American Dream – Adapted
H02, Luz Tellez-Lopez
As civilians of the United States, we have all – at some point in our life – adopted the notion of the American Dream as the scale to define our futures and dreams. Whether our exposure was from relatives, our schools, or even media outlets (television, shows, podcasts), we have sustained our life expectancy. James Truslow Adams coined the term in 1931 and offered the word as an ideal rather than prosperity hope.
Defined in verbatim in “The Epic of America”: dream of land in which life should be better and richer and fuller for every man, with the opportunity for each according to his ability or achievement
Individuals have personally defined the American Dream, in accordance with their life, and aimed for its potential to be exercised as an effort to separate that dream from an illusion. The traditional intention of this idea aligns with producing enough economic mobility that yields a comfortable life, or the bettering of oneself. It has hailed America as the land of hope and opportunity for individuals of all kinds of backgrounds and lives, especially to those outside the country. This illusion of hope and wonder for the land of opportunity has perpetuated through generations, along with a national patriotism among those who succeed. However, there is a great discrepancy in the American Dream as the promises fall short from the realities; this connection was made after analyzing the upward mobility along with the country with various disparities (socioeconomic, education, health, etc) considered. Within this report, I will focus on what the American Dream means to me, and what adaptation should predominate in this century with acknowledgment to the nation’s gaps.
The long, generational attachment to the American Dream was very inspirational during my upbringing. I immigrated to the states in 2004 (I was 4 years old) in a time that was so different from today. The influence of being an immigrant impacted greatly my interpretation of the American Dream because of my parent’s intention to emigrate from Mexico. Their reasons for emigrating were for economic prosperity since my mom was a mother of 2 then; furthermore, their decision was also correlated to their parenting points of view, because they wanted more security and freedom present in our (my sister and I) childhood with other important resources (including, education and entertainment with nature). There was a lot of hope and selfless intentions in bringing me here, I believe. I later adopted their version of hope, as any other child does with immature freedom, and it was to put in the hard work to see our family prosper – my parents aimed more specifically to give their children a better platform to be someone. There is a quote in the book that best fit my parent’s intention for my siblings and me with the American Dream, that is as follows: “the greatest use of life is to spend it on something that will outlast it,” William James quoted by Perry (Kaag). My mom and dad have always wanted me to see out my best potential that included a dream with habits and a pool of happiness. But I must include how their gamble to come here did not include hopes and dreams for them right away. The rumor of the American Dream in Mexico did not include the hardships one would face in moving to the States, especially with no degree. In foreign countries, it is the case that this dream is a false truth, an illusion that does not help the poor (measured in Mexico). My father passed away 11 years ago, and my mother remains. Our version of this dream is still hoped to live better, despite the adversities, and it has evolved my definition of this complex notion. I still hold onto the term because it means differently to me than it does to the remaining minorities, but a personal reinvention doesn’t cascade to a national reinvention, sadly, for change to be enacted. With the polarized climate of today, I fear that proposing to prioritize equal opportunity in our nation may not be heard out by our government officials or others so easily.
The True Cost of the American Dream - Ramos
The American Dream does not motivate others with similar backgrounds as mine, rather it invokes them to break the romanticizing that our nation is equally equipped for everyone’s upward improvement. American-born individuals carry their own definition and the traditional stigma of the dream with them, especially to those in the lower-class or rural areas. As John Rawls has studied, there are those who are born with advantages and others who are not, thus allowing a disproportion of inequalities to brew. It becomes problematic when those born in a community that is very underserved find it difficult to self-improve. The American Dream does not live within communities as such because there is no equal opportunity nor hope when the chances of succeeding have already been occupied by others. It’s a society where injustices are accepted when there is an active movement in the economy by the wealthy. In other terms, some blink the other way when the economic profits are still moving forward even if there are 37.2 million Americans in poverty. Education is a habitual route some take to escape this poverty and the strong intent of escaping leads to sick minds and unhappiness. In a Milwaukee community, hopeful students sought a postsecondary education as a path to escape poverty; however, they faced systematic challenges in attaining a degree that culminated in an incompletion with loan repayments and a return to the city full of financial hardships (Goldrick-Rab). Rebuilding a better society where the American Dream applies to all fairly is a principle discussed by Rawl’s Theory of Justice.
A PBS documentary I came across depicts the gaps of the American Dream, which I will be watching during my break. Someone in the comments suggested an adaptation on today’s societies as a comparison, which would be nice if it happened. Hope this is of interest to you all.
Park Avenue: Money, Power, and the American Dream | WHY POVERTY?
Another soul-sucking truth is the wealth gap rates, specifically between races. Income growth for the higher class of Americans has shown a wider gap when compared to the middle and lower classes. Its income growth has continued to rise since the 1980s. “As of 2016, upper-income families had 7.4 times as much wealth as middle-income families and 75 times as much wealth as lower-income families. These ratios are up from 3.4 and 28 in 1983, respectively.” It does make one wonder what has led to the major improvements being in just the upper-class, rather than the other classes as well. This growth disproportion can be connected to intergenerational wealth: the great success of one is passed down to the next as a means for sustainability of the wealth and new growths. This level of success is what everyone aspires to achieve in some monetary form, a success to reach. However, that is not the dominant reason why disproportionality in wealth is exhibited, and equal opportunity of all classes may be connected to the systems per state (including education quality, economic opportunities, lack of community resources, voter suppression, etc). It comes down to the powers in office that impact Americans’ daily lives – our states. The people we allow to gain power is our country’s greatest flaw. There is an advantage those in power see when their people are struggling, and it is to bait them with their false narratives. Our current climate says it all where a lot of Americans are not willing to have conversations about our most impacting issues that inhibit many Americans from gaining happiness, success, or free will.
My point of view on the American Dream has always been about hope for the better version of yourself, not letting the systems fail us. I have heard it multiple times, and I also find a wonderful smile in that this rising generation can vocalize concerns and enact change if kept on a matured trajectory. I acknowledge that America, no matter how promising, has its faults and is why the American Dream deserves reinvention. The illusion of promises has circulated for years and is a limitation for some Americans to grow up and mature. As this course has come to end, I want to acknowledge the value of questioning as a tool that serves all of us in our next steps, whether in school or outside. It matters to question and treat others respectfully as we encounter hardships and successes because it always impacts someone else to follow someone who can lead. In your path to finding your philosophy, reinvent your American Dream with your temporary habits.
The new American Dream - Courtney Martin
What is your American Dream? - UCLA
Does a course like this exist at MTSU? I found this neat course introduction presented by the designated professor, which I found so very compelling.
Citations:
Goldrick-Rab, Sara. “City of Broken Dreams.” Rereading America: Cultural Contexts for
Critical Thinking and Writing, 11th edition, edited by Gary Colombo, Robert Cullen, and
Bonnie Lisle, Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2019, pp. 210-231.
Kaag, John J. Sick Souls, Healthy Minds: How William James Can Save Your Life. Princeton University Press, 2020.
I offered a course last summer, "Democracy in America," that was sort of an "American Dream" course... revisiting the ideal of democracy in America as perceived by a French visitor in the 19th century, Alexis de Tocqueville, and examining its subsequent fate through the lens of philosopher John Dewey ("Democracy and Education") and others.
ReplyDeleteI think you're right, the dream needs clarification and reconstruction. But at least half the country still believes in a dream of better days for our children, and theirs, as the warranted reward for hard work and commitment to values of fair play and freedom. It's not dead yet. Much depends on how engaged your generation will be, in holding our country accountable to its stated ideals.