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On Jan. 20, just one week ago, Donald J. Trump took office for his second term as president of the United States of America.

For many it was a joyous day filled with celebrations of hope for a more peaceful global climate, cheaper cost of living, and a secure border. After all, these issues were some of the top-ranked amongst his supporters.

For an almost equal many, it was a day filled with mourning as they watched a proclaimed “threat to democracy” take the most sacred office in all of the land and arguably the world.

It’s not my intent to debate the validity of feelings around the now sitting president. Rather, I want to address the ones who did mourn.

I had prior community commitments honoring the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. that same day, so I was unable to view the inauguration or its activities. I did receive numerous calls and messages about people feeling hopeless, betrayed, and apathetic not just about the president but also the nation and the promise of this nation.

It made me ponder: Could the “American Dream” King preached about really just be dead that quickly in my lifetime? A dream that carried enslaved people to demand their freedom and for their descendants to demand not just their rights but the rights of all who call America home?

A dream that has given so many impoverished people hope that if they work hard, they can elevate their quality of life? A dream that has brought millions to the shores of America in hopes of a better life?

A dream that recognizes the imperfections of the nation and pushes her to continually be better, could all that really be over?

The Dream Lives On

I held my head and began to think, and it soon hit me: The American dream is alive and well. You see, dreams are aspirations of sorts. At times dreams can be fearful and nightmares, but others can lead us to our goals.

Right now, many Americans are stuck in a psychosis of their nightmare, if you will, with arguably great reason. I, however, argue that you should not let your nightmare consume your ability to aspire, your ability to dream that American dream.

As I walked in the MLK Day parade in Honolulu with Voyager Charter School, I took note of the kids and their big smiles as they carried the banner with large smiles and yelled “Aloha” to spectators.

These kids, who represent an array of ethnicities spanning Filipino, Hawaiian, European, and more, walked side by side unburdened by the new federal administration. They showed up on their day off early in the morning to show that Martin’s dream, an American dream, lives.

As I came home and hugged my son who does not look like me, I realized that the American dream still lives. As I sat down and scrolled through pictures of the week, from opening day at the Legislature to the MLK day march, I came across my pictures of Kanaka participating in resistance as we remembered the illegally overthrow of the queen by American businessmen.

I found their resistance powerful — marches, chants. But perhaps the most impactful was the joyful resistance. The smiles from a people who continue to overcome, the smiles from a people who refused to let their culture be systematically erased, a sign of a people who continue to accomplish, aspire, and dream.

Feel the way you feel. Go for a walk, scream in a pillow, have that splash of whiskey, then stand up. Be bold, be engaged, be aware, organize, resist, cheer, smile but don’t you dare stop dreaming!

Don’t allow current burdens to interrupt your ability to dream for your nation and your family in this nation. Americans before us had faced seemingly unimaginable odds, and they never let go of their ability to dream their American dream.

America has been seen as a young country in centuries prior, but as she approaches 300 years she is not as young as once seen. She now has a history and people we can look to for inspiration and guidance — our ancestors. We would be wise to remember our them and their dreams, and then we must continue to dream.