The Myth of the American Dream

It seems to me quite unrealistic, and even irresponsible, to continue to use the term "the American dream," to define how success is achieved in this country. Let's face it, it's an ancient dream, one invented by Benjamin Franklin and Hector de Crevecoeur, among others, back in the eighteenth century when Native Americans reigned the continent and globalization was only in its infant stage. Perhaps in a simpler time wealth was assured if one followed Franklin's formula of self-education, virtue, independence and hard work. But these days, in an overpopulated world laden with food and water shortages, human trafficking, and global warming, this philosophy is not only naive, it's actually dangerous.

One alarming characteristic is its pull-yourself-up-by-your-bootstraps mentality. It encourages selfishness and egotism, and gives power-hungry individuals an excuse for throwing those around them under the bus. The American dream does not require one to be generous to others, to help those in need, or to keep in mind the welfare of the greater good. Quite to the contrary, it encourages the quick acquisition of property, wealth, and other material possessions. Although each person's dream may be different, becoming rich is usually a major factor in all of them.

Promising wealth to all who pursue this dream is what makes it unrealistic. Perhaps it worked for Ben Franklin, but he wasn't just a Joe Schmo starting his own business. He was extremely intelligent and had a variety of resources, from a privileged uncle to unrefusable charm and a good amount of luck, to make his a success story. Had he promised a modest existence, perhpas I wouldn't take issue, but he promised wealth.

Ironically, the only aspect of Franklin's philosophy I agree with is one that makes sense now, but didn't during his time: self-education. In Franklin's time, self-education was completely unattainable for the average American. Not only was the majority of the population illiterate, but resources were hard to find, especially in the colonies where libraries were essentially nonexistent (Franklin was actually the founder of the the first library in Philadelphia). Franklin was lucky because his uncle owned an extensive library to which he had access all of his life - a priceless privilege. He was also apprenticed to a print maker in his adolescent years, where he came in contact with contemporary writers and poets with whom he was able to converse and exchange ideas.

In our world, with thousands of resources, from libraries, to universities, to the web, self-education is not only desirable, it's necessary. With a puppet (main-stream) media and a failing national education system, intellectuals have little choice but to embark on the quest for knowledge on their own. And it works. It works because there is a plethora of information out there.

So let's take that component of the American dream, throw out the selfish ones, and revamp it to suit the 21st century. We don't need to focus on our independence, we need to see just how dependent we are - on one another, on our technologies and most importantly on our environment. Every single person needs to adopt an attitude of conservation and of sharing, of sacrifice and modesty. If we're going to make it through this crisis that hundreds of years of ego-centric money-chasing has brought us, we need to talk to one another, educate each other and learn the very fragile inter-dependency of all life on this planet.

You were a brilliant guy, Benji, but you're old news, and this is not the same world anymore.