The american dream to me means the ability to live a fulfilling and happy life without the cost of overworking and selling my body to a corporation and sacrificing my mental and physical health to achieve that. The american dream to me also means a society where everyone is supported and can grow and achieve a better life for themselves.
I don’t think this exists in the america we live in today. The striking inequality and discrimination in american today means that no one can truly live the american dream that isnt wealthy. I don’t think the american dream has ever existed in the past as discrimination and inequality have always been a part of america, since its founding. It doesn’t exist because there are still a vast array of social, political, and economical systems all throughout american life that perpetuate and contribute to inequality and discrimination.
I think that the bar to achieve the american dream as always been purposefully kept out of reach from those below it, as a way to keep us working and keep us contributing to these systems of inequality. The bar to achieve has always had an asterisk above it, throughout history. In the time of this nations founding, the “american dream” was achievable to you, only if you were white, male, and owned land. These attributes were access to a better life, and only those who possessed them could achieve the american dream. In the centuries to follow, these restrictions were replaced with systematic discrimination, in order to keep them in place. Segregation laws were replaced with redlining, pay gaps were phased in to keep women in the workforce longer. These systems have been in place to keep those In need from achieving the american dream.
I think we are seeing the impact that the empty promise of the american dream has on the population as more and more young people are growing up without the hope for a better life. Little to none of the members of my generation will be able to afford to live in the next few years if things keep going this way, and generations to come will only have worse and worse outcomes because of this. Our part of the deal was empty, it never existed. The idea of a life that is comfortable and comparable to the life of our parents isnt achievable anymore, even though we are told that it is, as long as we work hard enough.
