“The American Dream is that dream of a land on which, life should be better and richer and fuller for everyone, with opportunity for each according to their ability and achievement…It is not a dream of motor cars and high wages merely, but a dream of social order in which each man and each woman shall be able to attain to the fullest stature of which they are innately capable, and be recognized by others for what they are, regardless of the fortuitous circumstances of birth or position.”
-James Tuslow Adams,
The Epic of America
From the beginning of our great nation, the American Dream has been a key assertion of the founding fathers and those seeking freedom and liberty. The famous line everyone references is where it all began: “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.” Throughout our turbulent history, this dream that is uniquely American, has ebbed and flowed with the times. From the Civil War, fought to expand this dream to every American citizen, to the Great Depression of the 1930s which destroyed that dream for so many, to the pandemic induced uncertainty we now face today, it has been an ever-present part of American life, attainable or not.
But, has the American Dream died? That depends on who we listen to. Some say it has died because the gap in wealth between the rich and poor is too great, possibly insurmountable. Others say the American Dream is what you make of it and everyone needs to haul themselves up by their bootstraps, no matter how short they are, and work hard. Many politicians and pundits opine about home ownership being one of the key benchmarks indicating the success of the American Dream.
From 2004 to 2015, according to the St Louis Federal Reserve Bank, home ownership fell 6% because of the Great Recession of 2008 and the sluggish economic recovery of the following almost decade. Other factors driving the decline include the push by companies to move away from providing cumbersome and costly pensions, instead providing contributions to an employee’s own 401K retirement plan.
I believe the dream is alive, and there is greater opportunity to achieve this dream now. It is alive for more people across this country, than at any other time in our American history.
The American Dream is what we each make it. It is the entrepreneur seeking to create something to improve one small facet of our lives. It is the college student who earns their degree and finds his or her “dream job.” The American Dream can be the young mother of three who stays home to raise her family and be present at all her children’s baseball or football games. The American Dream is not a cookie cutter concept. It is uniquely you or uniquely me. No one gets to define the dream for us.
The American Dream has been a reality since this country started, unfortunately unavailable to some, while ubiquitous for others. Through perseverance though, we have closed the opportunity gap (with room to close it further) afforded those willing to chase after it.
The American Dream is not about money or material things or social status. It is about opportunity and freedom: the opportunity to build and own a business of your own, the freedom to choose where your child attends school, the ability to flourish in a work environment free of discrimination or harassment, or even the freedom to choose your own path without a cumbersome government making you dream their dream.
The American Dream is alive when people are given the freedom to thrive. It thrives when the government steps out of the way and allows imagination, ingenuity, and innovation to blossom. As these blossoms grow, great things will happen for all Americans. The American Dream doesn’t just affect the one chasing it; it affects us all. When a doctor finds a new way to cure disease, a inventor creates a new and cleaner form of power generation, or a teacher nurtures the inspiration in students, we all win.
My own personal American Dream has been paused. I worked hard, my family and I sacrificed, and I finally made it to the pinnacle of the aviation world flying for a major United States airline. Only to see a global pandemic and partisan political rancor in an election year put that dream on pause…for a time. My Dream is not dead. It is simply on hold.
And while I remain in the penalty box of life, I am not going to lie down and give up on my American Dream. I will persevere and move forward, work hard and leverage my abilities to provide for my family and my community. Who knows, this door may have just closed permanently. But another one will open, and I will see where life leads us.
What does you American Dream look like? Where is it taking you? Don’t give up. It is still alive for those who want to take advantage of it.
Reality Politics 