The American Dream

[mijan]

I read an article the other day about the death of the American Dream.

I say BULL SHIT.

Let me tell you what the American Dream USED TO BE.

Once upon a time, the average American dreamed of owning a car, and a small house (three bedrooms, average size 10'x10', total square footage maybe 1,200 square feet).  He dreamed of taking a vacation to the coast, or maybe someday to Paris if he got really really lucky.  He was thrilled when he brought home his family's first TV set, and they could sit together and watch the news and "I Love Lucy."  He bought his daughter a jump rope and a new sweater for her birthday, and she was happy with it.  His son got a set of marbles and a slingshot, and that was really cool.  When the kids get old enough, they even get a bicycle... so they could get a paper route or bike to school.

How would Mr. American reach his dream?  Well, he'd save up his money.  He'd either work his way up from the bottom at a company, or start his own.  Maybe he'd become a tradesman.  Maybe, if he wanted to be wealthy, he'd got a Bachelor's Degree.  If he wanted to be really RICH, he'd become a doctor or lawyer.  Then maybe he would buy a 2,500 square foot house, and his family would have TWO cars.  What amazing wealth!

And when he finally achieved the American Dream, he'd take care of it.  He'd maintain his house, keep his yard clean, do upkeep on his belongings, and work to preserve the dream he'd built for himself.  He'd save his money to make sure he could afford the essentials before buying the extras.

What's the American Dream now?  Well, according to some people...

Now, we need oversized houses to match our oversized lifestyles.  McMansions dot the suburbs.  A house needs to be at least 3,500 square feet before a person feels that he's "made it in life."  One car?  Try three.  Now, we buy a new TV every two years to keep up with changing technology.  The "old" TV goes in a kid's room, or the basement of our oversized house.  A 42" flat screen is a bare minimum for so many people.  We need a computer in every room, for every family member.  We need cell phones and blackberries.  A kid has a birthday?  Hurry up and gift wrap the i-Pod, the Playstation, the Wii, plus designer clothes and accessories.  Oh, and remember the women also need manicures, pedicures, facials, hair highlights, and at least 50 pairs of shoes in the closet.

Jobs?  We've created a stratified economy of transient jobs that never create wealth or a future for workers, and a system that rewards debt and punishes frugality.  It's a mess.  Most people need a specialized degree to get any decent job, and a small fortune (or a lifetime of debt) to pay for the education.  This has been turned on its head.

You see, it's not that we can't achieve the "American Dream."  It's that we're too greedy to recognize it, and too lazy to maintain it.

I have a nice three-bedroom house.  It's not huge, but it's plenty big for me.  My wife and I share a car, and it's enough.  We have one television, and it's plenty.  And our plan is to take what we have and maintain it.  I've reached my American Dream, and I'm not done yet.  The question is... can we recognize "the American Dream" for what it was meant to be?

Comments

[vampireanneke.livejournal.com]

Interesting post.

I have a house (less then a 1000 sqft), a car (a 2001 Kia), and a good job. I also have no debt (other then my house).

I look at the people struggling and it's not like I had anything 'magical' happen to get me where I am today. I saved my money, I worked hard, got my education, etc...

My parents raised me to be very fruggle and to plan. My sister tries to tell me that we were poor growing up, but I can't believe that. We had enough to eat, we had clothes to wear, etc... my parents just never spent lavishly. Who needs $100 shoes when a $10 pair will do the same job. But beyond that we did have a computer before anyone else I knew. We were bought good used cars for our 16th birthdays, etc...

My parents were basically pissed off at me when I bought my 2001 Kia brand new, vs getting a used car. I had to explain that the new Kia was almost the same price as a used car and that it would last far longer due to the warrenty, etc... then a used car of the same cost. They eventually came to see I had done my research. But this was how I was raised. You don't buy the top of the line, you buy what makes the most sense. (shrugs).

