FYS Final.

I represented the role of a White, male Baby Boomer in the simulation. I think not only the position of my role amongst the others, but also the time at which my character was announced in the simulation were fairly accurate representations of the level of respect and hierarchy shown to such individuals. In addition to standing at the head of our demographic representation, he was permitted to completely bypass all the other levels of classification on his way to the top even though he was announced last. I found it particularly disappointing that though his role represented one of the newest classifications present, as African Americans and out GLBT women have been in existence throughout history while "Baby Boomer" is a fairly recent term, was ordered at the highest rank. He has shown the least amount of struggle, and is offered the most opportunity.

I am truly disgusted in the amount of emphasis placed on any person's social status in this country. In my opinion, "The American Dream" of power and success not only excludes an inexcusable excess of Americans, it further encourages the uneven distribution of privilege and opportunity. Why are we encouraging ourselves to continue to recognize every conceivable label, and even going as far as to create new ones? I understand that certain opportunities are amplified for any specific "classification" of people and hindering for another, for instance, the white, male Baby Boomer has to struggle with discrimination regarding social security, the out gay, bisexual, transgendered woman however will also eventually have to face that struggle, in addition to every other discrimination she has had to endure on the road to that point. The point still being that those individuals are being solely defined by when they were born or who they chose to sleep with- both irrelevant issues regarding their right to social security. I believe that the "American Dream" should be altered to specifically exclude the concept of classification or privilege. I think a distinct effort needs to be made to bridge every gap from the Native Americans to the White, male Baby Boomer, and distribute power and opportunity without constraints. The American Dream should focus exclusively on a person's dream or aspiration, while completely disregarding all other aspects.