Freedom, success, money, wealth, physical possessions, and family are the basic building blocks of the "American Dream." When I personally think of THE "American Dream," I think of doing well in a company and making it big to then be able to provide for a family. There is an idea associated with this dream about wealth and becoming rich, possibly obtaining a large house, family pet, and children. A "perfect," post-card family is what expected: smiling children, a dog, and parents that get along. A formula has been created that hard work=money=happiness, and this formula has become the driving force behind many attempts to achieve the "American Dream." For those from other countries that wish to live the "American Dream," they see a dream that is filled with freedom, liberty, brotherhood, and happiness.
Wealth can be defined in many ways which include the physical accumulation of money and possessions or the accumulation of a deeper meaning of life. Personally, I have started to change my view of wealth. As I younger child I believed in the stereotypical "American Dream," of wealth and success; however, after traveling and acquiring new perspectives I now view the "American Dream," as having rich relationships and a wealth from gaining experience. I am still the basic teenager who carries around an iPhone with twitter and instagram apps uploaded to the home screen. I have prepared myself to go to college (go hoos!!) in hopes of getting a well-paying job.
Most Americans view wealth and poverty as black and white, because you are either wealthy or poor. A perfect portrayal of this concept is in the movie The Pursuit of Happyness, staring Will Smith. The Pursuit of Happyness is seen as a film that reflects how an African American man overcomes adversity to rise up to fulfill the American Dream and improve his relationship with his son, as well as his finances. Homeless lines, sleeping in a subway, and struggling to pay rent are themes of poverty displayed throughout the film, and these particular themes reflect the views of many Americans. Wealth is to be praised and worshipped, while poverty is frowned upon. What if the portrayals of wealth and poverty were different? Wealth is being rich, but it could be rich due to emotions or relationships or a gathering of perspectives or experiences. While poverty is lacking something, and that "something," does not have to be a physical possession or money.
Over the summer I was given a different look into the "American Dream." I traveled to Bayamo, Cuba where I interacted with children, youth, and adults who had never taken a selfie or seen a picture of themselves. During the many conversations I had with my translators I learned how America was perceived from the outside. On one of my first days working at a sports camp I was talking to my translator Leo. He was given the opportunity earlier in the year to get out of Cuba and travel to North Carolina. As Leo described his experience he told me about going to Target. The everyday shopping trip to me was an overwhelming experience for him. He recounted, "Entering Target was overwhelming. I was told I could get whatever I wanted, but as a boy from Cuba there was too much for me to look at and I could not pick out anything. I went from having nothing to choose from to having too much to choose." This is when it hit me, in America we focus on quantity and not quality. The quantity and "more, more, more," lifestyle has consumed American citizens to construct what we now call the "American Dream." In addition to talking about Target, Leo commented on the basic freedoms we are so blessed to have as American citizens. Having the opportunity to have freedom of speech and not worrying whether or not the government is going to come to your hotel to detain you is an amazing gift. Experiences such as these are what provide me with wealth and fill me with thanksgiving as I think about what it means to be American and what the "American Dream," is suppose to be.
Wealth can be defined in many ways which include the physical accumulation of money and possessions or the accumulation of a deeper meaning of life. Personally, I have started to change my view of wealth. As I younger child I believed in the stereotypical "American Dream," of wealth and success; however, after traveling and acquiring new perspectives I now view the "American Dream," as having rich relationships and a wealth from gaining experience. I am still the basic teenager who carries around an iPhone with twitter and instagram apps uploaded to the home screen. I have prepared myself to go to college (go hoos!!) in hopes of getting a well-paying job.
Most Americans view wealth and poverty as black and white, because you are either wealthy or poor. A perfect portrayal of this concept is in the movie The Pursuit of Happyness, staring Will Smith. The Pursuit of Happyness is seen as a film that reflects how an African American man overcomes adversity to rise up to fulfill the American Dream and improve his relationship with his son, as well as his finances. Homeless lines, sleeping in a subway, and struggling to pay rent are themes of poverty displayed throughout the film, and these particular themes reflect the views of many Americans. Wealth is to be praised and worshipped, while poverty is frowned upon. What if the portrayals of wealth and poverty were different? Wealth is being rich, but it could be rich due to emotions or relationships or a gathering of perspectives or experiences. While poverty is lacking something, and that "something," does not have to be a physical possession or money.
Over the summer I was given a different look into the "American Dream." I traveled to Bayamo, Cuba where I interacted with children, youth, and adults who had never taken a selfie or seen a picture of themselves. During the many conversations I had with my translators I learned how America was perceived from the outside. On one of my first days working at a sports camp I was talking to my translator Leo. He was given the opportunity earlier in the year to get out of Cuba and travel to North Carolina. As Leo described his experience he told me about going to Target. The everyday shopping trip to me was an overwhelming experience for him. He recounted, "Entering Target was overwhelming. I was told I could get whatever I wanted, but as a boy from Cuba there was too much for me to look at and I could not pick out anything. I went from having nothing to choose from to having too much to choose." This is when it hit me, in America we focus on quantity and not quality. The quantity and "more, more, more," lifestyle has consumed American citizens to construct what we now call the "American Dream." In addition to talking about Target, Leo commented on the basic freedoms we are so blessed to have as American citizens. Having the opportunity to have freedom of speech and not worrying whether or not the government is going to come to your hotel to detain you is an amazing gift. Experiences such as these are what provide me with wealth and fill me with thanksgiving as I think about what it means to be American and what the "American Dream," is suppose to be.
It was really interesting to read the new perspective you brought in. I had a similar experience when I traveled to Peru two years ago. It was amazing to see that, in the main capital city at least, they had Starbucks and fast food restaurants and things like we have in America. But when I traveled to the poorer suburbs to help do construction, it was amazing to see how quickly the scenery changed, with concrete houses built into the sides of mountains and no running water. I also agreed with your comment about America being a country of quantity over quality. That is definitely accurate.
ReplyDeleteI really liked how you brought in the perspective of your time in Cuba. I remember talking to you about your trip there and how the experience was just so overwhelming and eye-opening. I think that is why "American" is used to describe this "dream". To outsiders, it's about the opportunity, the freedom. However, I think that the American Dream is different for, well, Americans. It becomes one more of wealth and, as you said, quantity over quality. This was a great post, Morgan!
ReplyDeleteI loved how you compared different perspectives of the American Dream! Leo's perspective seems similar to how Gatsby views the lavish lifestyle of the wealthy in the 20s. Once he actually enters the society he seems disenchanted by the materialism and lack of morality, similar to your perspective of the current American Dream. This was such a well developed blog and I love how you tied in personal examples!
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed the way you posed question about the issue in your post! I totally agree with wealth not just being about money but overall happiness in life. I also enjoyed the example of Cuba. Do you think it's bad to pursue the American Dream? Or do you just think it's bad to pursue some of the common misconceptions about the American Dream (like money = happiness)?
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