The American Dream

This October,2011,I am hot on the trail of The American Dream.The urgency of this dogged pursuit was triggered by current events on the national scene.I detected
a hot lead at the Martin Luther King,Jr. Washington DC National Memorial Project.
Dr. King delivered a paper on The American Dream at Ebenezer Baptist Church,Atlanta, Georgia on 4 July 1965.In that document, Dr. King said,
" It is found in those majestic words of the Declaration of Independence,words lifted to cosmic proportions: " We hold these truths to be self-evident,that all men are created equal,that they are endowed by God,Creator,with certain inalienable Rights,that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness."This is a dream.It's a great dream."
Another lead was found in an October 20,1995 Guest Opinion Article in The Philadelphia Daily News,
" The Million Man March in Washington was a noble,peaceful people's effort to get the Afro-American community and the United states of America to look itself in the mirror...The crusaders marched without wages,riches or rank.They carried their hopes,dreams,,ambitions,talents and toil and placed them at the seat of government for the world to see." The author of that opinion also reported that,"The
march has a rich basis in African folklore,tradition and Afrocentric sentiment as
evidenced by (several)sayings including:

"Work must be inspired by the right ideals, and education must not simply teach work but life based on those ideals."
W.E.B. Du Bois

" I believe in recognizing every human being as a human being-neither white,black,brown or red."
Malcolm X

I also found leads to the American Dream from an unlikely contemporary source,
Woopidoo.com. The following quotations about greed were found listed at this internet website:

" Most of the common stocks are subject to irrational and excessive
price fluctuations in both directions as the consequence of the ingrained
tendency of most people to speculate or gamble...to give way to hope,fear
and greed."
Benjamin Graham

"My major problem with the world is a problem of scarcity in the midst
of plenty...of people starving while there are unused resources...
people having skills which are not being used."
Milton Friedman

" If you think of life as like a big pie, you can try to hold the
whole pie and kill yourself trying to keep it or you can slice it up
and give some to the people around you and you still have plenty left
for yourself."
Jay Leno

Now , that last quote really impressed me!Was it credited to a recent
graduate of the college of clowns, the celebrated television talk show mogul, Jay Leno ? You never know what humorous facts investigations will turn up ...