Please tell me: What IS "The American Dream"?

[Bluerthanblue]

I'd really like to understand what others see as the "Ideal"-

Woke up the other day, and the question "just what IS the "american dream"? kept bouncing around in my head- and I didn't feel great about the answers that I came up with.

Looking at the Founding Fathers- the Sons of Liberty- those who suffered through Ellis Island, who sweat in freight containers from China, who risk their lives on flimsy rafts, or desert crossings- to those who sit on waiting lists in refugee camps hoping to come here.... why? Beyond the "it's better than where we were"- What makes the notion of "America" something people would want to be a part of?

who exactly are 'we'?

what IS the 'goal'?

has it changed over time?

I've been told we are not a 'democracy' but rather a "republic"- And it is fact that it is not 'majority rule'- hasn't ever been 'majority rule'- (if the 'majority' is a true one- Men AND Women- all races, classes, and creeds)

What is YOUR vision of America, and what we 'should' stand for?

Even though I go back to the Mayflower in some of my DNA- I'm not sure I understand or embrace the 'ideal' that is (or has become) America-

Please tell me your perspective-

thanks,
blu

[NMDemDist2]

1. the "standard" American Dream is to own your home and have a

little nestegg for your old age or kid's education

that's it


simple eh?

edit to add the wiki link http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Dream

[no_hypocrisy]

2. Better question: What WAS the American Dream? n/t

[LynnTheDem]

3. Waterboarding.

Invasions.

Occupations.

(white) American supremacy.

World domination.

Seems to be the "New American Dream". Actually it's the Old American Dream gone public.

[bahrbearian]

5. Thats the american Wet -Dream

[bahrbearian]

4. to retire to a cardboard box under the overpass, with a view.

[pooja]

6. The idea is Freedom.

The reality is Corpratism and Nationalism and a gimmmmmmeeee attitude.

This past Friday was shining example of it.

I'm going to put positive spin on this though... there are enough good people out there that understand and we will get back our freedom.

[Missy M]

7. The people who hope to come here still think it is the....

land of milk and honey with streets paved of gold. They must have a rude awakening when they arrive.

[Bluerthanblue]

8. Guess I haven't asked this well- what makes people say:

"I love my country"
"We aren't perfect, but we are the best thing going"

What 'is' "my country"?

what exactly about 'us' makes us better than any-place else?

Thanks for the replies-
I realize this is a difficult question, and the answers will vary person to person- but going right back to the "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness" written into our earliest 'credos'-

what about the "for all"??? the 'common good'?

The notion of not being 'imperialists'-

Was that empty words? Marks on a page? Jibe talking?

[BlooInBloo]

9. I think of it as BNWS - "Brave New World Syndrome" - lol!

[leftofthedial]

10. the NEW! IMPROVED! corporatist American Dream

To never get seriously ill because unless you have European, Canadian or Chinese dual citizenship, you can't afford health coverage.

To die the instant you "retire" because you have no pension and it is just a matter of time until your Social Security is handed over to capitalists.

To spend the minimum amount of time homeless between the foreclosure on your home and being shipped off to an "anti-terrorist" camp.

[BuyingThyme]

11. A chicken in every two-car garage.

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

12. Making sure the rich get as much as they think they need.

[Laelth]

13. Wow ... that's a complicated question.

When I was in college I read an essay, whose author I cannot recall, that outlined the American dream in terms of what most Americans wanted for themselves, in their own lives. There were four essential elements: 1) personal vehicle, 2) home ownership, 3) children, and 4) leisure time. The author's point in this 1987 or 1988 essay was that it was becoming increasingly more difficult to get all four. "Power couples" in which two partners/spouses worked could generally achieve only the first three elements simultaneously. The author was suggesting that the "American Dream" was no longer within reach of most Americans.

As you've framed the question, however, that answer is inadequate. For America, I'd like to see my country move ever closer to achieving the ideals espoused in the opening sentence of the Declaration of Independence. We've been working on realizing those ideals for over two hundred years, now, and we're not there yet, but we are definitely much closer now that we were when our nation was founded.

-Laelth

[Bluerthanblue]

14. This is more like what I was hoping to hear, even

though the ideals espoused by our forefathers was only 'in theory' not in practice-
I didn't 'frame the question' at all well, and I'm sorry for that.

It bothers me, that what I always saw as a "just" "free" society, was one that doesn't fit really well with the notion of a laisse-faire, free-market economy. A society where corporations can have all the benefits of person-hood, and have none of the consequences. A society where the less fortunate are seen as lazy, or unworthy, or responsible for their plight, when in true reality, quite often, those who are 'privileged' were simply born into it, and ride on the laurels of inheritance and connections.

Can we state, as a group of people who live together in a community or connected society, that we believe that every human being is 'created equal' and that we are endowed with INALIENABLE RIGHTS- and then, when it is 'expedient' for us to say that the premise of equality only applies to 'us' and our 'friends' (whoever they might be at present)?

I guess I still am that starry eyed idealist, even in what is proving to be the autumn of my life. Or maybe I simply never really understood what 'America' really was 'founded on'. Maybe I've simply assumed that the notion of equality and justice in the TRUE meaning of the word (not "just"-"us") was an American ideal.

The more I hear, from all sorts of people on the right, left, and in between, the more confused I am.

Thanks all for your answers-

blu

[Bucky]

15. Sigh. Perhaps you've heard of Wikipedia

Google "American Dream" and then hit "I feel lucky"

The American Dream is a subjective term usually implying a successful and satisfying life. This term usually implies financial security and material comfort, but can also imply a dream of fame, exceeding social, ethnic, or class boundaries, or simply living a fulfilling life. Perceptions of the American dream are usually framed in terms of American capitalism, its associated meritocracy, and the freedoms guaranteed by the U.S. Bill of Rights.

The term is not easily defined, and has subjective meaning to many who claim it. The American Dream is often associated with immigration, as the dream of religious freedom, economic prosperity, and meritocracy has historically driven immigrants to the United States. The term is used by many modern Americans to signify success in life as a result of hard work (as in, "living the American Dream").

The origin of the American Dream, a term coined by James Truslow Adams in his book "The Epic of America" (1931), stems from the departure in government and economics from the models of the Old World. Additionally, from the American Revolutionary War well into the later half of the nineteenth century, many of America's physical resources were unclaimed and held out the promise of land ownership and lucky investment in land or industry. The development of the Industrial Revolution combined with the great natural resources of the enormous and as yet unsettled (by Europeans) continent created the possibility of achieving wealth and transitioning "from rags to riches".

And so it goes...

[shadowknows69]

16. To succeed financially

no matter how many people have to suffer or die for you to do so? Just following the example of my leaders here.