[stormsdotter.livejournal.com]

I guess I fail at the American Dream, but I am 27 and have never owned a car nor a television. Heck, before I lived with brianboz, I never had cable. (I don't think we need it. He likes to watch wrestling, and pays the bill.)

I like 10x10 rooms, and if I own a car, it will probably be one of those 2k tiny European models. The only thing I don't agree with for the American Dream is that I want a hobbit hole for a home. It will be underground, fuel-efficient, well-lit and airy. I'm odd.

[mijan.livejournal.com]

I like your dream better than the stereotypical one. The "dreams" I listed were aimed at discussing stereotypes, really.

[themadfish.livejournal.com]

Another problem is that companies instead of building things to last, are merely building them cheap. So a well maintained car that should last for 20 years, lasts for like 2(which is why I think a lot of people are now buying foreign cars, not American). Or refrigerators, washer and dryers--it's now cheaper to buy a new one than get it repaired. More profit you see. Who cares that the cheap shit they're building is going into landfills, or shipped off some third world country to be stripped for materials by poor people, who then are exposed to the toxic chemicals within it. Out of sight, out of mind(sorry, different rant there). Or every year or two when our cellphone plans are about to expire, they offer the newest, upgraded $200 cellphone for $40 if you renew and why would someone pass that up? Old funtional cellphone? Toss it out!

Guh. Our country is fucked up.

[gmonkey42.livejournal.com]

YES. It pisses me off that you it's so hard to find high quality stuff that lasts, no matter how much you're willing to pay. It's just not available.

[hdluff4eva.livejournal.com]

Uggg.... Huge mansion-esque lives scare me. I'm taking my Red Seal in Baking. BAKING! That's, like, 30,000 a year if I'm lucky. You know what I want to do? GO work on cruise ships for a few years, cramped living space, ish food, and hard work.

Afterwords? Open up a bakery and live in the attic. Maybe buy a small house if I have kids and a hubby.

Man, my house had five people in it, and we have way too much stuff and space. I can't wait to move to my Dorm room, sharing with three others, and be rid of the hugeness.

That's my dream, at any rate.

[colloween.livejournal.com]

I demand (please) your permission to email this to my entire contacts list

[mijan.livejournal.com]

Be my guest! :)

[calmnla.livejournal.com]

The specifics vary over time, but the basic idea is that in this country one could change the station of one's birth for the better, or lose it if one behaved badly/stupidly/etc. The point was that the US did not have a permanent aristocracy or a permanent underclass. That set it apart from most other countries at the time. The myth was classlessness; the reality was potential for mobility among the classes. Somehow (as is well-noted above) that was transferred into a preoccupation with being able to mindlessly acquire things. Let's hope that version of The American Dream is gone. Being able to choose how one wishes to live - whether living simply, or madly accruing stuff, or showing off, or something else - is more of a reality than in many of the countries of our peoples' origins.

Living the dream...

[lunalovegoddess.livejournal.com]

If it were not for my student loan debt, I'd be much more successful. Still, I measure success differently than most adults my age.
When I was a kid, I shared a bedroom with my mother. My brothers shared the other bedroom in our four room apartment. We grew up on welfare. No car, no computer, and no house; although we had cable TV. There was always a new pair of shoes at Easter and a nice outfit, and something at Christmas and on our birthdays. Our bellies were full, and although we did not have the best of everything, my mother did her best to ensure that we did not go without. I wore hand-me-downs from my cousins as well as new clothes. I was able to take dance lessons for most of my childhood. I went to Disney World once, as a teenager, using my earnings from a part-time job. I was the first to go to college, although I did not finish.

Now we own a small four-bedroom home. The master bedroom is 11x11. We have one bathroom, one car, TWO large TVS, and a fenced in yard for our dog. We have two computers, because my husband made enough at his old job to buy me my own for my birthday. Once a year, we take a week-long vacation, usually to visit family. For three years, I lived in Orlando and could visit Disney World fairly often with my annual pass. For a family of four on one income, this is amazing. I count myself lucky for what we have, because we've learned the hard way how quickly we lose it. Our kids have a lot more than I ever did growing up, and are more technologically savvy. I own three pairs of shoes: boots, sneakers, and dress shoes. I buy a new pair of sandals each year because they wear out. The only thing I splurge on for clothing are my bras, because I'm too buxom to shop at most stores. Otherwise, we live pretty simple.

