People have wrong ideas about dreams. My student gave me a GP question that asks “Is Racial Harmony just a dream?” A dream can mean rather different things; and when put in different context, the ‘just’ in the GP question can be rather unjust. Dictionary.com gives the follows explanations for the term ‘dream’, when used as a noun.
1. a succession of images, thoughts, or emotions passing through the mind during sleep.
2. the sleeping state in which this occurs.
3. an object seen in a dream.
4. an involuntary vision occurring to a person when awake.
5. a vision voluntarily indulged in while awake; daydream; reverie.
6. an aspiration; goal; aim: A trip to Europe is his dream.
7. a wild or vain fancy.
8. something of an unreal beauty, charm, or excellence.
When the term is taken to be used in the context of meaning 5, then the question is basically asking if racial harmony is possible. When meaning 6 is adopted or used as the interpretation of the way the term is used, then the ‘just’ seeks to demean the idea of ‘racial harmony’ and so you can argue it such that it’s to your advantage. The two meanings seem so close but is essentially subtly different and necessarily so. A dream, can thus be an indulgence (ever unreal) or an aim (a fact of the future).
That being said, the Facebook status I recently observed, which says:
Have you ever wanted a dream to become reality so badly that your heart just aches when you realise it is, but a dream.
The quote tells me that this one is a dreamer, who indulges in the dream rather than one who aims to achieve. In this self-perpetuating cycle, the guy could only continue to engage in a dream the way it is used in meaning 5 and never in meaning 6. This leap has to occur for him to make a difference; otherwise, I guess he’d just die of heartache.
