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Not Cut For Importance
...the American dream, that dream of a land in which life should be better and richer and fuller for every man, with opportunity for each according to his ability or achievement. It is a difficult dream for the European upper classes to interpret adequately, and too many of us ourselves have grown weary and mistrustful of it. It is not a dream of motor cars and high wages merely, but a dream of a social order in which each man and each woman shall be able to attain the fullest stature of which they are innately capable, and be recognized be others for what they are, regardless of the fortuitous circumstances of birth or position. - The Epic of America by James Truslow Adams.
Mr. Adams wrote this in 1931 and it remains as true today as it was then - the America Dream isn't specifically about things, it's about attitude, and about opportunities, and the right to be different because what makes you happy is different. Not everyone wants to be a plumber, but opportunity should be there for the plumber-minded to become plumbers - whether their parents were Ivy League or high school drop-outs. Not everyone wants to run their own business, but the opportunity should be there, and the attitude to support it for those who want it. More importantly, this Dream means that the laws apply equally to the wealthiest and the poorest, that courtesy and respect belong to the landed as well as to the homeless, that we each have the right to look one another in the eye without any thought of inequality in our minds or hearts.
We have not yet achieved this Dream, so don't go whining in my comments about how you or someone you know doesn't get to live that Dream. What part of "Dream" are you failing to understand? It's called "Dream", not "Reality" for a reason, you know.
If you absolutely must whine about how the Dream isn't working, feel free to point out to me what's wrong with this Dream that will prevent it from ever being achieved or worth striving towards, and what's wrong with people who try their best to live up to it and to bring it about, and give ways to improve upon it. If you're going to attack it, do so constructively.
I've picked it apart, and tried to see if I could better it, and all I did was come up with ways that would, at some level, create classes and levels in society, and would make segments, and even entire groups of people less than others, so I gave it my best shot. I won't deny you your chance to learn the same lessons. The only flaw I've found in it as stated by Mr. Adams is the use of the word "fortuitous". Remove that word and it strengthens what he's saying.
In modern language, the American Dream is the dream of a society in which each person can explore to the maximum limits their capabilities and receive recognition for that regardless of the circumstances of their birth or wealth.
Short, tall, male, female, transgendered, rich, poor, homeowner, homeless, high school drop-out, post-doctorate, black, brown, red, yellow, white, urbanite, suburbanite, rural, old, young, able-bodied, disable-bodied, intellectually gifted, intellectually challenged, cat lover, dog lover, fat, thin, independent, republican, democrat, libertarian, CEO, busboy, any number of things and often more than one at once - we all, within the Dream, should be able to reach for whatever we want to be, and no one should be able to maliciously or indifferently or callously block our way to that, or make us feel shamed or fearful or less because what we want isn't exactly what they want, or what they think we should want.
...the American dream, that dream of a land in which life should be better and richer and fuller for every man, with opportunity for each according to his ability or achievement. It is a difficult dream for the European upper classes to interpret adequately, and too many of us ourselves have grown weary and mistrustful of it. It is not a dream of motor cars and high wages merely, but a dream of a social order in which each man and each woman shall be able to attain the fullest stature of which they are innately capable, and be recognized be others for what they are, regardless of the fortuitous circumstances of birth or position. - The Epic of America by James Truslow Adams.
Mr. Adams wrote this in 1931 and it remains as true today as it was then - the America Dream isn't specifically about things, it's about attitude, and about opportunities, and the right to be different because what makes you happy is different. Not everyone wants to be a plumber, but opportunity should be there for the plumber-minded to become plumbers - whether their parents were Ivy League or high school drop-outs. Not everyone wants to run their own business, but the opportunity should be there, and the attitude to support it for those who want it. More importantly, this Dream means that the laws apply equally to the wealthiest and the poorest, that courtesy and respect belong to the landed as well as to the homeless, that we each have the right to look one another in the eye without any thought of inequality in our minds or hearts.
We have not yet achieved this Dream, so don't go whining in my comments about how you or someone you know doesn't get to live that Dream. What part of "Dream" are you failing to understand? It's called "Dream", not "Reality" for a reason, you know.
If you absolutely must whine about how the Dream isn't working, feel free to point out to me what's wrong with this Dream that will prevent it from ever being achieved or worth striving towards, and what's wrong with people who try their best to live up to it and to bring it about, and give ways to improve upon it. If you're going to attack it, do so constructively.
I've picked it apart, and tried to see if I could better it, and all I did was come up with ways that would, at some level, create classes and levels in society, and would make segments, and even entire groups of people less than others, so I gave it my best shot. I won't deny you your chance to learn the same lessons. The only flaw I've found in it as stated by Mr. Adams is the use of the word "fortuitous". Remove that word and it strengthens what he's saying.
In modern language, the American Dream is the dream of a society in which each person can explore to the maximum limits their capabilities and receive recognition for that regardless of the circumstances of their birth or wealth.
Short, tall, male, female, transgendered, rich, poor, homeowner, homeless, high school drop-out, post-doctorate, black, brown, red, yellow, white, urbanite, suburbanite, rural, old, young, able-bodied, disable-bodied, intellectually gifted, intellectually challenged, cat lover, dog lover, fat, thin, independent, republican, democrat, libertarian, CEO, busboy, any number of things and often more than one at once - we all, within the Dream, should be able to reach for whatever we want to be, and no one should be able to maliciously or indifferently or callously block our way to that, or make us feel shamed or fearful or less because what we want isn't exactly what they want, or what they think we should want.