It suddenly occurred to me today after reading all the negative news in my local paper to question what really is the American Dream? I went looking for its true meaning and was convinced a President or statesman must have coined that phrase. So, what really is the American Dream?  We keep grasping for it.  We keep talking about it.  Where did that phrase ever come from?

Wikipedia says:

Historian and writer James Truslow Adams coined the phrase “American Dream” (The movie title) in his 1931 book Epic of America:

“The American Dream is that dream of a land in which life should be better and richer and fuller for everyone, with opportunity for each according to ability or achievement. It is a difficult dream for the European upper classes to interpret adequately, and too many of us ourselves have grown weary and mistrustful of it. It is not a dream of motor cars and high wages merely, but a dream of social order in which each man and each woman shall be able to attain to the fullest stature of which they are innately capable, and be recognized by others for what they are, regardless of the fortuitous circumstances of birth or position.”

It further states that the American Dream is a belief in the freedom that allows all citizens and residents of the United States to achieve their goals in life through hard work and free choice. Today, it often refers to one’s material prosperity, which is dependent upon one’s abilities and work ethic, and not on a rigid class structure.  The belief is that there’s a promise to access capital based on ability.  We have economic freedoms with unlimited opportunities.

Although the phrase’s meaning has evolved over the course of American history, for some people, it is the opportunity to achieve greater material prosperity than was possible in their countries of origin. For others it is the opportunity for their children to grow up and receive an education and its consequent career opportunities. It is the opportunity to make individual choices without the restrictions of class, caste, religion, race, or ethnic group.

It doesn’t say we have the right or are entitled to own that “McMansion”, buy a piece of land or get in over our heads in debt. It does, however, say that we have the ability to achieve anything we want with hard work.  I interpret that to mean saving for a down payment, working hard towards achieving our dreams and buying that piece of real estate without a government hand-out.

Pete Flint, CEO and co-founder of Trulia recently noted that his company commissioned a study which found that the so-called American Dream of homeownership is definitely not a dream shared by all.  Less than half of the respondents said that homeownership is a great long-term investment and that only 56% said that homeownership is “part of achieving the American Dream”.

It also doesn’t say anything about instant gratification. Somewhere along the way we’ve lost the true meaning of the American Dream and feel we have a sense of entitlement instead.  It’s been too easy up until now to just buy things we really don’t need with our multiple credit cards.  As I’m writing this post I keep hearing Donald Trump’s Apprentice show’s theme song playing in my head…..money, money money!  Here’s what the Library of Congress has to say about the American Dream.

When my family and I legally immigrated to the United States we came with only one suitcase.  I was too young to know where I was going let alone what my life would be like in this new country.  My parents, because they were immigrants, were spit on at their jobs while working towards our American Dream.  This “great America” did not want us immigrants here.  However, we ultimately became citizens in the mid-60s during the Kennedy era.

The United States of America affords each and every one of its citizens an opportunity to reach their goals.  No other country in the world lets its people do that.  To paraphrase President Abraham Lincoln…the purpose of life is to strive.  That’s the root of the American Dream!

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