Defining the Dream
If you’ve taken a few of our surveys , you’ll know that one of our favorite topics is the American Dream – what it is, whether respondents believe they can achieve it, and why. When we ask whether respondents believe in the American Dream, one of the answers we always provide is that the respondent believes the American dream is achieved through spiritual fulfillment rather than material success. In recent polls, we’ve had between 30 and 40% of respondents select this answer. We call those who select this answer “secular spiritualists”. Another group, called “materialists”, answer that the American Dream consists of material success. This answer is also usually chosen by between 30 and 40% of respondents. Here is an excerpt from The Way We’ll Be describing some characteristics of secular spiritualists and comparing them to materialists:
“Secular spiritualists are likely to be aged forty-one or younger. They are less likely to be male.. and more likely to be female parents with a job at home and make fifty thousand dollars a year or less. Secular spiritualists attend church far more regularly than materialists and are far more likely to be born-again. And yet they are also more likely than materialists to identify themselves as liberal and to have voted for John Kerry in the 2004 presidential election. .. Their personal relationship to God or any particular faith or creed.. might be a key issue in their own lives, but it’s not a salient issue in defining their relationship one to the other. Rather, what pulls them together and gives them definition is the need to move beyond professional and financial ambition, the acquisition of things, and the quest for a luxurious lifestyle.”
How do you personally define the American Dream? Do you feel that you are more of a secular spiritual or more of a materialist?
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Just to change the subject. I look forward to a lively debate on this.
This past sunday I was watching a program about the wisdon of crowds. It seems that, a computer co is using software robotic spy-ders to troll the internet looking for, of all things predictions by common folks. They reported that they had predicted the 911 attacks and this economic down turn. Now the real kicker is they are predicting a small limited nuclear attack/confrontation towards the end of 2009. Question to you folks at this posting, “Do you think a limited nuclear exchage will occur? if so in your opinion, when?
The American dream is anything you think it is. It is the chance at educating yourself and having a less burdensome life than your parents. It is the idea that anyone can succeed financially (even though this is not altogether true). It is the right to practice your religion to any degree that you wish to that is not harmful to others. The dream of America is in all of it’s promises guaranteed by the Constitution and the Bill of rights and all the myriad laws written since the country’s inception. The “dream” is as individual as our nightly dreams.
“Do you think a limited nuclear exchage will occur?”
i don’t believe that a nuclear exchange will occur against the US. Might it happen in Pakistan? Depends on if fundamentalists take control of that country. If they did I wouldn’t worry about an attack against the US as much as i would against India or Israel. Not that many countries have nukes and all of them that do aren’t a threat to us. We owe them too much or we have more and better nukes than they do so they wouldn’t think of it. the “mutually assured destruction” (mad) theory still holds. no country that doesn’t want to be completely wiped off of the face of the planet would be crazy enough to use nukes. there are however, some people crazy enough to use them. only one so far.. US.
Shelly…
you say pakistan, in your first instint, when?
@Sam Nicolosi
According to your definition, millions of us are not, and will not, be living the American Dream. I believe your definition is “pie in the sky” and has little to do with reality for the majority past, present, or future.
@Greg King
@Greg King
Greg, I feel where you’re coming from. Poverty is a crime against freedom and humanity, not a nameless, faceless statistic. But nothing is as simple as merely comparing two extremes, then choosing one out of exasperation and calling it a day. I think everyone wishes to conquer poverty, regardless of political affiliation. You raised quite a few good points. But I don’t believe money is the answer. Statistically, the poor have simply become more poor, despite increasing entitlement programs. Exactly how much money do you think it would take to vanquish poverty in America? What’s the total price of the kind of “freedom” you advocate?
80% of political donations (both parties) come from the top 1% wealthiest Americans. Those who have billions to spare choose instead to spend their money on influencing politicians and political parties (and expensive media influence), with little more than lip service to what’s best for Americans. Politicians don’t really need us … except on election day. What really motivates them is getting re-elected. In order to do that, they have to please their donors (the top 1%), while telling their constituents (merely the majority of the 99% of the rest of us) what they want to hear. Their actions speak much more loudly, unfortunately.
