Happy Fall

The New Year American Dream (posted by Daniel)

09/20/2009 at 9:03pm

Over the last fifty years or so the American Dream has been constantly reexamined. No longer is the discussion centered on those who fail to achieve it, such as Arthur Miller’s Willie Loman, but rather there is a search for its meaning. Sam Sheppard has characters who feel lost and trapped in their surroundings, caught in whirlwind of the establishments’ beliefs and imposed desires and their own personal quest for self fulfillment. The idea of the typical American has changed from a blue collar white middle-class citizen to a hodgepodge of different races, backgrounds, and cultural beliefs. We have the one country whose citizens cannot be distinguished by skin color, culture, religion, or even accent. The American family image of a white suburban set which comes with a boy, girl, and a dog posing with their parents in front of a white picket fence no longer seems appropriate. We hardly know what it means to be American much less what the dream of one may entail. When a dream is lost by a culture it comes down to one of two reasons: either the dream became to fantastical to achieve and was given up by the masses, or it was achieved. The American dream which founded this country, which called to the nations around the world, which boosted our population, economy, innovation, and stature has been fulfilled.

The American Dream was a call to those who wanted a better life. It was a fresh, new start where you could create your own footing and pass it down to the next generation. It was an ideal that promised progress and legacy. Sometime after World War II when America emerged as a powerful world leader, that dream was met. Not all the citizens get to revel in success, but the middle-class, who represent the majority of a society and are the true dictators of a nation was by and large successful in achieving stability and promise.

But here lies the problem. Dreams are not meant to be fulfilled. They act as a stimulous to inspire and motivate. Once a dream is accomplished, the road comes to an end and the journey is over. So what happens afterwards? There is no book that is about a hero being home. What is left for the future generations who are to reap the benefits of their ancestors struggle? There is no odyssey for Odysseus’ son, no comedia for Dante’s children, no epic poem for the first generation of Rome. The youth is left with a desire that is superimposed. Instead of improving or advancing they are left to keep the status quo. And once the journey is complete the downfall begins.

Since being the “best in the world” America has started to lose its footing. Our education has fallen, our healthcare is weak. Innovations come from Japan and China. Our jobs are outsourced and our products are imported. The young grow up with a sense of entitlement. Their work becomes just another thing they have to do. But the epitome of how far we have fallen can be found with the change of one word: struggle.

Struggle once meant a journey; an obstacle to be faced and overcome to achieve some greater good that was waiting for us. Struggle was met with a feeling of pride and confidence. Now it is met with disdain. We don’t have to struggle. All the hard work done by our families in the past was done to remove struggle from our lives. But that removal of struggle takes away our motivation, our purpose, our pride. Work has become mundane and a nuisance. There is no big picture that we want to fight for. The youth is filled with the bottled up angst that used to fuel movements and revolutions and there is no place to release it. There is an unsettling feeling and desire for change with no sense of which direction to change to.

Maybe the recession will help. Maybe it will last long enough for us to rediscov er our passion for work, for journey , for adventure. Never has history seen such a rich society consumed by fear. And it’s a fear of struggle an adversary, of hardships and failure. These are things that create heroes and legends. These are the things that lead us to great achievements. Our society will not let another Achilles emerge. We deny the adventurers. A man who leaves everything to achieve something great is called crazy. There is a reason why we wake up from dreams before they are completed. There is a reason why books end once the hero comes home.

I pray we find our struggle and our hardships. I pray we rediscover true risk and reward. May the difficult road not be looked at as the least desirable but rather the one whose trees bare the most fruit, even if they are harder to reach. For if we do not rediscover our “American Dream” we will lose our purpose and ultimately ourselves.

On this Jewish New Year, instead of wishing you a peaceful, sweet year as is customary, I wish you all a road with challenges and obstacles and the bravery and courage to overcome them. May we earn our apples and honey once more.

Charlotte Gulezian

very interesting.

but...if desire is the standard than one man's desire to produce and another man's desire to rob him have equal ethical validity.

Human good does not require human sacrifices-the rational interests of men do not clash. value for value. Trade. The only rational, ethical principle for all human relationships.

Cindy Dinh

Here, the only class endangered by the economic conditions of our country is the middle class, as you've mentioned. The endangerment really is derived from redefinition; the capabilities to survive or overcome said conditions determine the footing of class hierarchy for the bulk of America. The flux, fear, or chaos of the people have ultimately been exploiting influences for our government's decisions. But look at us. We're still bawling for what we think is our rights. This health care issue says it all. We're still trying to best other countries, despite our overwhelming debt and education system. I think the post-modern American Dream that you seek - the one beyond Shepard's need to rediscover the self, individual and as a nation - absolutely needs to be disbanded. We need to be disemboweled until the value system is gone in order to return to this golden beauty of struggling that you hope for...

Cindy Dinh

This American mentality needs to be humbled much further, even downright shamed, a collapse of all systems of entitlement are in call. I think I'm a pessimist when I say that I don't think this will happen in the near future. I can see maybe a shift in the middle class where an appreciation and a younger generation of striving innovative explorers emerge, but I certainly don't see an overhaul for our nation. As our economy gets better, that want for real change lessens.

Charlotte Gulezian

If Man hold's his existence as his ultimate value, not ethics set beyond the grave, than the only proper moral purpose of a government is to protect men's rights- without property rights no other rights are possible.

Daniel
You're talking about revolution.

Cindy
No, mentality change.

Daniel
A large scale mentality change like that can only stem through revolution.

Cindy
You want a rediscovery of that mentality. I find that difficult especially with our generation.

Daniel
I want a reawakening. And yes, I agree, it will be difficult. We have been bred to take the path that lays before us like all generations are. But at some point, each generation must go their own way.

Cindy
My point is that we need a drastic shift in order for that happen.

Daniel
I disagree. We need drastic change, I'll agree to that. But first we need to realize the need.

Cindy
Yeah, but in order to realize that need, we need to experience real loss.

Daniel
That's one way. There are others. Loss is a dangerous way to experience change though. Other emotions such as anger, fear, and well, loss can alter and confuse the action.

Cindy
Yeah, and it's really the aftermath and the conclusion that begins the change. As a survival tactic, I otherwise can't see that realization for need. Even if taught, it runs against our want to be comfortable, and that's a hard change to make.