The American Dream
Wikipedia describes the American Dream as:
a national ethos of the United States, the set of ideals (democracy, rights, liberty, opportunity and equality) in which freedom includes the opportunity for prosperity and success, as well as an upward social mobility for the family and children, achieved through hard work in a society with few barriers.
The American Dream is what brought countless immigrants to this country. I know because even for me, having arrived in the United States in 1995, the American Dream was part of the lure that brought my family and me over.
The American Dream: a house, a car, a family. Photo from my own archive.
America was born in an ideal of freedom and the “pursuit of happiness” as much as out of practical taxation woes. When we think about the American Dream now, we think about the homesteaders who would be able to claim 160 acres of land after living on it and improving it for at least five years. We think of the 1950s and 1960s when home and car ownership in the U.S. soared, the middle class expanded and many people were able to give their children a better start than they had had themselves.
At the core of the American Dream is the belief that one could improve one’s life. That belief in being able to make things better is what encouraged people to work hard.
In the last few decades, this core has been shattered. No longer does hard work translate to a better life. For more and more people, working hard is necessary just in order to not sink into further poverty.
Is it possible to re-kindle that dream? What would it take to lift the despair from America and replace it by hope in a better future?
It would mean restoring upward mobility. It would mean creating a country where hard work moved you forward, makes your life better. Where making the right choices is rewarded. There are a lot of changes that need to happen in order to create the right circumstances for the American Dream to flourish again. It has to do with creating jobs, financial security, health care, education, and many more.
Most of these topics will get addressed on other pages on this site. Restoring the American Dream would not be a primary policy goal, but it should be a concept that helps us focus our actions and measure the results.
Eric Grivel
March 23, 2018