A recent article in the New York Times reports on the results of a poll administered by the Times and CBS last month. In the poll, people were asked "What does the American Dream mean to you?" They were also asked if they thought they had or would achieve it.Given the current recession, it's no suprise that people's responses about having achieved the American Dream, or their prospects for doing so, were more pessimistic than they once were. Many people did not think they would have more and live better than their parents. But the survey also found that people were redefining their dream away from material success toward more abstract values. Concepts like freedom, equality, and opportunity were mentioned as the "real" American dream by an increasing number of people.
Obviously, this says something about people's optimism in difficult times. It also signals a welcome, if temporary, departure from measuring success in terms of how much "stuff" one can acquire. I think this trend should be encouraged, and I herewith state my New American Dream and hope that others will share it:
1. That we in the USA stop polluting the planet and do what needs to be done to reverse the damage, even if it means our standard of living declines somewhat.
2. That everyone in the USA has sufficient food, clothing, and shelter.
3. That everyone in the USA has adequate health care coverage that is not tied to employment.
4. That we in the USA take proper care of children and the elderly.
5. That we in the USA stop discriminating against one another on the basis of race, gender, sexual orientation, religion, or any similar factor.
6. That the USA be responsible for providing meaningful work for its population that doesn't involve only providing consumer items for everyone else.
7. That the USA develop and administer an education policy that is inclusive and effective and focuses more on learning and thinking than on self-esteem building.
8. That rich people and corporations in the USA accept that they have to pay a fair amount of taxes to support the country and its people.
9. That the government of the USA stop sending its citizens to die in irrelevant wars and instead concentrate on helping people who need it.
10. That everyone in the USA stop waving guns and flags around and concentrate instead on items 1-9.
And that's it, folks.
2 comments:
I would offer another suggestion: insist on products truly made (not just assembled) in the United States. We've stopped making much of real value, and creating funny money or paper profits in the financial craps shoot shouldn't count as creativity!
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/26/magazine/my-life-as-an-undocumented-immigrant.html?_r=1&scp=6&sq=illegal%20immigrant&st=cse
The link above will direct you to the NY Times article where the author, and Pulitzer Prize winner, confesses he has been in the US illegally almost 20 years. I think the American dream lives in everyone – no matter where they are from – and the lengths they will go through to achieve it. I encourage everyone to read this article and appreciate what we do have.
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