Why the American dream is a lie that only Americans believe
Before I get into the article, I find it very interesting that a corporate firewall would block a site like my friend’s Oso’s as political/activist but lets drudge go right through.
My relationship with America as a country is a complicated one. I am an American. I have the citizenship and passport to prove it. However, I am not happy with the status quo and even angry at times for what this country does, not so much to the world but to its own people. I also long ago stopped believe that this was the best country in the world because I found the view not just inaccurate but myopic and even at times absurd. How can the best country in the world let the aftermath of Katrina happen?
Today I want to talk about the American dream, and something that conversation with one of my best friends brought out this week. There is a huge disparity between what the American dream means to an immigrant and what it means to an American. While both of them are hard to achieve, one is not just unrealistic but a flat out lie.
The American dream to an immigrant is that they will be able to feed, cloth and educate their children. That they will have the opportunity to get a job and earn a good wage in an honest way. I don’t think many immigrants come to this country believing that it will require no work or that it will be astronomical.
Not everyone can be a winner. Not everyone can be Donal Trump. Not everyone can be a sports or TV start. Not everyone can be a celebrity.
I never considered this before, but it seems that a lot in America believe they can become Rockefeller. That his story is not only possible but almost guaranteed! and that could not be further from the truth. No wonder the sense of entitlement so many people feel. Even through hard work, astronomical rise to fame and fortune is not easy to attain or sustain.
If that is what American’s believe, that everyone can be in the 1%, then the American dream as presented to them is a lie.
Capitalism is very cruel because failure is very punishing. You invest, you fail, you lose. In order for there to be winners, there has to be losers.
What frightens me the most is that the middle class is being eroded, and nobody seems to be noticing the trend. You can look to your neighbors to the south, not just Mexico but all of Latin America and you can clearly see that when you do away with the middle class, the economic system breaks down. See the huge difference between Argentina and Brazil. I mean Brazil is now lending money to the IMF.
Wake up people. If you continue to think that the country is the best one in the world and don’t pay close attention to what has failed around you, this country will end up in the same situation. I guess as long as everyone is entertained and with a full belly, we will all be ok. Having celebrities is way more important than being sold a dream that is really not attainable by everyone.
Apparently, you saw the movie I recommended as well…
We need to sit down and discuss it one of these days.
Cheers!
This is all and well, but you fail to give a valid reason on why the American Dream is a lie. I personally believe in it. Additionally, you tell use to wake up and pay close attention but offer no suggestions on what to look for or what to do. This was a fairly large article that had basically no content.
It does have content, but it is for you to arrive at the conclusions.
It is lie because education is failing and kids are learning that wealth = success but that does not happen for everyone, therefore it is an empty promise.
What to do is simple, vote, become involved, care about education, care about school.
The lie is believing that someone who is not you, i.e. everyone else, is subject to the American Dream in the same fashion that you are. The American Dream is an individual dream. It is just as you and I cannot both go to sleep at night and have the same dream. You alone are responsible for your American Dream. To state that it is a lie to anyone else is simply fooling yourself. You cannot determine the dream for another.
Then why are millions of Americans without jobs? Some individual dream you have…
You say capitalism is evil? You reference Brazil in the light of being prosperous. Why is Brazil suddenly prospering? Capitalism.
- Refuted