The 'Merican Dream.
Is it that white picket fence on a farm with a well-fed family?
Is it moving up in your beloved career and living in a fat new loft?
Is it the hope of unlimited opportunity?
Or is it simply walking outside your home without worrying about losing your life?
Personally, I would say that the American Dream has no true definition. When asking my friends and family what they thought of when they heard "American Dream", the responses ranged anywhere from "making an impact with your life", "gaining wealth", to just "finding true happiness and contentment".
To revisit the idea of "gaining wealth", I want to first analyze the definition of wealth. On a surface level, most people would say that to gain wealth, you must accumulate a lot of money. However, I think at its purest form "wealth" is anything that you have an abundance of that gives meaning and gratification to your life. To some this might be money, but to me this could mean a wealth of love, or of compassion, or of friendships. When I look back on my life, I desire to have gained a tremendous amount of these types of wealth.
When looking at the mass opinion of America, judged by social media and networking, monetary wealth is greatly sought after, and poverty is very much avoided. Even in popular songs, famous singers and rappers especially are talking about their lust for money, thus influencing their adoring fans. One song with less vulgar lyrics than most money-glutton songs is "Billionaire" by Bruno Mars. His lyrics plea, "I wanna be a billionaire so frickin' bad, buy all of the things I never had. I wanna be on the cover of Forbes magazine, smiling next to Oprah and the queen. Oh, every time I close my eyes, I see my name in shining lights. A different city every night, oh I, I swear the world better prepare for when I'm a billionaire." This is not a new idea. When he sings this song, he embodies the dream presented in The Great Gatsby of materialistic gain to achieve happiness. If he is poor and cannot achieve this goal, it is inferred that he can never be truly content. Even in bible times, it talks about how humans have a craving for money and fame.
My attitudes toward wealth and poverty are simply this: no matter the number listed in your bank account, you can always be rich. Rich in spiritual stability, rich in familial bonds, rich in helping your community, and rich in anything that gives you peace.
To be fair, I have never thought of myself as monetarily "poor" nor "rich". I am coming from the perspective of someone who has had to work for things, but has definitely (and thankfully) not struggled with finding my next meal or anything like that. I have been blessed with a beautiful family who is tremendously great to me, so I have never had to be concerned with being rich in love. The American Dream for me has always been to continue to find contentment and peace, no matter where I am or what I have, in the present. My goal is to act today in a way that my "future self" might thank me for. This being said, someone who has not had the luxury of being without worry of how they will survive the next day, or is lacking support from a solid group of friends/family might wish for things different than I.
Perhaps the "American Dream" is simply the promise of searching for and defining it for yourself.
I love how you removed the idea of money or financial gain from the "American Dream," concept and wealth. I took a similar approach and thought of wealth in more of an experience based view. I thought it was really interesting how you connected the view of the "American Dream," to media and song influences. There are so many songs, especially in classic rock and country music, that display ideas of the ideal America or lifestyle. I had not thought of this idea but it is really cool to think about!! How would people of other nationalities or cultures view wealth? (Just trying to throw in tok and perspectives).
ReplyDeleteI don't know why but your post actually brought me to tears. It was so well written and gave just enough justification for your beliefs that it was delightful to read. I agree with Morgan about how it was a good idea to take out money in the definition of "wealth," and I agree with you. When you said that wealth was " anything that you have an abundance of that gives meaning and gratification to your life," it gave me a realization about what true wealth is and how it can impact people differently. Thank you for enlightening me with your blog, I am grateful.
ReplyDeleteI really loved how you looked at Bruno Mars' song because honestly, that really is what a majority of the famous people make songs about. Which is funny because they are already extremely wealthy. I can also connect with your definitions of wealth (I said like the same thing for my definition). Do you think that the people who consider themselves wealth (i.e. songwriters, movie stars, etc.) would say they have achieved an "American Dream"?
ReplyDeleteI like how you mentioned that a lot of famous people rap about money and fame. I think that something you have to consider with this is are happy and if so is it money that makes them happy? I like how part of your definition of wealth is anything that gives you peace. Are there any other feelings associated with Wealth? Overall GR8 blog 10/10 would read again!
ReplyDeleteThis is really well written! I like the way you see the American Dream something you learn to define for yourself. I agree, I think people are different and have different things that make them happy, therefore how can the American Dream be universal? I love your view on life shown through this post!
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