The American Dream, what does it mean to you?

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Kim Chee

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I was wondering what my fellow squatarians thought about this subject:

The American Dream:
What does it mean to you?
Do you think you can achieve it?
Is it possible?
What sacrifices would you have to make to achieve it?
Would you want it?
 
The American Dream is a bunch of bullshit that media and government feeds naive individuals to keep them hard working wage slaves. There is no such thing really.

Dreams are individual. The thought that an entire nation should hold one dream of similar dreams is quite ludicrous.
 
Unfortunately I'm in the middle of all your optional answers. I live paycheck to paycheck, own nothing and keep trying to better myself with the "lightbulb" over my head that asks "so how the hell will you be doing that".

yay, btw
 
The american dream is like "globalization" or "free trade." It's a hollow public relations term. It's there to sell the idea of debt. That debt creates a learned dependancy which in turn requires over-production and/or employment.

You have to live somewhere as literally all land in the world has been taken over and hoarded. Either renting or mortgaging is basically the only option the vast majority have. Renting is treading water and buying a home is long term debt that is compounded monthly. And jobs pay so little that not only do you have to work them, you have to take on massive indignities just to make the next payment or face ruin. This further provides leverage to industry over the worker. It also further forces ideas such as "higher education" which further sells debt.
 
Tude said:
Unfortunately I'm in the middle of all your optional answers. I live paycheck to paycheck, own nothing and keep trying to better myself with the "lightbulb" over my head that asks "so how the hell will you be doing that".
yay, btw
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I guess I missed that.
I could have made a "wanting it, doing it, slowly making it happen:)" option.
 
Margin Walker said:
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Dreams are cool. Why do they have to be American though? People are like "my grandfather dreamed about coming to a country where ________________ wasn't an issue, and where he had the freedom to do _________________". Like, the goal is to live a better, more free life. That's not just a dream, that's not just a wish, that's a fuggin' mission. THat's teh stated objective. Everyone wants to be free and have all the things they need to thrive and have a fulfilling existence, so I DON'T buy into the "American" dream b/c that usually entails nationalism, patriotism, or some other bullshit. That phrase is loaded and totally subjective depending on who you ask. I'm a fan of Dreaming. 'American' dreaming makes about as much sense to me as the 'victorian-colonial-india dream.' (does not compute.)
 

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If you're talkin thoreau, save it for english class.

If you're talkin white picket fence, destroy it.

If you're talkin our own personal 'dreams', then by all means, go back to sleep ;)
 
I just want to be fucking happy.
I want to be able to wake up and eat fucking breakfast.
I want to be able to calm myself down without having to think about blowing my brains out.
I want to be able to appreciate all the good things that I have.
I want to stop having to worry about the people I love, and whether or not I'm doing the right thing.
I just want to live a fulfilling life.
Fuck the American dream.
 
mmmmmmmichael said:
I was wondering what my fellow squatarians thought about this subject:

The American Dream:
What does it mean to you?
Do you think you can achieve it?
Is it possible?
What sacrifices would you have to make to achieve it?
Would you want it?
Click to expand...
To me, the American dream means financial success, a cabin in the northwoods and a government that leaves me the fuck alone.

I like to believe that is achievable and I am currently doing research into how and where to do this.

Yes it is possible, people currently do it all over the country.

Sacrifices would be many but I dont care. Lmao
 
To me, the American dream means being able to work and eventually own your own home...blah...blah...

Sounds good, but I don't see working all my life to simply have a place to stay and keep my things.

I prefer my dream...which has been adjusted for inflation, low wages, rising property costs, and the harsh reality of reality.

A regular sized home in some surburban neighborhood is definitely going to be out of my reach in this lifetime. I think I might be able to get three acres which I can farm on year round in Hawaii and build a tiny home where I can rest my head. I start saving for the land next month.
 
mmmmmmmichael said:
I guess I missed that.
I could have made a "wanting it, doing it, slowly making it happen:)" option.
Click to expand...
I would have selected that option. I took out a loan for a house two years ago when I determined that a mortgage on a small house would cost less than renting in this affordable housing deprived state (Vermont).
Also, I have a dream of having a safe and beautiful place to live and to raise my kids, which I think of as the essence of the American dream; the home ownership part of this might be a long con but maybe not...historically the rent system has been a cornerstone of oppressive social systems.

