Wednesday, March 26, 2014

The American Dream

I read a BBC article titled American Dream breeds shame and blame for jobseekers dated 25 March 2014. If you aren't sure what is the American Dream <gasp>, please read on. It's the United State's ethos and heavily influences the way we Americans feel, think, and behave.

For a long time, I never questioned the American Dream. Never would consider it. And those who railed against it-- didn't hear about those kinds of people until I was much older-- were decidedly anti-American, a derogatory pronouncement to this day especially if you are an American. The American Dream explained everything. It was real. The Great Equalizer. The you-get-what-you-deserve dream manifested in our social class and standings. If you were rich, you earned it. If you had a good job, you worked hard for it. If you had the Leave-It-To-Beaver family or The-Brady-Bunch kind of life, you did something right. The American Dream was a meritocracy. I can be and do anything.

The American Dream has appeal. It over-rides uncontrollable factors such as identity (Minority? No problem! Work harder!) and economics (Poor? No problem! Work harder!). The idea is that you cannot control what or who you were born into, but you can control where you end up.

But there is a vulnerable underbelly of the American Dream. Like many wild creatures, those of the American Dream fiercely protect that underbelly. I first discovered the underbelly in a children's literature course, of all places, that explored cultural values and indoctrination in children's literature. I came across an article (sadly don't have the reference) that explained how every culture is based on ideas that shape a society's identity. The ideas become ingrained to the point that the society no longer considers those ideas as theories or concepts, but accepted truths NOT to be questioned. Growing up, I viewed the American Dream as a fact, a reality. I only first questioned The Dream during that course.

Personal success validates the dream and feeds into ego. However, what happens when a person fails? The BBC article points to Detroit as an example of the American Dream and its erosive affects on self-esteem and self-confidence. Detroit, of course, isn't the only example. The article could have easily included homeless veterans, failed artists, and every person who never became what they dreamed. Failure is internalized: What happened? What did I do wrong? What should I have done differently? What if...

What if things aren't as controllable as we believe? Cancer doesn't just eat away an individual. It eats into family finances, emotions, and time. You can do everything right and a tornado will still tear up your home. You can cross the street, get hit by a bus, and be bedridden for the remainder of life. Ok, I know there are people out there who will say you should not have eaten GMOs,  or move, or look both ways before crossing the street.

I call that defending the underbelly. We become vulnerable and defensive when someone attacks our truths. What we fail to realize is that ideas aren't necessarily truths. They are just that, ideas. We are meant to think about them and understand them. If we are to be the best, we have to understand who we are. We have to understand The Dream and how that made us and the path we walk because of it.

While I know people will call me un-American for this post (Oh boy. This is my first post), I think it is very American to ask questions, to explore beliefs, and to exercise First Amendment rights. I love the ideal of the American Dream, but I also know that we (myself included) have let the American Dream cloud reality. We judge others based on The Dream. You're homeless because you deserve it. Get a job. Work harder. We don't consider mental illness, infirmities, and the tornadoes that plough through lives. When we do, we tend to do it superficially. So bad things happened to you, but you can still pull yourself up by the boot straps. Why should my hard earned money help feed children of lazy, welfare moms. The American Dream doesn't just affect the way we view ourselves, but how we view others. It governs our beliefs and actions.

I've been wanting to voice my thoughts on the American Dream. I admit that there is a part of me afraid to share because people will call me un-American. But I assure you, I am very American, and I love this country enough to say, "It's time we start asking ourselves the hard questions and expose the underbelly of our belief system."





I probably can go on and on. However, I read somewhere that a blog post shouldn't be too long. So I'll end here.

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