American Dream

In the last week I’ve heard many opinions that only perpetuate the belief of the American meritocracy and the American Dream. I found our class Thursday to be very interesting in how it revealed the prevelancy of the myth of the American Dream among the members of our class. While we recognize that it does not appear to be as easily achievable in modern America, we still acknowledge the presence of the American Dream. There are questions I’d like to address concerning the American Dream.

How can we keep this Dream alive and viable? After watching Waging A Living I cannot help but know that education plays a huge role in the financial success of individuals. This is also the main focus of the I Have A Dream Foundation. While I have met people that disagree with this sentiment (“Hard work is the only way to succeed in this economy!”) I know education is key. While my family could have easily landed in the statistics presented in the film (single mother with multiple children) I think my mom’s education (master’s degree) played a huge role in my family’s economic success. Here’s a video ascribing education to economic success. 

If education is so telling of economic success, why is it so expensive and difficult to gain post-secondary education? Further, is the education being offered a true education or simply one to perpetuate the status quo? Freire explains this far more eloquently:

“Education either functions as an instrument which is used to facilitate integration of the younger generation into the logic of the present system and bring about conformity or it becomes the practice of freedom, the means by which men and women deal critically and creatively with reality and discover how to participate in the transformation of their world.”

This observation leads into my second question. 

Is this Dream a goal of all Americans? Clearly from the Freire reading the answer is no. While the wealthy top 1% of Americans control 42.7% of the money in the country (using this website I’ve referenced previously in my entries) it would be easy to infer that the majority of this 1% would not want to have more citizens join them. This is key in Freire’s discussion of the oppressor/oppressed relationship; it is a goal of the oppressor to keep the oppressed down and unable to join the ranks of the oppressors. So long as the oppressed remain content to not question their economic standing the oppressor will continue to oppress. Using this perspective I can most clearly see how Professor Hobby believe the American Dream is simply a “myth that allays social unrest”. 

Waging a Living certainly provided a level of respect and recognition for my class status and social standing. This, in combination with Why Are All the Black Kids and Unequal Childhoods, underlines huge issues with the social welfare system in America as well as the inability to achieve upward social mobility. Dr. Tatum clearly shows that a person’s race or ethnic identification has huge implications on a child’s education that then influences their economic wellbeing and social future.  Once Annette Lareau has us consider the social class of children it becomes obvious that while the race of children may influence their treatment by society, the methods used to raise a child (as a result of social class) affect the child’s future equally as his or her race. Lareau shows us that with middle class children there is a certain amount of expectation from society, a sense of entitlement that is not seen within lower and working class children. This ties in directly to our class discussion last week.

On Thursday we were discussing Waging a Living and the idea of readjusting the American Dream to reflect accurately what Americans are entitled to by simply being Americans. I felt we got off to a very negative view on the American Dream. Yes, it is certainly not as realistic as it used to be (at least, that’s what it seems like, I can’t be sure) but I don’t think simply disregarding it is a solution. I think the American Dream is a great goal to strive for, so why don’t we try to change aspects of our society in a way that would encourage the American Dream again? Just because it’s difficult to achieve doesn’t mean we should give up on it entirely. As I type this I’m reminding myself of Lareau’s work that tells me my outlook is very different than a majority of America’s. Having been raised in a middle class household I too have this sense of entitlement that tells me I am owed something by my country. Attempting to navigate this and write about how I believe most Americans are owed the opportunity to fulfill their own version of the American Dream is difficult. This seems to be a theme of our class (and of college), the idea that it is truly difficult to understand another’s perspective when you’re too stuck in your own. I have become more and more cautious when discussing matters that I have only been educated through by books and documentaries rather than through experience.

I wish people were more patient when trying to understand matters such as the ones discussed in this blog. It’s extremely saddening to me when I hear people say “there shouldn’t be any social welfare in this country” and “minorities don’t face oppression anymore,” (both things that have been said to me this semester when I’ve attempted to discuss issues addressed in this class). Perhaps with further education and understanding we can once again become a nation where the iconic American Dream lives on.