It seems worth mentioning that the drive for ownership for the purposes of safety and comfort are fundamentally human. The expression, "The American Dream", suggests conformity and nationalism and as such seems slightly offensive. Maybe if we called it," The Human Dream of Safe and Equitable Housing" your survey would generate different responses.
 
From the point of view of a german guy: what is the American Dream anyway?
I think it's not a myth. It was real in the past.
Wikipedia says:
----
The idea of the American Dream is rooted in the United States Declaration of Independence which proclaims that "all men are created equal" and that they are "endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable Rights" including "Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.
---
It was different here in Europe in the 19th century. Wikipedia furthermore tells us:

----
In the 19th century, many well-educated Germans fled the failed 1848 revolution. They welcomed the political freedoms in the New World, and the lack of a hierarchical or aristocratic society that determined the ceiling for individual aspirations. One of them explained:

The German emigrant comes into a country free from the despotism, privileged orders and monopolies, intolerable taxes, and constraints in matters of belief and conscience. Everyone can travel and settle wherever he pleases. No passport is demanded, no police mingles in his affairs or hinders his movements ... Fidelity and merit are the only sources of honor here. The rich stand on the same footing as the poor; the scholar is not a mug above the most humble mechanics; no German ought to be ashamed to pursue any occupation ... [In America] wealth and possession of real estate confer not the least political right on its owner above what the poorest citizen has. Nor are there nobility, privileged orders, or standing armies to weaken the physical and moral power of the people, nor are there swarms of public functionaries to devour in idleness credit for. Above all, there are no princes and corrupt courts representing the so-called divine 'right of birth.' In such a country the talents, energy and perseverance of a person ... have far greater opportunity to display than in monarchies.
----
Nowadays I think it's not only the American Dream. Cause Europe (and other countries) changed. I would say, the back then American Dream is more a Europe Dream at the moment. For example, governments put much effort in getting "lower class" children into education (even up to university). Most education is free here or very affordable.
Example: if you are eligible (Abitur or equal graduation from school) you can go to university. You pay the so called Sozialbeitrag per semester (half year). That's about 100-150 €. (No, that's not a typo, I didn't forget zeros). Includes a city wide bus/rail ticket normally, by the way. Besides that you only have to pay for the roof over your head and food normally. And the meals in the mensa are subsidized normally. I paid about 3 € for a complete meal back in uni. And that's true for universities as famous as Bonn (math), Paderborn (computer science) or Aachen (engineering). So not lower class universities or alike.
Just my two cents ... ;)
 
@Anagor and @7xMichael excellent posts.

I might be past that time for high education ambition... Or I might not be... sigh I really need to start getting my monkey ass in gear.

Though simplicity does call to me very strongly.

Michael has it right when he says a few acres and a place to lay your head down.
Modern homesteading is super alluring in todays high pressure society. Moonshine, potatoes, carrots and onions. Mebbe some meat and cheese.

Or if you don't want to settle down. I suppose you have to hone those skills.
Just be a little bit more clever to be a high class tramp.
 
I think it used to mean more than it currently does. It's a stronger figurehead than reality. It's a noble ideal (not giving up, sacrifice if you have to, ettc) that often gets perverted into something sinister (ruthlessness, apathy, theft and deception). People confuse chance with a guarantee of success and are understandably crushed when it happens due to unrealistic standards set by an avarice enamored public and media. We were never supposed to sweep our tired, hungry, sick, and poor under the rug.

As for myself, some land just outside the city to raise my family and horde of furry critters in relative peace while still being able to enjoy all the things a metropolitan area has to offer. Bushes and trees > fences.
 
http://www.alternet.org/story/79/commodifying_human_experience:_an_interview_with_jeremy_Rifkin

It's solipsism.

To immigrants:
Although you hear about success stories on these shores, don't be fooled. Yes there are people who come here and scrimp, save, invest, put off gratification today so that their kids can ''have a better life in the future'...Don't be fooled. Trust me if your kids want to go to college they can apply for pell grants or the GI Bill.
Don't enviar your dinero to Latin America. Instead, keep it in your pocket and lay in Central Park in the sunshine. Drink red wine; and eat stuff you cooked yourself on a charcoal grill. If you're going to invest in anything invest in a good espresso machine at the thrift store-and make use of it. Forget working in meat-packing, ag, or other wretched labor. Get a job in a movie theatre or coffee shop instead. Forget about conspicuous consumption and status symbols. Ambition is the scream of a dying soul. Negate it. Find yourself in a position to help others; and alleviate suffering while simultaneously bypassing the banking industry. Burn everything down and build a new order.
 
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