American Dream? Or Nightmare?

Rare and disquieting are those moments when the News takes on flesh from behind our safe, sanitary electronic media veil.  Yesterday was just such a moment for me.

Summoned for Jury Duty in Dallas County, TX I resisted the temptation to “play the Crip card” with my MS to avoid it, opting (somewhat self-righteously, I confess) instead to dutifully respond to the call regardless of my disability and fulfill my civic role with grace and mercy.

Though fully expecting to yet again dodge the jury selection bullet and be home in time for a delightful lunch with my Beloved (aka my husband Larry) who works from home, I guess the Lord had other plans.

So parking my scooter alongside the inaccessible Jury Box, I along with my five hapless new Jury Buddies took our places.  Now however what at the outset appeared to be a routine traffic-related civil case began to unfold as anything but.

The attractive young Hispanic plaintiff took the stand.  She relayed a harrowing tale of a high-speed crash that left her car trashed with her passenger mother traumatized and saddled with medical bills.  But upon cross-examination it quickly became apparent that this was nothing more than a minor Rush-Hour fender-scratcher (not even bender) incident which downtown Dallas traffic would render implausible if not downright impossible.

However she is no ordinary driver.  For not only does she lack a valid TX Driver’s license or proper insurance, neither is she a US citizen.  She is a Dreamer.  And thanks to President Obama’s “Dream Act” she is now fast-tracked to receive all the same rights and privileges as any other law-abiding, tax-paying US citizen (including filing frivolous lawsuits).   Yeah citizens just like us–her incredulous “peers” sitting stunned in the Seat of Judgment.

But wait! There’s more!

Her mother (who though she has lived here for 15 years does not yet speak English) required a court- appointed and taxpayer-funded interpreter who translated her answer to the question about who she felt was at fault: “I don’t want to blame anyone, I just want someone to be responsible.” Just not her.

Suffice to say that though we parceled out blame for negligence amongst the parties as civil cases require, much to the Mother/Daughter Duo’s dismay nary a dime for damages did we award for such frivolous audacity.

As if feigning disability for fun and profit were not egregious enough, what’s more disturbing is the brazen display of a Spirit of Entitlement far more crippling than any mere physical  disability.  For regardless of country of origin, when sown into the hearts of those far more concerned about how much they can get rather than how much they can give, The American Dream is powerless to spawn anything but an American Nightmare of nation-altering proportions.

Image Source:  http://goo.gl/fCTjH8