Penny Thoughts: Framing the American Dream

I was born in 1945 and that is nothing exceptional other than when whomever began to name generations – you know,  “The Greatest Generation” is the designation of those who won WW II and set the tone for American prosperity in the mid-Twentieth Century – they called my generation “The Silent Generation,” but I still do not know why. Those of you who know me know that I am anything but “silent”! Right?!

Regardless, it seems to me that each generation until the turn of the 21st Century has had a notion of what the “American Dream” meant.  Today, I do not know if the present generations understand or even believe that there is such a thing as an “American Dream.”  This causes me some concern, even if the current mass media outlets couldn’t care less. 

Now, I do not want to sound like some “old fogie” or an out-of-touch anachronism who is clinging to some antiquated fantasy of “days gone by” with all the nostalgia that accompanies it.  No, I am hoping to present a working definition and analysis of a paradigm which seems to have been present in every age and in every generation for a very long time in American history.

Since it still seems prevalent in whatever form it takes, some sort of identity of the “American Dream” is appropriate here.  History tells us that this ideal emerged after the War of 1812 in which the burgeoning United States fended off another onslaught of British attempts to retake its most prosperous of colonies.  At the same time, the operations of marketing as functions of commerce emerged.  Simultaneously, the ideal of an “American Dream” began to crystallize, especially during the industrial successes beginning in the 1880’s and continuing through the Twentieth Century.

In short, the model of “American Dream” is rooted in freedom of opportunity with the promise of success born of hard work and determination.  It embraces the belief that anyone, regardless of birth or social station, can achieve prosperity through a solid work ethic. From this we know it is intrinsically tied to notions of work – hard work.

It is the conviction that our spiritual-social-economic composition allows and even guarantees prosperity for those who commit themselves to an ethic of dogged determination and sincere effort.

In effect, it is also a collective, societal conviction which embraces a fundamental rubric of the fabric of our nation.

So today we run the spectrum of generation designations from the “Greatest Generation” to our current “Snowflake Generation.”  And the latter seems to be a scion of the Millenials, both of which are comprised of generations who have not had to work hard to gain their prosperity no matter how extensive or how limited.  The blame for their views of the world falls squarely with generations which have preceded them – you know, the “Greatest” and the “Silent” generations.  In other words, me and my folks.

My concern is each generation defines what the “American Dream” is.  And what in today’s parlance is it?  Now, while the specific objects of the “American Dream” vary with a given generation’s perceptions of the world and of their individual economic and/or social status – one generation saw it as individual home ownership and a sound family provided for by a “head of the household” who had a good job.  For others it became college paid for Mom and Dad.  Income perceptions have ranged from $10,000 a year to “I want to make double my age by the time I am 35.” 

Mostly, the objects of the “American Dream” seem to be inexorably tied to the economic landscape of America.  The more financial stability, the greater the individual expectations.  Before the technology bubble, in the 1990’s I remember that there were those who excitedly anticipated the Dow Jones Averages moving beyond $3,300 with more than 200 million trades.  Wow!

Just before Thanksgiving this year, the DJA sat at upwards of $28,000 with a volume hovering around 500,000,000 trades!  So, in just 30 years or so the increases have exponentially grown.  That is almost $25,000 in expansion of financial stability!  That with the growth of U.S. participation in a world economy along with the explosion of technological advancements have presented our younger generations with a world many of us “Silent” kids could not have imagined, but who have eagerly welcomed.  Many have heard me recount how the height of technology for us as kids was the Sunday comics character Dick Tracy who had his trusty “two-way wrist radio.”

Note the convenience of gadgets and devices developed in the last half-century: cell phones, smart phones, computers available to anyone who can afford one, appliances which provide their own operations, coffee makers which can be set for specific timing and microwave ovens, to mention just a few.  In short, we have seen franchises such as Radio Shack dissolve owing to the fact that smart phones right at our fingertips have all of the items or functions we could previously buy at Radio Shack.  Each of these frames our views of the world and our individual expectations.

If we reflect on what our children or our grandchildren between the ages of 12-18 have as world views or as expectations and compare them with what ours was at the same age, we can see the dramatic differences.  It is far more than our comic character with a fancy radio on his wrist.  It is far more than the “party lines” we shared on our land-line telephones in our homes or the operators who served to connect our phone calls.  And I must admit I love it today!  If I want to know some fact or relevant point in my thoughts, I can just turn to my phone, go online and retrieve the information, or I can just speak into my phone, “O.K. Google…what is…” and the phone will give me an answer either verbally or via a text reference.  For me this is a welcome wonderment!

Their world view becomes negatively different if we do not instill the principles which have framed and have girded the fundamentals of any American “Dream.”  And since it has been we who have given them a more comfortable environment, a more flexible schedule for achievement, and, in short, an easier life, I think it is unfair to blame them for having become what we have formed.

In sum, then, when we profess, “I do not want my children to have to go through what I went through,” do we provide a solid framework for them to grow into what we are or have?  If we provide them with nothing but more excess without their commitment to a work ethic, are we really robbing them of true success out in the real world?  I would challenge those of my generation to reflect on the world in which they now live – a world which we have formed for them.

So, to the question “Whatever happened to the American Dream?”, I suggest we accept that the objects of that dream may change commensurate with changes in our society, but that the bedrock principle of freedom of opportunity born of hard work will remain so long as it is what we raise our children to appreciate and believe.