Its pursuit and fulfillment have great gifts to bring
It was thought up a long time ago, around 1921 or 22
It puts big happy smiles on the faces of me and you
Other have countries have dreams too, but they're not as pretty
Any country but the U.S. has a dream that's sh-
ooooooooooookkkaaaayyyy then let's get started on my American Dream blog!!
My working definition of the accepted American Dream is: "To work hard and raise yourself up from humble beginnings to a happy life of well deserved financial success and to start/support a happy family"
With that being said I want to delve into the strengths and weaknesses (let's say areas for improvement) of the current American Dream.
Strengths:
- Based on hard work
- Includes supporting a happy family
- Doesn't hinge on beating others
- Happiness is central to the dream
Areas for Improvement:
- Doesn't involve helping others
- Wrongly equates money directly to happiness
In my humble opinion, the American Dream has more strengths than weaknesses and doesn't exclude anyone on accounts of race or gender. In the American Dream, it is only through hard work and developed skill that people can reach financial success and therefore happiness. Implicit in the American Dream are the values of honesty, diligence, integrity, and kindness. The American Dream is not perfect, but it is a guiding principle that, if realized, creates a better life for all.
I define wealth as a balance of financial and emotional security. To be wealthy, you have the material goods you need and want, and you are happy with what you have and who you have around you. It is entirely possible to be emotionally wealthy and finically poor, and vice versa. The traditional American outlook is that financial poverty is directly associated with moral poverty and emotional poverty. I don't believe these traits to be directly correlated, but it would be foolish to believe that these traits are never spurred on by or the cause of poverty.
The dangerous assumption of the dream however is that money=happiness. Make no mistake about it, money is incredibly useful and very necessary for many people's ideas of what happiness is, however it is not the end all be all of being happy. All of us know at least one person who has all the money in the world but at the end of the day leads a sad and unfulfilled life.
I believe that for myself to lead a fulfilled life I must help other humans and our environment in some positive way. That I was born to help in some greater way that I do not quite know yet. I don't think that I am Mother Theresa and I don't want to entirely give up my financial goals to attain my guiding life goals. Of course I'd like to make a couple million dollars and buy enough cars to outfit a racing team, but I don't want to do it through slimy means. I also understand that those in poverty are not to be looked down upon but should be provided opportunities to help themselves.
I totally agree with your premise, Aidan. In fact, I read an article years ago about "how much is enough?" about income, and they said there were diminishing returns above a certain number (I can't remember the number but smaller than you would think!) because, you can only eat so many meals / day or go on so many vacations / year as a human being. Fascinating topic but you are definitely on the right track for your life goals with this attitude!!!!
ReplyDeleteI totally agree with your premise, Aidan. In fact, I read an article years ago about "how much is enough?" about income, and they said there were diminishing returns above a certain number (I can't remember the number but smaller than you would think!) because, you can only eat so many meals / day or go on so many vacations / year as a human being. Fascinating topic but you are definitely on the right track for your life goals with this attitude!!!!
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