Is the American dream dead?
Recently, I've noticed these commercials at the movie theatre and on TV. The gist of the commercials is the fact that some people feel that the American dream is dead. Do you? And then they give you a website to visit. My understanding of the website (I haven't been and don't remember it) is that the American dream is owning your own home and how hard that is for people to do today. I'd like to rephrase this a bit. I don't believe the American dream is owning your own home. I believe that owning your own home is a sign of achieving the American dream. So, what then is the American dream? The American dream is two-fold: 1-it is the belief that if you work hard, if you sacrifice today, you'll be able to have tomorrow. 2-it is the fact that your children will have a better quality of life than you did.
So then, shall I answer this question posed by the commercial? Is the American dream dead? I can't answer that. I don't know what the future holds. But I can tell you what it feels like for me, a twenty-something trying to make it while going to school. It feels like a corpse long dead that doctors keep trying to revive despite logic. Now, before you go off on me and about how lucky I am to be living in the wealthiest nation in the world with one of the best qualities of life anywhere, let me explain my reasoning.
On the first part of the American dream-the belief that hard work and sacrifice will get you a head, it's not working. I'm working damn hard at 20 credits a semester, 20-30 hours a week depending on school schedule, paying my bills instead of splurging on electronics or clothes. Some months, I have to stare at the bills and decide between the car insurance or eating for the week. I don't have cable. I have internet only because some of the classes I take are only offered online. The rest of the bills are non-negotiable-heating,power,rent,water,sewer,etc. And what do I have to show for it? Besides the obvious (a roof over my head and food in stomach, etc.), all I have to show is over $20,000 in school debt and a depressive feeling of hopelessness as I run harder on my wheel to get further behind. I have calculated it, and I will owe so much to the government for my education that, if I manage to get a decent job in my profession, over half of what I earn a month will go towards paying that. Tell me, how is not having fun now (I couldn't even afford to go to the street fair I could literally see out my window) going to benefit me in the future? What do I have to look forward to?
As for part two, I almost feel like saying see part one. My parental figures (I haven't lived with my parents since I was 10 with good reason) own their own home (they are still paying it off), have stable jobs, a retirement fund, were able not only to raise one but two sets of kids, and still be able to take a trip to Rome a few years ago. They have cable. They don't have to worry about food or school debt. How is my quality of life better than theirs?
So then, shall I answer this question posed by the commercial? Is the American dream dead? I can't answer that. I don't know what the future holds. But I can tell you what it feels like for me, a twenty-something trying to make it while going to school. It feels like a corpse long dead that doctors keep trying to revive despite logic. Now, before you go off on me and about how lucky I am to be living in the wealthiest nation in the world with one of the best qualities of life anywhere, let me explain my reasoning.
On the first part of the American dream-the belief that hard work and sacrifice will get you a head, it's not working. I'm working damn hard at 20 credits a semester, 20-30 hours a week depending on school schedule, paying my bills instead of splurging on electronics or clothes. Some months, I have to stare at the bills and decide between the car insurance or eating for the week. I don't have cable. I have internet only because some of the classes I take are only offered online. The rest of the bills are non-negotiable-heating,power,rent,water,sewer,etc. And what do I have to show for it? Besides the obvious (a roof over my head and food in stomach, etc.), all I have to show is over $20,000 in school debt and a depressive feeling of hopelessness as I run harder on my wheel to get further behind. I have calculated it, and I will owe so much to the government for my education that, if I manage to get a decent job in my profession, over half of what I earn a month will go towards paying that. Tell me, how is not having fun now (I couldn't even afford to go to the street fair I could literally see out my window) going to benefit me in the future? What do I have to look forward to?
As for part two, I almost feel like saying see part one. My parental figures (I haven't lived with my parents since I was 10 with good reason) own their own home (they are still paying it off), have stable jobs, a retirement fund, were able not only to raise one but two sets of kids, and still be able to take a trip to Rome a few years ago. They have cable. They don't have to worry about food or school debt. How is my quality of life better than theirs?