"And this, too, shall pass away."

Lincoln used this at a speech in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, celebrating the progress of the 19th century and urging a committed focus on extending it to the future.  He hoped that this progress was just beginning; that the triumphs of the 19th century would continue and that this successful period and the accessibility of the Dream of Upward Mobility would become available to all "Americans".  He did not think that this would end, but Cullen, on the other hand, believes it has.

I disagree with Cullen.  The Dream of Upward Mobility has not been an easy thing for some to achieve, but that does not mean it's impossible to reach.  Just in Lincoln's lifetime the Dream of Upward Mobility began to extend from only white males to African-Americans and women (though this was a very slow process).

If we look at colleges today, I'll choose St. Olaf at random, I'm sure there are more than one or two students here who are the first of their families to attend college.  On a larger scale, I bet if you asked Mr. Cullen whether or not he thought an African-American man could be president when he was writing his book, he probably would have said no.

I can be just as cynical as the best of them (Cullen included) but when it comes to the Dream of Upward Mobility, I can be as optimistic and idealistic as Lincoln himself.  It is so intrinsic to the "American" Dream that to say it is dead is to say that what this country was built on, the ideas, values, and beliefs have also perished with time.

As long as "America" is a country, the Dream of Upward Mobility shall never pass away.