I couldn’t find a potent source for this post, so I looked up some news on the American Dream. Fox News gave me a reminder of something I’ve covered previously in “Materialism Overwhelming”. Consider this post an extension of that.
In the article “AMERICAN VALUES: ‘It’s dying’: Parents, grandparents worry about future of American dream”, it appears that many Americans are doubting the achievability of the American Dream, to the point where many parents worry that said dream is dying, if not already dead for the next generation. In fact, according to a poll from last year (which is referenced in the article), only 36% of voters still believed that the American Dream holds true, as opposed to 53% from 2012.
The article also acknowledges the main causes of these woes, as quoted here: “Jackie and Brad Matthews from Colorado said it has become nearly impossible for Americans to change their position in life, pointing to skyrocketing housing costs and inflation paired with stagnant wages.” The American Dream of financial/material success is starting to elude us because it’s becoming harder to afford much of anything in America in today’s day and age.
We, as individual Americans, cannot reach the American Dream, the myth designed for and by successful Americans during a time of prosperity. In terms of the individual – the working class American, it’s hard to say we’re living in a time of prosperity. If the value of the dollar keeps going down, this problem could easily grow bigger, maybe even contributing to something worse. Only time will tell.
Articles like these help me understand the modern American Dream more and more, something I had little understanding of before starting this class. As mentioned before, I’m still absorbing mostly negatives from my experiences, but I’d rather learn the harsh truths than tune these problems out. Granted, I honestly won’t act on them, but it’s the thought that counts.
Source (I’m surprised I didn’t notice the broken link for so long.)