My Perspective: CORE VALUES

For years I have heard people discuss America’s core values. In fact whenever I cut on the national news, I hear newscasters and commentators talk about America’s core values. However as much as I hear about America’s core values, it seems that everyone has a different perspective on what our core values as a nation is. America’s core values vary just as much as we vary on religion, politics, and even sports teams. Therefore after doing some research, I decided to put a list of what America’s core essential values are as a nation. While some of you may agree with the values I list and others may disagree but many of you will at least find a couple of values that you believe are America’s core values.

This list is not in any particular order. They are just values that speak to what being an American is about and what achieving the American Dream must encompass. Many of us have our own values but the values that are talked about below are the core values which have made the United States of America, the United States of America. These core values are the principles by which we as Americans should adhere to if we are going to make this country better than how we found it. These core values are the backbone to which the American Dream is possible for so many. I’m not saying in any way that the following core values are the only values our country have but these are the essential values along with others that make America what it is.

12 Core Values
1. Common Sense—This is a value that many of us take for granted but all Americans who are pursing the American Dream need to have common sense. Having common sense allows for us as a people to understand the basic principles of this nation and it allows us to understand the rest of the values our nation’s enjoys. Common Sense means being able to make basic decisions in an intelligent way and that is why this is a core value of America because as Americans we have always used common sense to understand the issues we are facing as a nation. In fact common sense have always allowed us as a nation to act more sensibly than other nations when facing tough issues that our nation and the world has been faced with.

2. Responsibility—Being responsible is a huge core value because this is what America is about. We don’t past our blame onto others but we accept the consequences of our actions rather good or bad. While we as nation have not lived up to our action of responsibility, it is a core value that is engraved in our history and it is a core value that helps each of us come a step closer to achieving the American Dream. It is when we as Americans accept responsibility for our own individual actions and the actions of our nation that we all get one step closer to being the perfect people or nation that we all want to become one day. While the pursuit of perfection is a pursuit that we as people and as a nation will never actually achieve but we can strive toward it by taking responsibility for our actions.

3. Discipline—This core value is perhaps overlooked in our nation but it is a value we need in this nation. Discipline is training that corrects, molds, or perfects something. That’s why it is when we as Americans practice discipline and become disciplined in our actions that we become closer to be perfect people. We must be disciplined in how we act and disciplined in how we conduct ourselves toward one another meaning we need to be respectful and more caring for one another. Discipline is being under control and it is when we as Americans are under control that we must wise and common sense decisions. It is when we are discipline as a nation that we take responsibility for our actions and we are able to see what lies before us as well what lies ahead of us. Discipline is a core value that is centered in the American Dream and keeps the American Dream alive and well.

4. Life—It is this core value that we all need to understand. Life is the reason why we are on this Earth to begin with and this is the reason why we all must cherish this core value more than any other. Without life all the other core values would not matter and this is a why we should cherish not only our own lives but the lives of others. Life is the quality that distinguishes a vital and functional being from a dead body, which is why we need life in order to achieve the American Dream and it is a value that our founder’s cherished more than all the others. It is engraved in our constitution when we say “Life, Liberty & Justice for all.” That is why life is a core value of our nation and it is value that we all must live up to in order make this nation better by cherishing and making sure future lives see America in a better light.

5. Liberty—An going beyond normal limits is what liberty is defined as. However this core value is engraved in our nation’s history just like life. Therefore it is with liberty that we understand that we have a duty as Americans to go beyond our normal limits to make this country better for all that lives in it. It is Lady Liberty that helps all of us understand that we have a duty of service to help not only ourselves achieve the American Dream but to help others to achieve it as well. Liberty is a core value that is overlooked by some of us but it is just as precious as any other because it is a duty of service and a duty for us to go beyond our normal limits to be better Americans.