The big problem, though, is that while I am good at making things last, we simply do not make enough income to pay our bills. I still have that college loan debt hanging over my head like a specter. But, overall, we may live in poverty, but we are still living the dream...

[affreca.livejournal.com]

I'm pretty content. I'm amazed that we're looking to buy a place before I'm thirty. My current dream is a second bathroom. It is so not necessary, but it would help those times that I'm bathing and Lawnchair wants to use the toilet. I've got decent health insurance again, and enough cushion to get by. (Not sure what I'd do with a second TV).

[scarah2.livejournal.com]

Just got health insurance and income to buy 2 computers (but computers are my trade so it's edumacashunull) and free certification videos. Am privileged beyond my wildest hopes!

[mijan.livejournal.com]

See, now our jobs and lives require computers. Once upon a time, we didn't need them. We certainly didn't need them for personal use. Kids certainly didn't need their own computers. I'm just comparing how we used to see "wealth" and "making it in life" versus how we see it now.

As for health insurance... I actually believe the American health insurance system is the biggest crock/ripoff ever. But yes, it's good to have it. I only got health insurance for the first time last year. It makes a big difference.

[scarah2.livejournal.com]

Oh yeah the health care system is shitty but now at least I can get glasses next week because mine were stolen six months ago and I haven't been able to see very well ever since. Life is good!

All I need is glasses, computers, and thingys to hold my hair up.

[mijan.livejournal.com]

I can provide spare pony tail holders and headbands! :D

[scarah2.livejournal.com]

*guilty*

I'm afraid it goes a little farther than that. I just got today a new pair of sticks made from hollow aircraft aluminum. But they are very reasonably priced and handmade by an American independent craftsman.

[mijan.livejournal.com]

LOL!

I see. :D

[evajames.livejournal.com]

This is so true. I was just talking about this in my Employee Reward Systems class. The economic downturn was brought up as the topic and I volunteered that perhaps we are looking at things in the wrong light.

America has become a nation overwhelmed by consumerism and with the slightest sign of the need to spend less and being more subjective with the purchases we make, everyone throws a shit fit.

I mean, isn't it time that we look around and realize that we were getting out of control. That every else in the world, people are happy because of things other than the material wealth that has this country so wrapped up in spending on bigger, better, more more more.

Isn't this "downturn" a good thing then? In order to open our eyes to the world around us, we need to be shaken up a bit with some restraint and regulation.

[triad-serpent.livejournal.com]

THANK YOU. People complain so much...I'd be happy with a little (Japanese-esque) apartment within walking distance from the nearest public transport. TV, not necessary. Just my computer (which was a cheap little laptop, necessary for things like storing photos during foreign exchange, and school work). I love space efficient tiny houses! I have two books about such homes out from the library right now!

...or a treehouse. I could quite happily live with a treehouse, solar power, and coffee. So long as I had hot water for my showers. Lol.

[blldandi.livejournal.com]

I think I ended up with the "American Dream" but I never wanted it. We have a 1400 square foot house, 2 bedrooms, 1.5 bathrooms, office, basement, garage. Everyone in our household has their own car, for a total of 3. We have 4 TVs, only 1 is plugged in, though this is partially due to 3 years of running conventions. 3 computers, again, 1 for each person. The house was bought when I was 26, and is our only debt. I have no idea how we got here, and I'm not sure I want it. Though I am happy for the lack of debt, having my own car, and 2 kitties. Oh yeah and the ability to buy DVD sets of Buffy, Firefly, Doctor Who, and go to at least 1 convention and 1 non-convention vacation per year. See, there's my American Dream.