Can someone please define that phrase I hear every now and then? Are you currently living it or a nightmare? When was the last one and when will be the next?
The generic definition: a life of personal happiness and material comfort as traditionally sought by individuals in the U.S.
Another definition: the American Dream, the notion that the American social, economic, and political system makes success possible for every individual.
The "American Dream" is talked about a lot over here, but it is a rather vague term without a clear definition. It has to do with freedom and equality and opportunity and success. "Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness" is what our Declaration of Independence says.
In the 18th and 19th and 20th centuries, America provided more equality and opportunity than Europe, where class divisions kept common people from rising in society. European immigrants could come to the US and their children could receive a free public education and they could work hard and they could become economically successful. The offer of nearly free land in the west was a great incentive for Europeans to come here.
Today Americans are worried that their American Dream is vanishing. Wealth inequality is growing, and people don't expect their children will be better off than they are, which used to be the normal expectation.
As for me, I'm retired and living a comfortable life. But I feel pessimistic about our society. I think we are in the last days of the Roman Republic.
The American Dream isn't what it used to be.
In the past it was the ideal that every US citizen should have an equal opportunity to achieve success and prosperity through hard work, determination, and initiative.
Now it's morphed into just sit around and whine and complain then get in line for your free handouts because the gubmint will take care of you.
The American dream is the opportunity for any American citizen, regardless of their race, creed, or color, to advance in society and income as far as they are willing and able to put the effort into.
The American dream was first proposed by our founding fathers when they wrote in the Declaration of Independence that "all men are created equal, that they are endowed their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness".
I grew up poor and white with an unemployed, alcoholic father, and a weak selfish bitch mother. I applied myself in school, began working as soon as I was old enough to get a work permit, got into college in scholarships, grants, and student loans. Paid off those student loans in two years. Now, I have a 3500sf house with pool, 1 acre yard, two cars, gorgeous wife, and a six-figure job on the Gulf Coast of Florida. Along the way I resigned from two careers, got fired from two others, nearly lost everything when I was almost swindled, moved to new states twice, and almost died a couple of times.
The American dream is that you can get what you are willing to work for. Too many people expect someone else to make their dream come true for them.
Cannot add much more to what has been said above. However, more recently I have considered the TUSCL version of the American dream to include an extended visit to a German FKK club!
" The American Dream isn't what it used to be.
In the past it was the ideal that every US citizen should have an equal opportunity to achieve success and prosperity through hard work, determination, and initiative.
Now it's morphed into just sit around and whine and complain then get in line for your free handouts because the gubmint will take care of you."
- brilliant - couldn't agree more.
To me the American Dream is being successful. I think "successful" means different things to different people. I figured owning a house and cars were a given, so for me to feel successful I felt I had to make a certain amount of money annually and own a certain type of car. It's all bullshit because when I achieved those goals I didn't feel any better, and now I want to make more money and drive an even better car. Sometimes consumerism works against you.
@shailynn That's called "keeping up with the Jones's" and it is the most successful fraud the military/industrial/entertainment complex has perpetrated against the American people after the 2-party system.
Life is good in America even though you'd never know it listening to our politicians. Even the poor have cars, big screen TV's, the internet and cell phones. And hardly anyone goes hungry. We enjoy more personal liberty than most people in the world. Our police are corrupt to varying degrees, but also held accountable by public pressure. We have the most diverse press and media in the world. No matter what your politics are, you have plenty of media supporting (and decrying) your personal beliefs. Access to information in America is unequaled.
The only thing that sucks about living in America is if you can't afford good health insurance. Obamacare has helped a lot but it's not a substitute for true socialized medicine.
The American dream is often defined by the experience of the dominant demographic group. Since Baby Boomers grew up in the Fifties their American dream is an unrealistic consumers paradise where unskilled people could get middle class wages without investing in education. Although an historical anomaly this era has been a Gold standard for the last twenty years and completely unrealistic for anybody starting out in this economy. High skills demand high wages but the model in everyone's head is "I am worth $25.00 an hour" This will not change for another generation or two but these things do change over time. The old American dream had more to do with personal freedom and its expression but this has been subverted to consumerist attributes and reduced to monetary concerns. In a competitive economy this will only create people who feel they are losers. Too bad we do not have a class system like England does so they would know it is not their fault.
I don't have anything to add, except that here in Omaha, one of the two remaining bikini bars in town is the American Dream bar. Of course, if it were my American dream, it would be nude dancing, there'd be extras, and the girls would look great. Not that this has anything to do with what this thread's about.....
16 comments
Another definition: the American Dream, the notion that the American social, economic, and political system makes success possible for every individual.
In the 18th and 19th and 20th centuries, America provided more equality and opportunity than Europe, where class divisions kept common people from rising in society. European immigrants could come to the US and their children could receive a free public education and they could work hard and they could become economically successful. The offer of nearly free land in the west was a great incentive for Europeans to come here.
Today Americans are worried that their American Dream is vanishing. Wealth inequality is growing, and people don't expect their children will be better off than they are, which used to be the normal expectation.
As for me, I'm retired and living a comfortable life. But I feel pessimistic about our society. I think we are in the last days of the Roman Republic.
In the past it was the ideal that every US citizen should have an equal opportunity to achieve success and prosperity through hard work, determination, and initiative.
Now it's morphed into just sit around and whine and complain then get in line for your free handouts because the gubmint will take care of you.
The American dream was first proposed by our founding fathers when they wrote in the Declaration of Independence that "all men are created equal, that they are endowed their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness".
I grew up poor and white with an unemployed, alcoholic father, and a weak selfish bitch mother. I applied myself in school, began working as soon as I was old enough to get a work permit, got into college in scholarships, grants, and student loans. Paid off those student loans in two years. Now, I have a 3500sf house with pool, 1 acre yard, two cars, gorgeous wife, and a six-figure job on the Gulf Coast of Florida. Along the way I resigned from two careers, got fired from two others, nearly lost everything when I was almost swindled, moved to new states twice, and almost died a couple of times.
The American dream is that you can get what you are willing to work for. Too many people expect someone else to make their dream come true for them.
In the past it was the ideal that every US citizen should have an equal opportunity to achieve success and prosperity through hard work, determination, and initiative.
Now it's morphed into just sit around and whine and complain then get in line for your free handouts because the gubmint will take care of you."
- brilliant - couldn't agree more.
To me the American Dream is being successful. I think "successful" means different things to different people. I figured owning a house and cars were a given, so for me to feel successful I felt I had to make a certain amount of money annually and own a certain type of car. It's all bullshit because when I achieved those goals I didn't feel any better, and now I want to make more money and drive an even better car. Sometimes consumerism works against you.
The only thing that sucks about living in America is if you can't afford good health insurance. Obamacare has helped a lot but it's not a substitute for true socialized medicine.
http://www.amazon.com/America-Stole-Dona…
But there were also problems.
Now we need to be looking in a different direction and learning:
http://www.amazon.com/European-Dream-Eur…
It is a more inclusive vision.
SJG