Phillips 1 Simon Phillips Professor Nelson English112 13WA 23 September 2017 The American Paradox The American Dream is a paradoxical concept. It is imagined as the ever present singular force which has defined the people and history of this country, yet history also recounts the ever changing forms of the Dream as well as the myriad of Americans from whom the Dream has been denied. There is a chasm between the idea which is the American Dream and what can actually be manifested in the lives of those who dream. This is the perpetual dilemma of the American Dream, but the belief in its transformative powers persists throughout history. However, there are those in our current era that are claiming to hear the death knell for the Dream. Economic uncertainty has produced much trepidation due to a drastic redefining of who experiences the Dream. Although the Dream is immortal within the American mythos, it is difficult to believe in its immortality when the country is wounded and bleeding in so many ways. The answer to whether the end is nigh is found in answering what is changing within America, is the Dream adaptable, and is there power in the Dream? Meacham in his biography of the Dream defines it as the belief in the opportunity at liberty and prosperity and stability escape and reinvention (4). The main concern currently is that parts of the economy are in such dire straits that this opportunity is being denied to a significant portion of the population. The shifting away from manufacturing and the advancements in technology have inordinately made obsolete jobs that were once pillars of the middle class. According to Ben Casselman in his article for FiveThirtyEight, The U.S. has lost
Phillips 2 more than 4.5 million manufacturing jobs since NAFTA took effect in 1994. This has made the skills and qualifications of this portion of the workforce to become irrelevant beyond jobs in the low paying service sector in an economy that is becoming more technology focused and dependent. This is evidenced by fact that despite the increase since 2009 [in] manufacturing output by 20 percent manufacturing employment is up just 5 percent (Casselman). Casselman attributes this to the relatively small amount of newly established American factories which are immensely automated and only require a small human workforce to operate them. The grievous picture that emerges is that the American Dream has been forcibly taken from a portion of modern America. In the PBS documentary, Two American Families, Keith Stanley depicts his father s harrowing situation by stating, He will not be able to see the retirement, you know, that he was probably-would hope for when he was working at A.O. Smith. That s just not a reality. My heart goes out to that generation that was promised something from America, by America, that they would have a better life, and that s not the case anymore (Casciato and Hughes 19). There are those who believe and promise the return of what once was, but the evidence reminds us that this is a fantasy. The world has changed too much. Change brings not only upheaval and chaos but also a chance at renewal and creation. When considering the current plight it is easy to forget that the history of the Dream is one of hardship and overcoming. The question is whether America can once again can adapt to allow the upcoming generation to ride the next economic wave just like the generation of the Great Depression following World War II. The past is not going to return as it was, but there are a few notes worth taking from it. For instance, Meacham points out that there is a kind of cognitive dissonance in America s recollection of the Dream as being embodied in rugged individualism and the contributions of the missing character of the government. It was legislation that shaped
Phillips 3 the settling of the West, increased access to higher levels of education, and instrumental in the struggle for civil rights (Meacham 5). It is easy to vent frustrations about the current political system and to decry what seems broken in our country; however, our history shows many moments of great success which were due to the public and private sector working together. The extent the government should be involved in the fabrication of the Dream has always been a point of debate in this country, but it is imperative that we are honest with our history especially in times such as these when the Dream is in flux. Additionally, Jim Cullen in his book The American Dream: A Short History of an Idea That Shaped a Nation, wrote, In the 19 th and 20 th centuries, no one spoke of the French Dream or the Russian Dream, but in the 21 st century it probably is possible to speak of the Chinese Dream (qtd. in Meacham 6). This shift in geoeconomics means that the Dream is not only in a transitional state, but it also has global competition. The full extent of what this means will probably only be known in time, but the dreamers of today must be ready to adapt to what in many ways is an unknown world. The world may be changing, but the Dream or the lack of it also has the power to change. Faith in the Dream can give meaning to the various struggles and degrees of hardship that life forces upon all of us, and the loss of this faith can allow despair and meaningless to creep into the society. Anand Giridharadas in his TED talk describes this divide as the republic of dreams and the republic of fears (1). The concern is not only that there is such a divide, but that it is expanding. In his speech Giridharadas remarks, Over the last decade, seven million foreigners gained American citizenship...since the 60 s the middle class has shrunk by twenty percent (3). The country is no doubt hurting economically, but there is also a war for its soul. The polarization that has been developing on the societal and political levels of this country has made it easy to rob others of their humanity and sincerity. The Republic of Chances must be
Phillips 4 created by the fractured pieces of America coming together and learning to strive, to plow, to forge, to dare together (Giridharadas 4). I would not imagine that the more fanatical members of our society would care to attempt such a feat, but the power to accomplish it can still flow through the average American who still retain the majority. The American Dream has always come at a price. The world is changing, America is changing, and so to must our idea of the Dream. The Dream was never easily achieved by any generation. It was not only the guiding star which showed persevering Americans and immigrants the way towards opportunity, but it was also the shared vision of the country. We can decide to abandon it to the past as myth and legend, or we can embrace anew the old paradox and attempt to give meaning to a better tomorrow. The path ahead will not be easy no matter what choice is made, and unfortunately much has already been lost in the tumult. However, the Dream can once again be remembered fondly if America prepares itself for the opportunities of the future, is willing to adapt, and has faith in what this country can be. Word Count: 1,219
Phillips 5 Works Cited Casciato, Tom, and Kathleen Hughes. Two American Families. Frontline, 23 July2013. www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/film/two-american-families/. Casselman, Ben. Manufacturing Jobs Are Never Coming Back. FiveThirtyEight, 18 March 2016. www.fivethirtyeight.com/features/manufacturing-jobs-are-nevercoming-back/. Giridharadas, Anand. A Tale of Two Americas. And the Minimart Where They Collided. TED, March 2015. www.ted.com/talks/anand_giridharadas_a_tale_of_two_americas_and_the_mini_ mart_ where_they_collided. Meacham, Jon. Keeping the Dream Alive. Time, 21 June 2012. content.time.com/time/specials/packages/printout/0,29239,2117662_2117682_21 17680,00.html.