The American Delusion

I was having trouble thinking of a subject for this blog. When I told my roommate the topic had to somewhat relate to the American Dream, she suggested I write about her. She aspires to be a rich, popular, and immensely successful talk show host along the lines of Oprah, and the American Dream is essentially that, right? According to Kady, and probably many Americans, the dream is fulfilled when you become super-rich. And that’s it. It’s not about rising above your initial position, putting yourself in a better situation than you once were as a result of hard work and discipline; it’s only about being rich. Prior to the thorough discussions held in our English class regarding Ragged Dick and Andrew Carnegie, I didn’t fully appreciate what the American Dream entailed, and talking to my roommate this afternoon helped me to realize that. Why and how did it change from an accomplishable, understandable dream to a most likely unattainable delusion?
A few of my other classmates have blogged about celebrities. Can we blame our countries newly revived obsession with celebrities and the lives of celebrities for the delusional idea that is now the American Dream, or has it simply evolved? I suspect that passing the concept through word of mouth has somewhat skewed its original intention. Someone relates the story of Carnegie to a friend, which they then tell another friend, and soon it has become: “The American Dream is to become unthinkably wealthy.” It is not fair to reprimand people for believing this, but isn’t it sad that this is what America has become?
America, as a country, is widely looked upon as a group of spoiled brats. We are hundreds of times (not a statistic; probably an exaggeration) more wealthy than most of the world, yet we strive, and expect, to become more. I believe the illusion of the America Dream is partially to blame for this. It is sad that we no longer are content with “upper middle class” but stive to earn and buy and own so much more.