The "American Dream" Needs a Reality Check

During the presidential campaign and throughout this economically tumultuous time, the phrase "the American Dream" is tossed about with increased frequency. Yet when you ask various people to define the American Dream, you seldom get the same answer.

The Americans for Prosperity Foundation (AFP) hosted their first "Defending the American Dream Summit' in January 2008, for which the headline speakers were six of the Republican candidates for president, including Senator John McCain. Surprisingly, I can't find a definition of the American Dream on either the APF or their Summit's Web sites, and the press release for the event gave only this:

"Defending the American Dream Summit will be a massive demonstration of public and leader's support in favor of the issues related to genuine fiscal restraints, lower taxes, and the free-market policies delivering the American Dream. "

Additionally, they offer this quote from Ronald Reagan:

"You can't put a price tag on the American Dream. That dream is the heart and soul of America; it's the promise that keeps our nation forever good and generous, a model and hope to the world." President Ronald Reagan, October 22, 1986

In August, FOX News' "Your World" host Neil Cavuto accused Barack Obama of "bashing the American Dream" when the Democratic nominee criticized Senator McCain's inability to recall the number of homes he owned.

"Barack Obama just releasing another ad bashing John McCain for those seven houses, eight houses, whatever it is - that's two ads in two days... Well, instead of slamming McCain, is Obama really bashing the American Dream?"

If owning seven or eight homes indicates achieving the American Dream, many of us will never see that dream come true. And frankly, anyone who believes the American Dream is solely about wealth, property ownership, or flat screen TVs and flashy cars needs a wake-up call.

When American historian James Truslow Adams coined the phrase in his book "The Epic od America" in 1931, he defined the American Dream as:

"that dream of a land in which life should be better and richer and fuller for everyone, with opportunity for each according to ability or achievement. It is a difficult dream for the European upper classes to interpret adequately, and too many of us ourselves have grown weary and mistrustful of it. It is not a dream of motor cars and high wages merely, but a dream of social order in which each man and each woman shall be able to attain to the fullest stature of which they are innately capable, and be recognized by others for what they are, regardless of the fortuitous circumstances of birth or position."

That may be just one man's opinion, but it's one I happen to agree with. Ironically, Adams worked in investment banking before he penned those words. He also served in the military, and was a delegate to the 1918 Paris Peace Conference.

His notion is that equal opportunity is of greater importance than the personal wealth of a few, which seems to be in direct contradiction to the sense of wealth entitlement that has permeated factions of our population. Especially now that economists have deemed us "officially" in a recession, everyone wants their own financial security to be somehow guaranteed. The wealthy are opposed to having their tax cuts repealed, despite the fact that their tax dollars could help shift the country out of its recession. Many members of the middle class continue to look for ways to earn more money, even as the rest struggle to maintain their current financial status. The less fortunate have lost jobs, lost homes, and find themselves in the throes of poverty. The American Dream is, currently, only working for the wealthy; for many, the concept of "equal opportunity" is a myth.

Many people will argue, saying that in the "Land of Opportunity," every American can become a CEO of a Fortune 500 Company if they put their mind to it and work hard. But ask yourself, do you truly believe that the wounded Vietnam veteran living on the streets of D.C. has as fair a shake as the fresh-faced college grad, dressed in a suit, ready for an interview? Does the single mother whose hours were slashed, forcing her to lose her health care benefits, have equal opportunity as the young woman who inherits her parents' business and can schedule her own work/life balance to suit her family's needs?

Not everyone with a college degree will be successful. Many people who work tremendously hard at their jobs will get passed over for a promotion, and many hard working individuals will lose their jobs due to forces beyond their control.

It's hard not to notice the day-to-day challenges an economic recession presents the majority of us with; in fact, at the grocery store the other day, I was horrified to see how much a few sticks of plain old butter cost. In fact, rather than make my own pie for Thanksgiving, I considered buying a store-made pie, since it somehow cost LESS than the butter. But I bought the butter, and I made the pie in my kitchen on Thanksgiving Day, listening to the radio and enjoying a day off from work (a day off that the people who checked me out at the grocery store had not been granted). With my hands in the dough, my shirt -- and my mischievous puppy -- coated in flour, preparing food for my family, I felt like I had it all.

If the American Dream is about making the most of the opportunities presented to you, acknowledging that you win some and lose some, and the will to pick yourself up when you fall, then I think we all have a shot at seeing that dream come true. But basing our society's interpretation of quality of life on wealth alone serves only to alienate and dishearten many... and whatever your interpretation of the American Dream, it should not include exclusion.

Comments

[Fabini]

American Dreams...

He bought the American dream but it put him in debt
The only game he could play was Russian roulette

He drank Coca-Cola, he ate Wonder Bread,
Ate Burger Kings, he was well fed

They took a clean-cut kid
And they made a killer out of him,
That's what they did

[Sundialsvc4]

I don't know whether to laugh or to cry when I see the United States of America, of all countries on this planet, "poor-mouthing."

Let's take inventory, Brett... I certainly remember it, and probably you do too. A "dollar" was 1/32 of an ounce of gold. There were factories everywhere. We produced largely for ourselves and sold the surplus. When the chips were down and the "We Can Do It!" Rosie-posters went up, we had both the means and the expertise to "Do It."

Furthermore... it's still there. The factories are still there. The rail-lines haven't been torn up.

Sure, we need to overhaul them: we don't want to make our air unbreathable again. But we have productive-capacity right here ... dozens of miles, not thousands, from the place where another industrial plant (in most cases) is ready to consume them. We have the capability to create DOMESTIC sources of supply that will be in every way competitive to any "over there."

When we re-establish our OWN house, we will become a genuine trading-partner once again ... able to offer, not empty "IOUs" with no hope of repayment, but real Stuff.

We listened to a leprechaun. It's time to say, "Oh, Damn! How stupid of us!" And then, get busy.

[LMPE]

Many people say that Hunter S. Thompson lived the American Dream. In that sense, the American Dream implies going out and making the most of oneself.

That reminds me of something. In spring 2006, I took a college course about fairy tales. One of the things that we discussed in the class was "Are fairy tales only for girls?" The overall gist of fairy tales is about "making it", ergo the American Dream. According to that logic, Hunter S. Thompson belongs in the same group as Cinderella!

OK, so I'm basically talking nonsense. But seriously, let's drop the notion that the American Dream means owning material wealth.

[kstuff]

My American Dream includes a middle class. Is this too idealistic? I've got a college degree and a masters in my field, from a prestigious university. I don't need a plasma television. I need money for student loans, utilities and other basics. There's nothing dreamy about the career trajectory of college graduates, if anything, a degree (or two) appears to be highly overrated...

[Brett Ashley McKenzie - Huffpost Blogger]

Kstuff, I'm with you, and I don't think you're being too idealistic.