The American Dream
Subtitle: Have a free-for-all in the comments!
John writes in:
I’d like to know what you and other bloggers (especially from gen- x-ers) think of the “American Dream.” Is it still defined as: “Loving couple, a house, a car, 2.5 kids, a dog or cat and a white picket fence.” In essence does the “American Dream” still exist in today’s society or is it redefined?
I’ll start. I want enough money to have household expenses paid for a year at a time. I want to one-half of a loving, functional couple. A nice car and not having to pray that it keeps running. Kids optional. Cat mandatory. I want to write the Great American Novel and be able to work at home and live for the moment. Barbara J. Winter says that the goal is to have all of your days pre-paid — that means, when an emergency arises or a fabulous vacation opportunity comes up, you can handle it.
This is assuming, of course, that I have any faith left in the dream. Right now it’s pretty much a nightmare of “all I want to do is keep my apartment and car and that’s not looking likely.” But I don’t want to spit on my dreams just yet. They are all I have.
That’s not so much to ask, is it?
What’s your American Dream?
On iTunes: Sheryl Crowe, “I Shall Believe”
November 11th, 2004 at 2:34 PM
My dream is to just be happy. Whether that is being single or a couple is not an issue to me as long as I am happy. I’d have to be entirely confident in “life stability” before I’d ever consider having kids. I haven’t really desired to have kids. I wouldn’t want to have them and then lose my job, go through a divorce and see them suffer the consequences. Sure I’d like to have the house and the picket fence but I’d settle for living in a nice manufactured home in a good community especially if one could pay it off in 5 years and not be in debt for 30 years. I’d like to be free of the burden that home ownership entails but still have the benefits. (How one does that I do not know–must be why I’m still an apartment dweller!) I think I’d like a dog and a cat. I’d like a Chocolate Labrador or a Brussels Griffon (see dog in “As Good as it Gets” starring Jack Nicholson and Helen Hunt) and I’d like to have a cool cat who would do tricks and entertain me. Before I got any pets I’d make sure that where I lived would suit their needs. (i.e. if I got a Lab I’d make sure I had a big yard.) For me to have a garage to do woodworking, to work on old cars, and to do craft/repair jobs would be nice. Speaking of cars, I’d like to have a car that I liked completely, one that I fit into a little better and one that wasn’t green. Travel would be nice too. My dream would be to have 4 weeks of vacation a year. With that amount of time I could travel by car and see America from the wide open highway the way it was meant to be seen. With 4 weeks vacation I could go to Australia and to Europe and really see those places without being rushed if I only had 1 week to visit.
Freedom to do what I want, when I want and not having job, money or commitments hold me back. That is what I truly want. It is my dream and I think it is quite different from the standard definition of the American Dream.
Hold on tightly to your dreams and try to make them happen! What’s your American Dream?
John
November 11th, 2004 at 7:50 PM
apollonaire’s american dream:
to get a phd and a tenure-track teaching/research position wherever i can….podunk u will do….don’t care about marriage….maybe a sig other…..good sex regardless….my si’meeze cat, bonsai for the next 20 years…to have lived in berlin for a few years…to continue to learn and be a lifelong student
November 11th, 2004 at 8:26 PM
I had the American Dream, then divorced the part of it that became a drunk-gazillion-timing bastard. So now I’m living my version of the American Dream which does not include a spouse. I don’t need one I’ve discovered. I’m strong and am doing much better on my own. 🙂
groovebunny
November 14th, 2004 at 4:24 PM
My dream is to run a B&B somewhere on the west coast, have a good relationship, travel a lot, and be free from finanical worry. That’s the short version, anyway.
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