I do believe corruption is the problem. Again, 80% of political donations (both parties) come from the top 1% wealthiest Americans. No matter which “party” is in “power” … the rich get richer and the poor get poorer. Ever notice that there aren’t billions of dollars being taken (or offered) directly from those who can truly afford to spare it, and given directly to those industrious people who need it? If money were the answer, why wouldn’t the wealthy just do that, instead of grabbing political puppet strings? Average Americans are extremely industrious and generous. Unfortunately, We The People have abdicated the power our Constitution entrusts to us exclusively. If We The People would put our money where our (big!) mouths are, I think we could solve every problem we face … together … without resorting to extreme ideologies on either side.
We The People are responsible for our government, not the other way around.
“I see you in line dragging your feet. You have my sympathy. The day you were born, you were born free. That is your privilege.” — Brandon Boyd
The real beauty of the American Dream is that it can, is, and should be different for everybody. That is the principle that America was founded on… the freedom to seek your individual dream or dreams without interference from the government. Our forefathers really put a lot of blood, sweat, tears, and lives into forming what they thought would be a government that was, in the words of Abraham Lincoln, “..of the people, for the people, and by the people..”. Just when did that turn into “of the lawyers, for the lawyers, and by the lawyers”?
@sharilpl
Lincoln was a lawyer, too. We elect lawyers to office.
@SmartCookie
Yes, I know, but why? It’s kind of like the mackerel electing the sharks.
@sharilpl
You’re so right, sharilpl. Since I’m more cynical than you, I would characterize it as the sheep trying to pretend like they control the wolves.
We do what we’re told and we don’t hold our elected officials accountable for their oaths of office. Political parties serve the glory and power of Party, not the Constitution. We are too accustomed to adopting the ideology of whichever pundit we (or our family or friends) like best, or worse yet, we have no opinion at all. Most of us don’t know who our representatives are, let alone what they’re doing with the incredible responsibility we’ve entrusted them with on our behalf. Most Americans don’t even vote. Most politicians are dishonest with us. It’s a big mess. Most of the news we are exposed to is only offered to us with the slant of one corporate interest or another. Our own governmental institutions look out more for corporate and wealthy individual donors who fund political campaigns (or end up in appointed governmental positions) than they do for our health and well-being and freedom. We have not only fallen for, but become addicted to the oldest obfuscation trick in the book … keep ‘em all fighting with each other so they won’t pay attention to what we’re doing.
I could go on and on. These are just my observations, but I can only come to the same conclusion I repeat over and over here. My opinion about pretty much everything is that it’s all my fault, and it’s all my responsibility to fix it.
Not real popular, I guess. 
I have a dream.To open a homeless shelter in an area that I know has none.
Wow. I keep wondering what mindless idiotic whining grade-school teachers told 30%-40% of spiritual secularists turned-born-againers (I doubt it) that ANYone owes them ANYthing. Life, Libery and the PURSUIT of Happiness.I deeply suspect that spiritual secularists are unmarried dreamers who are maxed-out on their credit cards and want the rest of us to promise them that we’ll pay for their kid’s college indoctrination.
Not me, baby. I’ll continue to fight the UN and all the do-gooding ‘citizens of the world’, who have yet to show me who is going to protect me from the world police. The fight is on.
That’s a great idea! What’s stopping you?
Question to you folks at this posting, “Do you think a limited nuclear exchage will occur? if so in your opinion, when?
The American Dream is living in a country where each legal citizen and member feels part of; contributes to; and has a voice where elected government representatives (small case intentional) honorably serve the majority (limited term service) and legislates incentives for others to contribute, and participate; all right here at home. We used to have such a government…when it followed a Constitution!
America is not the world police; not the world welfare giver nor the global “equalizer” in conflicts between other nations. America best offers other nations a shining example of leadership…but Washington has taken a 2-Century functional government and legislated and ammended our nation into a failing, dysfunctional socialistic society…will history once again repeated the fall of a Democracy?
SmartCookie is right in theory; but in practice the special interest money has such a strong hold on congress that there seems no way to wrestle it back short of a revolution. More like a re-revolution to return the government to it’s constitutionally defined roles.
As much as the federal government postures that it provides an economic safety net a lot of people in trouble miss the net. Social Security disability for example is nearly always denied upon first application often without any medical examination, yet a high percentage of denied applicants are are found disabled on appeal. The problem is the appeal process can take more than 3 years most of it waiting for a court date. This is only one example of how inept the federal government has become at what they call serving the citizens interests.
