The American Oxygen

The song “American Oxygen” came on the radio station recently on a local station and its patriotic sound and lyrics give a new freshness to the singer Rhianna who generally sings about heartbreaks and romance.  The video shows the different aspects of the American life; for instance, a clip of the 9/11 attack, Americans living out their life in the cities, American leisure activities such as baseball, and of course wars and protests in the past and in the present were shown throughout the entire five minute video.  In addition, there were scenes of the announcement of the death of Martin Luther King and the boat people on the sea and other important historic events in America. 

 As a child of immigrants, the song reminds me how blessed I am to be living in a country that is full of boundless opportunities. I can be whoever I want to be; I can be a physician, an engineer, business woman, a housewife, and the best part is my right and privileges are protected by the law; there will be no government or personnel who will tell me I cannot be what I want to be because I am a woman or because of my religion and my race.  The American dream is possible for those who believe in it, however, in order to obtain our dreams, we have to work hard for it; sitting on the sofa all day and being passive to our goals are recipe to failures and those habits will result in nothing but regrets later on when we look back and the worst part is not living our life to the fullest.  The downside to being an American sometimes is we forget the opportunities that our country can bring to our lives.  Sometimes, Americans are so spoiled by the great opportunities that we choose not to work for it while many people around the world would do whatever it takes to live and work in this land of opportunities.  The good news is it is never too late to take that first step and make changes to our lives.  It’s not easy when we are so comfortable at the stage of our lives but taking that first stepping stone may open us to experiences that will turn our life upside down and as a result, our American dream becomes more clearer every day.    So acknowledge the American Oxygen we have, breathe it in, make use of it, and we will never be the same.