Sunday, August 22, 2010

The American Dream

Well, my oldest is doing some Summer English homework. (yeah... pre-work for this Fall... so much for Summers off) She had to read a fiction book from certain authors. The book needed to have characters and a plot that in some way related to the American Dream. Then she needed to interview people from various generations regarding their perspectives about the American Dream. Well, she wisely or unwisely asked her blogger Father for his thoughts. I think she got more than she bargained for.

See below for the questions and my answers. Please add your comments and thoughts regarding this fascinating topic. Maybe she and I can learn something new from this exercise.

What is the American dream?
  • I believe the American dream is best stated in the first line of the Declaration of Independence. “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”

Where did it come from?

  • The American colonists were people that had left their homelands in search of a New World where they would be free to practice their religions without being persecuted. Or where they had chance to earn more money and provide a better life for themselves and their family. Or where there were fewer laws that limited what they could do or how they could live.
  • The New World provided the promise of this Life, Liberty and Happiness. The European governments then saw the money being made and wanted to tax it in order to help pay expenses in Europe. This was unacceptable to the colonists that sought to escape the European way of life. Therefore they chose to fight for the American dream.
How has it shaped our society?
  • The American Dream has shaped almost every aspect of our society and our history. The immigrants that came to America were those that wanted to pursue the American Dream. They wanted to escape other countries where they could not pursue life, liberty and happiness.
  • The country is based on capitalism, a system that encourages hard work and innovation. It also discourages people from free loading. (ie living off the efforts of others)
  • The Constitution was written to protect the American Dream. And all laws that are written must be in alignment with the Constitution. This prevents the government from intruding too deeply into the lives of it’s citizens.
  • Americans have fought repeatedly to support the American Dream, in American and in other countries. We have fought many countries that would like to take it away. (1776, War of 1812, WWI, WWII, etc) We have fought a Civil war to extend the American Dream to all people. We have fought for the rights of people in other countries. (ie Korea, Vietnam, Iraq, etc)

Is it a realistic dream to hold onto? Why?

  • Yes !!! It is natural for people to seek an improved life for themselves and their children. Without this dream, conflict will increase and hope will decrease.

What are the obstacles to the American Dream?

  • A significant increase in the number of free loading citizens. The American Dream is based on every citizen striving to better their lives and the strength of America. The analogy would be people in a boat that are trying to row upstream. (ie global competition) If everyone pulls at their oars, the boat moves forward and the people in the boat get closer to their destination. (ie the dream) However failure begins as more people choose to not row and the boat begins to slow in its progress toward the destination. Then when the number still working to fulfill their rowing responsibilities drops low enough, the boat begins to drift away from the destination/dream. At some point the few remaining rowers will become exhausted and the boat will be lost.
  • The government potentially becoming too big and controlling. (ie stifling Capitalism and the Dream) Government is needed to facilitate the Dream, however the cost of Government is a burden on the dream. Because each of us take some of our success and send it to the Government in the form of taxes. It’s like a leak in the boat and as the leak gets bigger, more people need to drop the oars to help with bailing out the water. Too big of a leak and the boat drifts backward or sinks.
  • Intolerance of other citizen’s beliefs. People refusing to let the mixing pot shift as people are added. Imagine if people start fighting in the boat…. Who is rowing?
  • People refusing to jump into the American mixing pot. A single National language and solid belief in the American Dream is critical. How do rowers communicate efficiently with everyone speaking different languages? How do the rowers get to their goal, if the destinations/goals are significantly different?

Have you attained the American Dream? In what way? OR Do you still want to?

  • I believe I have attained the Dream. I have a great family, a good job where I can contribute, and the freedom to pursue my happiness in many different ways.

How do you think young people define the American Dream today?

  • I am not really sure… I think that Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness are still relevant for every generation.

1 comment:

John said...

I think I missed one key obstacle. It is a variation on the Free Loader. These are the greedy hard working folks that decide to pursue their happiness at the expense of others.

Though I believe in Capitalism, a certain amount of ethics and responsibility are required by the participants in order for the system to function correctly. It puts the boat at risk when people, companies, corporations, etc choose to cheat, pass their costs to others that get no value, break laws, act unethically, etc, etc, etc...

Imagine if some of the hard rowers decided to steal food from the other rowers because their own significant efforts made them feel justified, or they are just unethical self centered bullies. Slowly the other rowers lose energy and hope.

Then for the good of the boat, the Captain/Government will need to put more rules, regulation and oversite in place to prevent the theft. (ie bigger hole/tax)

Some recent examples would include Petters, BP oil spill, Bank bail out, Pollution, etc. They have and will all cost us. (ie lower std of living, higher taxes, more rules, etc) All because a few folks chose to cut their costs or maximize their profits. (ie outside of traditional values, beyond laws, excessive risk, etc)