tolerating such differences, which is typically demanded by cultural relativism or cultural sensitivity, is nothing more than a display of ignorance, ignorance that has no room in our enlightened American Dream and must be discarded. A great example of this occurred during President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama's recent trip to Saudi Arabia following the death of King Abdullah. When meeting with the ultra-conservative heads of state, First Lady Michelle did not cover her hair like she was expected to do, and like all previous female diplomats who have traveled to The Kingdom before her have done. This sent a blatant message that America will not tolerate the medieval cultural reality that dominates the country and surrounding region. We cannot allow cultural relativism to undermine our beliefs, especially not those that are undoubtedly backwards.