Dr. Michelle Nelson on the American Dream

I am a nurse practitioner, a family nurse practitioner from Brooklyn, New York. 

I'm first generation American. I'm proud to say my mother hails from Barbados and my father from Jamaica. And they came here as two young adults in their late teens with a couple of dollars in their pocket. And because of the American dream, wanting to have a better life for themselves and their eventual children, they came without knowing what their fate would be, what the future held. And I am so glad that they took that step. 

This is what the American dream is. Give me your poor. Give me your tired. It happened for my family. And I want that for other families, too. When we deny people access, we deny all the Dr. Nelson's of the future. We deny families that can go and do amazing things who want to live in American Dream contribute and help us to grow as a nation. 

Everyone deserves a chance. Everyone deserves optimal healthcare. Everybody deserves a voice. Everybody deserves the right to be able to vote. Everyone deserves the right to be an educated voter. Everybody deserves the right to be able to contribute, to make this country even greater than it is now. 

I don't know how we got to where we are in terms of being probably the most polarized we've ever been. What has happened to sense of community, decency. What's happened to the American dream, that everyone should be able to come and have the pursuit of happiness. That is slipping from us. And we have to ensure that we get back to core American values where we not only are trying to ensure a great life for ourselves, but we're also helping those around us, everybody deserves part of the American dream. There's more than enough Dream to go around for everyone. And I'm going to do my part as a global citizen to make sure that everyone buys, buys, buys into the American dream.