American Dream

For many generations, America has been the land of opportunity, where people could pursue the American Dream.  James Truslow Adams defined the American Dream as “that dream of a land in which life should be better and richer and fuller for everyone, with opportunity for each according to ability or achievement… It is not a dream of motor cars and high wages merely, but a dream of social order in which each man and each woman shall be able to attain to the fullest stature of which they are innately capable, and be recognized by others for what they are, regardless of the fortuitous circumstances of birth or position."  In other words, success is earned and the amount of success is limited only by a person’s talents, capabilities, and willingness to work hard, not by social class, race, or sex.

That was my parents’ definition of the American Dream and they passed it on to me.  I had long assumed that everyone else understood that hard work was the path to success.  But that isn’t the case.  There are far too many people in this country that no longer believe that success and prosperity must be earned, they believe they are entitlements.

Undoubtedly, we live in an entitlement society.  We have Generation Me; a generation of young people characterized as having a sense of entitlement and narcissism.  We had the Occupy Wall Street movement; a protest about income disparity where protestors demanded more and better job and more balanced income distribution.  Although they demanded more, they didn’t offer to do more to earn more.  When we speak of poverty in this country, we don’t talk of destitution, people without adequate food, clothing, or shelter.  We talk about people who have TVs, computers, air conditioning, and iPhones, yet still receive government assistance, as if the amenities are necessities. Maybe they feel entitled to those amenities since so many others have them also.  Yet, real poverty exists in this country, but that is not the subject of these demands.

I’m not sure where this entitlement mentality began.  I think that the pampering, “everybody’s-a-winner”, self-esteem-building movement has certainly contributed to it.  Too many people believe they deserve a trophy for participating and too many are rejecting job offers because the offers don’t match their self-assessed market value.  They think they should begin in the corner office instead of realizing they have to start at the bottom and work their way to the top.  Nor do they understand that some will be more successful than others, whether it’s hard-work, luck, talent or some other reason. 

I also believe that politicians, with their social programs and government assistance, have contributed to the belief that people can’t rise out of poverty or be successful without government help.  While that mindset helps the politicians to get re-elected, it breeds acceptance in a segment of the population that believes it is better to live on welfare than to work a low paying job.  This creates apathy and a perpetuating cycle through generations that expect handouts without the burden of work.

At the same time, society labels successful people who want to keep the fruits of their labor instead of paying exorbitant taxes on them as greedy and accuses them of not paying their fair share.  Politicians talk about redistribution of wealth as if everyone is entitled to a piece of the pie, regardless of how much they contributed to making the pie.  Congress and the President talk about creating jobs, as if they could create jobs the same way they produce legislation.  But, they create untold government regulations and programs that hamper or prevent employers from creating jobs. When Walmart announced plans to build stores in Washington, D.C., the city council passed laws that will effectively block the retailer from opening half of the planned stores. Why? Because the wages Walmart pays its employees aren’t high enough.  But, the wages do meet or exceed the minimum wage standards. In an area where unemployment is higher than the national average, isn’t it enough to simply provide employment opportunities?  Because of the politicians’ stance, they propagate the idea that people are entitled to jobs at a pay rate higher than the jobs are worth.

In a recent speech, Ashton Kutcher said:

“I believe that opportunity looks a lot like hard work.  I've never had a job in my life that I was better than.  I was always just lucky to have a job.  And every job I had was a steppingstone to my next job, and I never quit my job until I had my next job.  And so opportunities look a lot like work.”

Because he is popular with younger generations, I hope they will take his message to heart.  Regardless, we need to learn or relearn and teach our children and grandchildren that success and prosperity are things that are earned through hard work, not entitlements.   And we need to stop electing officials who perpetuate the myth that success is an entitlement.  Otherwise, the American Dream will be nothing but a distant memory.  By some measures, it is already fading fast.