I am 60 years old and I thought that the sixties would at least fix racial injustice and eliminate racial discrimination. Unfortunately the government “solution” was structured discrimination called affirmative action. Our president appears to be a product of affirmative action. The problem with discrimination whether practices by institutions like governments or individuals is that it sends the wrong message to both those who are discriminated against and those who benefit. And over those 40 years the racial climate in the country has at best stood still and may have even become worse. Gated communities are somewhat integrated; but the neighborhood isn’t.
Whether people prosper or not is a whole lot more related to chance than to initiative. When I graduated from college my father told me I wasted my time because a bagger in a unionized grocery store made more money than I did and only worked 40 hours a week that were all paid hours. After I got married my wifes relatives told us that we should work in the GM plant like they did because each of them made more money laid off than both of us did working. After I worked my way up to middle management I still never made more money in any year than my unionized blue collar father. I have two younger high school graduate brothers that are in similar responsibilities and both have higher incomes. When my manufacturing employer closed it’s doors I was left with whatever I had saved in my 401K that lost 40 per cent with the stock market crash. The ousted GM workers got generous severance benefits and health care. Not sour grapes, just one true story about choices a person makes in life believing that they are doing the “right thing” only to find out too late that others that didn’t really plan their career path as well or prepare for it as much really had the more rewarded thing.
Is the American dream that with hard work and initiative you can be successful? Maybe – Maybe not! Is the American dream that you will live in a country where all are created equal and all have and equal opportunity to be successful? Maybe – Maybe not! Is the American dream that you have the freedom to succeed and fail based on the risks and how they work out? After AIG, Citicorp, Fannie Mae, Freddie MAC, Countrywide, and Bank of America. Maybe – Probably Not.
Governments resent citizens that can succeed in spite of the government; and will try to attain control over the means of success to insure the power of the government.
@sharilpl
@SmartCookie
Yes, I know, but why? It’s kind of like the mackerel electing the sharks.
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I got a good laugh out of this one..Love it!
@AntiSocialist
socialism = govermental programs aimed for the benefit of the social masses.
Social security number is truly a socialist control tool. 911 operator, social program, paved roads a social benefit. police & fire Depts, health inspectors the same. All of these mentioned are socialist programs, because the are paid for and benefit the masses. Which one would you abolish?
The redistribution of my wealth to people that can’t get off the couch to get their own beer!
I’ve lived in socialist and commie countries for quite a bit of my life and frankly I know a little of what I speak. It’s my own opinion from what I’ve experienced and am stating what I’ve learned from it. We pay taxes for some services, much of which should be to keep the citizens safe and the roads paved, etc. We’re about to experience socialism here that hasn’t worked too well in other countries. I don’t know why we want to do that here!!! History repeated is history repeated. There are some things better left NOT repeated. I just get the feeling that there are just too many folks here that have not experience in what socialism is really like and they are in for the shock of their lives, especially the the spoiled ones. HaHaHah. The lazy one will like it for a while until the country gets sucked dry …. and then there will be nothing. I have relative in those countries back home and they are saddened to see what America is about to become and they are shocked that we elected such a socialist for president. They really have no respect for him and what he stands for. But the media will never report that. Their media is like ours, one sided and socialist.
Have a pleasant evening.
People born in the US since 1930 or so have live through the best times and in the best place in the history of humans. Any American of normal intelligence and at least fair health has no excuse for living in poverty. In this country, even people born with disabilities can live a useful and respectable life.
Further, every form of economy and government has a food chain. Each form of economy may have a slightly different way of percolating to the top but I suspect that the losers in one economy or governmental system would be a loser in any system. excepting those with amazing runs of bad luck, a loser in the US in this year would be a loser any time, any place.
Hey Anti
In case you didn’t read between the lines. We are already in the best form of socialist of states a a state or country can get.
In america you have to pay taxes for ever no matter what even if you owe no mortgage. didn’t pay the taxes? they’ll sell your home and evict you no matter if you are elderly or sick. If you bought office equipment. they’ll they will charge you a Ad valorem tax on something you already paid taxes on. and they’ll keep on charging it year after year. In central america The land and property are yours, there is no such thing as a property tax. property taxes are something kings and tyrants use to confiscate the property from the masses. I honestly don’t know how some people think we are headed toward socialism when as I pointed out we are already there. Unless you mean the “brown shirts a marching”