Wednesday, September 21, 2011

The American Nightmare

The American dream is not dead. To me, it is about being able to enjoy the rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness and that is still alive in this country. The truth is people have just abused the dream, turning it into a nightmare for some. People in this generation have frankly taken it for granted. There is a sense of entitlement and everyone wants to live excessively and beyond their means. This was not the case for our grandparents generation aka the greatest generation of all time. They survived two world wars, the depression, the cold war, korean war, and the vietnam war. They could never take the "dream" for granted. They had seen the world at its worst but persevered through it. Our generation has never seen anything like that and forgot about what it is to work hard and pull your own weight. On a lighter note, i do believe the scene is changing. Unfortunately it took a near-depression like economic catastrophe to wake people up but people's attitudes are different now. The American Dream is constantly being redefined. Hopefully, the nightmare part is over.

4 comments:

  1. Sometimes it takes hitting rock bottom to realize how bad things are in reality. The book makes a reference to this by saying "Terrorism officially became a problem only after 9/11." As long as consumers use this economic meltdown as an eye-opener and continue to re-define the American Dream, we'll be alright.

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  2. Unfortunately, like Jon (no "h") said people feel entitled to these things because of the hard times their grandparents had to go through. This thought that JoHn had about hitting rock bottom is occurring rapidly with foreclosures of homes. Families are seeing that second homes and subprime mortgages catch up quick and hit with a vengeance and it seems, maybe just optimistically speaking, that families are shying away from the excessive, elaborate lifestyles that were ever-so-necessary in the 2003-2006 economic boom.

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  3. I think the core of the issue is that people are trying to "live happily" without properly achieving the right to do so. The dream is supposed to come true only through hard work and perseverance. The notion of fulfilling one's desire by borrowing money from credit agencies, I think, is the dream breaker..

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  4. I agree with Jon completely. today we have this sense on entitlement and that we deserve all of this luxurious things but shouldn't have to work very hard for it. its sad that many people have taken credit cards and used them for ridiculous things that have no true need behind them. our grandparents were a great generation to look at and model ourselves after. they worked hard for what they wanted and saved what they earned so that they, along with their children, could live a good life. the key word is a good life, not a life of luxury and pleasure. the luxurious life is a dream for us all and would be an amazing thing to have but its tough to get this without going into some sort of debt. we need to live comfortable lives and safe for the luxurious times and spend the money when we actually have the money. no more IOU's.

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