Given the current economic climate and a few other things going on, I wanted to use my blog to kind of sort out a few thoughts and clarify intent. I think that the basic design of the American Dream is still intact, the paper part of it is sound, but the implementation may be off. Several of my friends seem to have attained the American Dream, and in the interest of disclosure I have to admit that my standard of living is very good. The best place to start is with definitions- what is the American Dream and is it common to all people from all walks of life in this country? Is it a global meme? Just going on what’s in my head under this file, I would start by saying this concept has its most recent roots in the post- WW2 economic boom and the corresponding baby boom. Its ancestral prototype is most likely the family farm. The basic configuration seems to be a nice home in the suburbs, with a backyard and front yard, a decent car and a commute to an office job. Marriage, two kids, Mom either works or doesn’t, but in these economic times, Mom does now. Two weeks vacation per year, typically to the beach. It sounds good to me. It sounds like the way I grew up. What could be wrong, what could be lacking, what could disturb this supposedly ideal scenario? Shouldn’t everybody live this way and go to church with thankful hearts on Sunday? In this post, I think I want to just lay out the basic premise, to trouble-shoot and investigate deserves an entire separate post. Next: Trouble in Paradise.
