Coining the Dream

I’ve always felt that there was more than just one way of looking at the American Dream, but it’s not something that people often talk about or speculate on. I’ve felt that there are different aspects, different sides, different perspectives based off of people’s positions in society. Now finally, the chance for conversation has opened, so let’s chat shall we?
Walter Fisher, professor and writer of “Reaffirmation and Subversion of the American Dream”, saw this dual sided aspect of the American Dream during the presidential election of 1972 between Nixon and McGovern. In this he saw the two sides of the dream: the materialistic view and the moralistic view. The materialistic view is, of course, associated with wealth, success, high paying occupations, the ability to purchase a home, and the like, while the moralistic view is typically associated with freedom, equality, equal opportunity, and other American Values.
In Fisher’s eyes, the American Dream is a myth/dream that all in the United States share to some degree, which defines our culture. He explains that  the function of dreams and myths are to “provide meaning, identity, a comprehensible understanding of the world, and to support the social order.” In America, success and high occupational standing are values held highly in society; going to college, buying a home, and putting in hard work every day are all part of the American social order that is upheld through the American dream. People feel that they have purpose when they have a goal in mind, which the American dream provides through its perpetuation of success. And this was something that Nixon had often spoken of, of hard work and effort put forth by the citizenry.
Fisher also claims that, at times, people assume that with two aspects of the dream, one must be good while the other is ultimately “bad”, but both are equally based in traditional american values. He states that “in the 1972 presidential election that McGovern preached what Americans profess in principle and that Nixon preached what most Americans practice in their everyday lives.” Again, Nixon often spoke of the values of hard work in society, and striving for success and advancement. McGovern, from what I could gather, was more into the idealistic and moralistic values, such as equality and freedom. Both have their own aspect of the American Dream that they represent; both differ in many respects, yet still come to somewhat of a mutual understanding in the importance of American values.
The American dream is by no means one sided. Like a coin, there are two sides of the whole that are distinct from one another, yet still part of one overarching thing. Some may focus more on one side than the other, but the fact remains that both still hold their place within each and every one of us. We cannot deny one without denying the whole, and we cannot have one without the other. Both exist in harmony.

Don't Criticise Our Tea

I’ll never forget the time I saw an interaction between and American and a person from the U.K., and they argued about tea. The idea of iced tea was apparently very strange to the guy from the U.K., but to the American it was a normal thing; hot tea, cold tea, even bottled tea, all normal to us, but to other parts of the world the latter two were very odd.
    And so too are other American products, concepts and ideas. To us they’re completely normal but to those outside of America… not so much.
    Gary Althen in his book American Ways: A Guide for Foreigners in the United States, and more specifically in the chapter titled “American Values and Assumptions”, lists some of the many oddities of American behavior and culture, such as our practice of individualism and application of equality. He sheds light on the general nature of Americans, and it honestly isn’t the great image we usually think of.
    Americans like to support the idea of living for oneself, determining your own future and the path you’ll take in life, looking out for your well being over anyone else’s, breaking away from the close knit family unit to pursue your own destiny. It’s often encouraged for teens to try to become independent, and ultimately be ready to live on their own once they turn 18. Many move out to live in a college dorm, or share an apartment with other students, and this has become a norm here in the States. But for other countries this break of traditional families is very strange.
    I grew up with a Filipino mother, and from what I’ve gathered family is extremely important to them. In the Philippines poverty is much more widespread, so often times family units had to be tight knit to be able to survive; parents and children had to work together if they wanted to live. There it was very common for kids to do housework or even get small jobs in order to lighten the load for their parents. Conversely, parents would wish for and strive towards the advancement of their children, trying to give them better and more successful lives than what they grew up with.
    And that’s not the only thing that sets Americans apart from others in the world. Our hypocritical belief in and practice of equality also make us seem very strange to the rest of the world. We claim to support equality, boasting about how (almost) everyone here has equal rights protected under the law even though many of those rights weren’t given until just a few decades ago. We believe that there is no glass ceiling for any group, or discrimination towards a race or marginalized group; Americans really do believe everyone is equal now.
    We are not.
    As we’ve seen in recent months, there are still major conflicts between white americans and colored peoples; between different political parties and groups.
    With the LGBTQ+ community for example, we (yes I am a part of it) still face subtle oppressions that should not exist where there is “equality”. Gays and lesbians can’t walk the streets hand in hand as straight couples do; those in the trans community have suffered battles over which bathroom they get to use, intersex individuals often times grow up as someone who they aren’t because of forced gender assignment by doctors when they are born. Homosexuals and trans individuals do not have the same access to healthcare, housing opportunities, police aid, job opportunities, and more, simply because they do not conform to the normal standards people are used to. The United States wouldn’t even sign a bill condemning the death penalty for homosexuals in some countries.
    America is still far from equal, but we don’t often see it. Nowadays some are more open to the idea that we are not truly equal, though more progress can be made.
    Let’s face it, America ain’t all its cracked up to be and we know it. To other countries we’re odd and hypocritical; to ourselves we either think we’re the greatest or agree with outsiders.
    But hey, at least we’ve got our iced tea.