Our nation needs to protect the American Dream

National Security & Technology panel @the Culture, Religion & Tech event 2024

Last month, Vator and the Economic Club of Miami hosted Culture, Religion & Technology, take II. The event was held at Miami Dade College and emceed by Francisco Gonzalez. Sponsors included the Freedom Foundation, IronGate Capital Advisors, We Over Me, Folio Capital, Mercantile Banco and Voz Media.

During the first panel titled “National Security & Technology” panel, the topic of the American Dream and its lost meaning on the next generation came up after moderator Hamlet Yousef, partner at IronGate Capital Advisors, warned that China was the No. 2 biggest investor in Silicon Valley, and ignoring its activity was enabling the Chinese Communist Party to not only steal our intelligence and human capital, but create cognitive and societal warfare – confusion and conflict about America’s values. “The CCP gets you to fight yourself from the inside,” he said. 

In other words, societal warfare has pitted Americans against Americans in order to destroy the country and its ideals from within. 

“Surprise, surprise - this great thing called the American Dream, the later generations - they don’t even believe in it. It’s a lost-hope generation,” lamented Ben Carson Jr., partner at Fvlcrum Funds, who joined the panel. “Think about our family; we love this country,” said Carson, whose father is Ben Carson, former Secretary of Housing and Urban Development under Trump’s first term, “But I was talking to my daughter the other day and she said, ‘My friends do not like America.’ She’s 12; this is our future. They don’t like America. They don’t like anything this country stands for. They think this country is a bully. And it’s hurting the rest of the world.”

This is a serious national security problem, Carson added. “We need to address the hearts, minds and souls of the people in this country, providing economic opportunity but also to make sure they know what this country stands for.”

Former Ambassador to El Salvador Ron Johnson, who was also on the panel, chimed in on the American Dream, saying “I worked on almost every continent. I have first-hand experience that there is no nation more generous, more compassionate and tolerant. We are exceptional in so many ways. There’s no nation that’s more diverse. I get frustrated that young people don’t learn this in their education system. We have to repair this gap.” 

Read the rest of the essay on We Over Me.