We often hear about immigrants moving to the United States to pursue the American Dream. The media encourages contemplation and admiration of the lives of individuals who radically transformed their lives in the U.S., going from having nothing but a couple of dollars to becoming a sports champion, a professor or successful business person. But the definition of the American Dream is not only about income. In fact, it is the ideal that every citizen living in the U.S. should have an equal opportunity to achieve success and prosperity through hard work, determination and initiative.This ideal is embedded with a deep trust in the U.S. state, whose institutions should ensure that individuals are able to pursue their goals, unencumbered by a domineering state; a society based on merit rather than nepotism.

But what happens when the government is not able to preserve this equal society? Does the American Dream cease to exist?

I believe that the American Dream cannot be eliminated from the hearts of the U.S. American people. It is a notion well-embedded in U.S. American culture, a source of pride during times of prosperity and a source of hope during times of distress, able to cut across genders, race and religion.

More and more, however, the dream is under threat. Last year the U.S. recorded its slowest economic growth in five years with [GDP] (http://money.cnn.com/2017/01/27/news/economy/us-gdp-2016/) up by only 1.6 percent. The current administration hopes to build walls and terminate transnational trade partnerships. With this climate in mind, many would assert that the American Dream is on its last legs. Many aspects of the American Dream seem to be deterred by the current U.S. administration due to the people that compose it and the policies they want to enact.

How can we speak about equal opportunities when walls are built with neighboring countries and nationalism becomes the mantra for the majority of U.S. Americans? How can we trust the U.S. government to provide us with a society based on meritocracy when the president’s advisor is his son-in-law and his go-to assistant is his daughter? How can the American Dream cut through religion and gender with growing fears of Islamophobia and misogyny justified as locker room talk?

I cannot conceive that something so aspirational as the American Dream can be wiped out by one administration. Rather, I believe that even with all of the hate and criticism that the U.S. has been compelled to face in the present, changes happen for a reason. My view is that it is precisely the American dream that drove the election of the current administration. It’s just very hard to see why from an international standpoint. In a period with so many uncertainties, from economic development to social issues like the immigration crisis, some U.S. citizens felt the need to protect their American Dream against a perceived threat from outside, and were willing to make economic concessions to do so. The concessions cut back on trade, hurting the U.S. economy. It’s not because Americans are racist, white, privileged individuals, but simply because their dream is seen to be under threat. I truly believe and trust that the American Dream did not leave the heart of the American people, but is simply adapting to a fast-paced world in order for it not to lose its invaluable and intrinsic value.