...in the American Dream?
It sounds a little pretentious, right? Three little words, one big idea: the back-bone of a nation founded on the beliefs of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, a major driving force that motivates many immigrants to persevere and gain freedom in a land of opportunity, and the overall belief that one can overcome financial and social obstacles to achieve one’s goals. Three little words you learned in history class, cushioned by lots of other words in your thick, heavy textbook; almost lost on the page next to black and white photographs of skyscrapers, ocean-liners, and smiling old men you didn't recognize. Three little words that contain a mouthful of meaning and substance for people who put their entire lives into these words, believing them, living them, chasing them.
But does it exist? The American Dream? Does it belong among the history books? It could be that your premonition about the American dream is as though it is a little outdated, something to be cast aside with other grand ideas that never came about. Cynics would scoff at the very thought of the American dream--it's an unattainable ideal to them, something you wish for when you blow out the candles on your birthday cake...something they categorize along with leprechauns, unicorns, fairies, flying reindeer. They equate it with imaginary things--intangible things you can't see or feel. It's something to make fun of.
Are they completely right?
I don't pretend to know, of course. I'm not a great philosopher. And I'm not a historian. I only know what I think--and I often don't even know that.
However, I would say that those three little words are associated with the utmost form of happiness that we, as humans, could possibly imagine. There is no real definition for it--it's a shapeless, ever-changing entity. To the woman in front of you in line at the supermarket, happiness is finding the right man, getting married, and having healthy children by the time she is 35. To the family of immigrants at the JFK airport, happiness is embodied in the ticket they're holding--a ticket signifying a new life, a new place, a new home. To the little boy you see every day at the bus stop, happiness beeps, talks, and cost $19.95 at Toys R Us. For you, happiness could be sleeping in late...a good song on a radio...a trip to the beach...a new car...a relationship...winning the lottery.
When people are asked what they want most out of life, the most typical reply is “I want to be happy,” as if happy is some sort of place, either near or far away, like a petting zoo or Disneyworld or even some place in the clouds. Or perhaps it's something you grow into, like shoes or clothes. To a certain extent, happiness can be these things, but it is mainly a process fueled by attitude and the right mindset. But I don't think it's a place, or a person, or even an idea--it's a way of life.
To me, the American Dream is a glimmer of hope in a world full of darkness: something to strive for, live for, wish for. It's something to never let go of--but it doesn't consume you either. It just exists there, in the back of your mind, wishing with all it's might to come true.
If I had one wish--just one--it would be to never wake up from my American Dream :)
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