There's just something fabulous about the American Dream that makes people want to leave their lives and loved ones to come to this "great" land. The opportunity to buy a house, educate yourself, get a career, start your own business if you prefer and have as many children as you want (see bunnies). But when do we admit that the American Dream has pretty much died. It's in serious need of revival. Perhaps it died around the same time we decided to go back into war with the middle east, or maybe that was just the nail in the coffin. Maybe it died when we started the mass lock down on our borders. Perhaps it also died when we realized we can no longer go into the Statue of Liberty and we just have to trust that it still says "Give me your poor your tired your hungry masses". Or maybe it just plain dropped dead when the American People stopped being Patriots of our land and our men started being wimps (see women's lib). However you want to look at it, I as an American feel more in bondage now that I ever have (see Obama).
Maybe it's the damn fact of life that more people just want to get through life rather than living it. It's a rare thing in life to live, most people just exist. What about the pace of life? Money hungry crazy people running around all the time. Pretty sure that isn't the American Dream but most people act that way. They let their circumstances define them- sick sad way of life to live. What happened to getting to know your neighbor and loving them instead of keeping up or beating them (see jones').
I'm so sick of the way life is and the hustle that I just want to slow down. I've traveled the world over and have come to the conclusion that it isn't just America that is like this. If I want to slow down I have to either live in a remote town or place or move to a 3rd world country. And since I still want my "liberties" I guess it's going to take moving to a remote place. I guess I shouldn't really care since I've done most things I want to do in my life anyways. I'm just annoyed that in order to slow down I have to get away from the hustle. But I guess I have to remember that not everyone sees the world as I do. The way that I want to just coexist and SEE the world instead of judge it. That I view roots and friends more than money and power. I absolutely loathe the chains my education has put on me. The way society has limited me. What's chained me more than anything IS my money. Why do so many people judge me because I have money? Why do they judge that I have an education? Why do they judge the foreign car that I drive? Why do they judge how big my house is? Why do they judge the MATERIAL THINGS?
I just want to give up my things and live like a destitute (see Jack London).
The American Dream is dead. I plan to revive it one non materialistic soul at a time.
Maybe the Jack Londons of the world can camp out in Colorado or Utah or Arizona, I hear that's a beautiful state. And Michigan, of course. Trees and fucked up weather.
ReplyDeleteSo you plan to revive the American Dream? Isn't the "American Dream" what put us in this shitty, mind-numbing, fat, TV sucking, poor excuse for a civilized society, where because we are capitalists and duped early on that America is the greatest country, strive for money to buy the fancy things on TV and become famous--basically playing the game of Monopoly but with our own lives, where the majority lose and wonder why they started playing in the first place. Sad. I know. Cheesy enough for you. Wink.
Yet, reading again and again, I'm still not sure how much sarcasm was put into the last few lines. Assuming that the questions (see bottom of paragraph 3) are rhetorical and the next line is a reference to Jack London, the sentence is in first person (unless you are mocking the "non-materialistic"), I'll assume you agree with London because you are frustrated? with people judging you and your things(and I stress things). Well first, wah... But, then you want to revive? the American Dream, which is almost anti-London. So contradictory aside, I think you have good thoughts, just not quite there.
You should propose or find a New American Dream, and don't call it the American Dream--it leads the herded blind off cliffs. And though I could search around this Internet that "can't" be contained, find and read the Constitution, and give you my interpretation of it, I won't. Anyone could do that, and that is what happened: we had our own interpretation of what a bunch of guys in a room thought and just fell into what we are as people and as a society in this nation--meaning, the Founding Fathers were doing their best and basically wanted everyone to be free, which is what a revolution is all about. And somewhere down the line some douche coined the phrase "American Dream", and I bet he (or she) wasn't even American. It was a land promised of money, shiny things, and happiness...like a commercial. And of course freedom. "Your life will be better if you are on this land. And everything else will fall in your lap." (I bet someone said that once.)
My suggestion to you is take a walk in the woods. Visit Mackinac Island: winter or summer. Meditate. Stop worrying about what other people think of your things; you obviously are self-conscious about your foreign car and money and education. American Dream not working out for you? When they told you, "You can do whatever you want," they were right. So go write. De da, chhh...
P.S. In all fairness: thank you for caring enough to write this. I did enjoy it, or else I wouldn't care to write this damn much on a comment.
Good luck saving the world. I'll happily do the same.