6. Pursuit of Happiness—The pursuit of happiness is a core value that we ignore because who really cares if people are happy. However it isn’t just about happiness because happiness is a state of being and mind for us as people. What makes one person happy might make another person sad. However it is the ability to have the choice to pursue happiness that make the pursuit of happiness a core value of our nation. Since the beginning of time, many countries have denied their residents the pursuit of happiness and have forced their residents to be happy. In America though, our Founding Fathers wanted us to as a people to always have the choice to pursue our happiness rather than the government and our nation’s leaders telling us what we the citizens should be happy about. That’s why the pursuit of happiness is a core value that many of us don’t really understand but it is essential to the American Dream. Without being able to pursue happiness on our own than how can we say that we are achieving the American Dream we want and not the American Dream of others. That’s why the pursuit of happiness is essential to what being an American is, however it is up to us to determine if we achieve that happiness which goes with responsibility for our own actions.

7. Honesty & Truthfulness—Many of us don’t understand why honesty and truthfulness are core values but when you think about, it is when we as Americans are honest and truthful with not only each other but ourselves that the American Dream can be achieved. Ask anyone who has achieved in this nation and they will tell you that they were honest and truthful with themselves when trying to obtain the quote unquote American Dream that we all pursue. Also they will you that they were honest and truthful with others in their dealings to get ahead. It is when we are honest and truthful that we reap the awards that God has in store for us. Honesty and Truthfulness allows us as a people to gain trust from others because by being honest with people, people begin to believe in you and what you are doing. Therefore it is easy to help someone who is honest and truthful than to help someone who is deceitful and dishonest. This core value is one that we all must have if we want to truly achieve the American Dream which our Lord and Savior wants us to have. That is the American Dream we should trying to obtain in the end any way.

8. Patience—There are so many reasons why patience is a core value we must to achieve the American Dream but I think this definition gives the best description why. Webster’s Dictionary says that patience is bearing pain or trails without complaint. Therefore it is patience that helps us as a people understand that things are not going to happen overnight. It is patience that has helped us as a nation come closer to that perfect union our Founding Fathers want us to be. Patience is having self control which goes hand and hand with another core value which is discipline. It is patience which allows one to be disciplined but it is discipline which allows one to stay in touch with common sense and to take responsibility for their own actions. However patience is the core value in which our nation was built on because many of our nation’s leaders had to have patience in order to get many of the great things that helped keep our nation together. Patience is essential to obtaining the American Dream because no good thing can happen overnight and although we may suffer through trails and pains, we must face it without complaining. That is what patience is about and that is what the American Dream is about.

9. Ethics—Having ethics is having moral principles or practices. Ethics is a discipline in dealing with good and evil and with moral duty. This is why ethics is an essential core value to obtaining the American Dream because our nation although imperfect has seen great ethics in the time of immoral duties. In fact when one has ethics they to do the right thing although the right thing might be scrutinized by others. Ethics is having the moral duty to do good things for others without expecting anything in return. That is what the American Dream is about because doing good things for others and understanding that is a moral duty for all of us, we help others achieve the American Dream that we all want to obtain. Ethics might not be considered by many as core value but in the wake of all that our nation is facing, it is clear to see that a lost in ethics is a part of the reason for majority of our nation’s woes today. Ethics is a core value and principle that our nation has neglected at times which is why we find ourselves in messes but when we practice it, we have all benefited from its practice.

10. Patriotism—A patriot is considered a person who loves his or her country. However the American Dream is about patriotism because why would any of us want to achieve something that we do not love. Patriotism is not just about saluting the flag, putting our hand across our chest when the Star Spangled Banner is sung and it is not about wearing a flag pin on our clothes. Patriotism is loving your country and being honest about your country. Be patriotic is about being able to stand up for your country when others try to destroy it and it is about being honest with others as well as yourself about your country when it is not doing right. Patriotism is a core value that helps us as a nation understand what being an American is. In fact patriotism helps all of us come a step closer to achieving the American Dream. How can any of us achieve the American Dream if we don’t love our country? In fact why would any of us want to achieve the American Dream if we didn’t have love for America? That’s why the American Dream can’t be achieved without having patriotism and that is why patriotism is a core value.

