AMAC Magazine Exclusive – By Shane Harris
When Donald J. Trump was elected for a second term last November, it wasn’t just about inflation, or the border, or the woke insanity in our schools — although all of those issues played a critical role. What truly drove voters to the polls was something deeper: a sense that America was losing itself.
There was a quiet, simmering anxiety in this country. An unease that transcended party or ideology. Working-class Americans felt it in the tightening grip of economic insecurity. Families in small-town Arizona and Texas felt it as illegal aliens flooded their communities. Parents felt it as schools pushed radical ideologies on their children. Americans of all backgrounds sensed we were on the verge of becoming something unrecognizable – and they knew there was only one man in the race for president who could pull us back from the brink.
President Trump didn’t just win a mandate to fix policy problems. He was elected to save the American Dream.
That’s what the America First movement has always been about – conserving the timeless principles that made the United States the greatest nation in history. For generations, Americans have understood that the power of faith, family, freedom, and opportunity protect the promise that, through hard work, anyone can succeed.
The threats to that dream remain real, but there now seems to be an unmistakable trend toward restoring some of what has been lost.
Reclaiming Homeownership
Nothing symbolizes the American Dream quite like owning a home. But for millions of Americans, that dream has slipped out of reach.
In 1985, the median household income was $22,400, while the median home cost $78,200 — a price-to-income ratio of 3.5. By 2022, income had climbed to $74,600, but the median home price had ballooned to $433,100, pushing that ratio to 5.8.
The result? Young families are increasingly priced out. As of March 2025, 233 U.S. cities saw starter homes top $1 million. Five years ago, that number was just 85.
No surprise then that the median age of renters is now 42 — many Americans have simply given up on owning a home.
One big reason for this shift is that Wall Street has been devouring the housing market. In 2022, investment firms bought one out of every four homes sold. They swoop in with cash offers over asking price, then turn around and jack up rent. Everyday Americans don’t stand a chance.
This isn’t just an economic crisis. It’s a cultural one. Property ownership is the bedrock of American liberty. It empowers people to build lives rooted in hard work and responsibility. The Founders knew this, which is why five of the first ten amendments to the Constitution protect property rights.
President Trump understands this threat. On his first day in office, he signed an executive order eliminating Biden-era building regulations that had artificially driven up costs. He has also opened vast swaths of federal land in the West for development, reigniting the frontier promise that built this nation.
In states like Ohio and Nebraska, lawmakers are also proposing steep penalties on corporate landlords to level the playing field for everyday buyers.
Nonetheless, lasting change will require more federal action to restore America as a nation of property owners.
Restoring Economic Opportunity
The American Dream was always rooted in the idea that anyone, from any background, could get ahead through hard work. But after decades of globalization, bad trade deals, and government overreach, that dream felt dead to many.
Today, one in three Americans depends on some form of government assistance — the highest share in our history. It’s no accident. The Left has used welfare to buy votes and create permanent political dependency. But that trend is also a symptom of rising costs and shrinking paychecks.
Since Trump’s re-election, however, things seem to be moving in the right direction. More than $7 trillion in new domestic investment has poured into the U.S. economy. Manufacturing is roaring back. Plants are reopening. Blue-collar Americans are getting a second chance to build a middle-class life.
This isn’t just good economics. It’s a moral correction. Trump understands that great nations build things. We cannot rely on China for our medicines, or on foreign sweatshops for our clothes. Economic independence is national security.
Trump has once again slashed job-killing regulations and made tax cuts central to his economic agenda. Already, wages are rising and inflation is falling. After years of managed decline, America is growing again — and ordinary citizens are the ones reaping the benefit.
Saving the Next Generation from Indoctrination
The American Dream cannot survive if the next generation is taught to hate their own country.
For too long, our schools have been overrun by left-wing ideologues peddling gender theory, Critical Race Theory, and anti-American revisionist history. Children are being taught that America is evil, that our heroes are villains, and that biology is bigotry.
Trump saw it coming. That’s why, in his first term, he created the 1776 Commission. In his second, he launched America 250 — a year-long celebration of our country’s founding and greatness, culminating in our 250th birthday next July.
Trump has taken bold steps to defund schools that promote radical ideologies and pushed colleges to clean house. He’s targeting DEI bureaucracies, investigating anti-Semitism, and demanding that universities uphold their role as stewards of American culture and history.
And it’s not just Trump leading the charge. Parents and grandparents are showing up in droves to school board meetings, demanding accountability. Conservatives are winning local races once dominated by teachers’ unions. The tide is turning.
But the fight isn’t over. Schools are incubators of culture. They can either pass down the values that made America great — or they can accelerate our decline.
Securing the Border, Preserving Our Identity
Mass illegal immigration doesn’t just burden our schools, hospitals, and job market. It tears at the fabric of our national identity and threatens the vitality of the American Dream.
We saw that vividly this year when masked radicals waving foreign flags flooded Los Angeles streets. These weren’t immigrants seeking the American Dream. They were invaders laying claim to American territory.
For decades, America’s elites, led by figures like Barack Obama, have reduced America into an abstraction, an “idea.” They insisted that every new arrival has just as much claim to America as people who trace their roots back to the founding generation.
But as Vice President JD Vance boldly asserted during the RNC Convention last year, “America is not just an idea. It is a group of people with a shared history and a common future. It is, in short, a nation… when we allow newcomers into our American family, we allow them in on our terms.”
That’s the essence of the America First view of immigration policy. To that end, Trump has restarted border wall construction, revived “Remain in Mexico,” and launched the largest deportation operation in U.S. history. The days of catch-and-release are over. So are the days of pretending our borders don’t matter.
A Dream Worth Fighting For
The American Dream isn’t a relic of the past. It’s not dead. But it has been wounded — by decades of misrule, cultural rot, and globalist betrayal.
President Trump’s second term is already proving to be a turning point. From housing to education, we are seeing the first signs of a real national renewal.
The American Dream survives because people are willing to stand up and defend it. Because millions of Americans believe in this country, believe in its future, and refuse to let it slip away. As long as that is the case, the prognosis is good for a full recovery.
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