The Bad and the Good of the American Dream

All of those who have lived in or visited the United States have found in that country (which is so diverse it could be many countries) everything one could ever see in terms of good or evil, happiness or misery, and success or failure. This can also found in other countries, but in America (allow me to use this Latin euphemism for the United States, as it is briefer) this phenomenon has a very unique character.

Depending on the living conditions in one’s country of origin and due to the rosy picture of U.S. society projected by the all-dominating American media, those who have never visited America sooner or later start thinking about the American dream. This is something that is deeply impressed on the minds of people on various corners of the globe.

The term “American dream” is as old as the founding of the United States, and is fitting for a country in possession of so much potential that it eventually made her the world’s only superpower. But America didn’t rise to such power before unleashing its own domestic evils, such as the annihilation of the native population in the cruelest possible ways and a raging war between North and South, which involved the struggle of the white population against the people of color. This in turn led inexorably to today’s gap between rich and poor; which is the way many interpret the term Capitalism.

But let us return to definition of the term “American dream.”

For those now living in America or those who wish to do so, when you arrive in America and start facing life there, you can accomplish “the American dream,” which means that in terms of life’s goals and personal ambition, you can achieve your heart’s desire. If you wish to achieve stability, start a family and live a quiet life, you can.

If you want to have fun and enjoy a meaningless, aimless life, you can. If you want to be a criminal and establish that sort of lifestyle, you can. If you want to become rich and live an upscale lifestyle, you can. If you want to enter politics and aspire to a position of influence, you can. All options are open, and all you have to do is decide and put in the necessary effort and be committed to it.

Moreover, you’ll have no difficulty and need feel no shame in justifying any of this. In other words, as an American comic once sarcastically said: “What distinguishes America is that you can do anything and get whatever you want, as long as you don’t get arrested by law enforcement or judicial authorities!”

I will discuss the “American dream” and its connection to the Middle East next time.