11. Justice For All—This is engraved in our founding principles and it is a part of our constitution. In fact justice is defined as fairness and righteousness. Therefore it is important to understand that the American Dream could not be possible if justice for all was not possible. Justice for all means that everyone is entitled to a right to achieving justice when wrongs might have been enacted against them. While justice for all does not guarantee equality it is a step in the right direction for one to obtain equality. Without the core value of justice for all than the American Dream could be lost when faced when bias and other unfair dealings. Justice for all allows people the opportunity to at least go after wrong doers when fairness is not practiced. Justice for all makes the core value of honesty and truthfulness important because those who practice honesty and truthfulness are living up to the value of justice for all. Therefore it makes those who practice honesty and truthfulness are practicing justice for all by simply being fair and truthful for others as well as themselves. So justice for all is a core value that our Constitution was built on and it is why the pursuit of justice for all is essential to us as Americans obtaining the American Dream.

12. Freedom—The last core value but especially not least, freedom is having independence and it is the ability to be free. Freedom makes all the other core values possible and it makes the American Dream obtainable for all of us. Freedom allows us to think for ourselves which gives us the right to have common sense. Freedom is what makes us as Americans accept responsibility for our own actions regardless if they are good or bad. Without freedom than how could we know for ourselves to take responsibility for anything we do? In fact without freedom we would probably only know right from wrong because that’s what our government and others tells us is right or wrong. Freedom gives us the ability to have discipline and patience to deal with the things in life that we face each and every day. Life would be meaningless if we didn’t have the freedom to do things on our own to degree. Having the freedom to make some of the decisions we make in our lives is what the American Dream is about. It is because of freedom that we understand what liberty is because with freedom we go beyond the norm to make life better for not only ourselves but others as well. In fact freedom makes the pursuit of happiness possible because we as a people are free to decide what happiness to us is and no one else is deciding that for us unlike in other countries. Freedom makes honesty and truthfulness possible because people have a choice to be honest and truthful. It is nothing in this country that says a person has to be honest and truthful when dealing with others. That’s why freedom gives us the ethics that we should practice in this nation. Having the understanding of what is good and evil is a freedom that we as individuals decide for ourselves and it is a freedom that gives us the right to choose what is our own moral duty in terms of what is good for us as people. Freedom is the core value which allows us to practice patriotism in our own way and not just the way that our government and others want us to display it and portray it. Freedom is the core value that makes all the other values possible believe it or not. So without freedom, there would not be any of the other core values that we need in our pursuit of the American Dream.

Now these are the 12 core values that I feel are important to our nation and us as a people as we go forward in trying to achieve the American Dream. However I asked well over two dozen people for their opinions on what they felt three (3) of America’s core values were and the ones that responded back to my question I am thankful for. While some people said some values I have listed, others listed values that I didn’t think about. Nonetheless I appreciate all those who assisted me in compromising this list of core values that I hope all of us Americans live by and uphold as we aim to perfect this imperfect union.

Brandon King
Freedom
Family
Prosperity

Jamaal Oldham
Economic Stability
National Security
Constant Diplomacy with allies

Thaddeus Flowers
Resilience
Ambition
…..

Demetrius Braddock
Freedom
Liberty
Justice For All

Khalilah Omar
Independence (Freedom)
Money (Power)
Culture

Donald Mitchell
Integrity
Hard work
Trust

Fareeda Brown (My Sister)
Equality
Diversity
Life
Pursuit of Happiness

Keith Mensah
Faith in God
Family
Strong Community

David Forteson—The Air Force Core Values
Integrity First
Service before self
Excellence in all we do

Virginia Brown (My Mother)
Family
God
Knowledge

Muhammad H. Shabazz (My Father)
Freedom
Justice
Equality

Solon Phillips
Equal Opportunity
Individual Liberties
Freedom of Expression

Eva Boyd
God
Freedom of Speech
Equality

Lakeisha Lee
Honesty
Truth
Patriotism

Tonya Richardson
Competition
Family
Money
Patriotism
Independence