Define the 'American Dream'...

[Moooooo]

What is your definition of the 'American Dream'?

[TheresNoMoney]

Running a business, being financially secure, and owning your own home/property.

[dazzleman]

Financial security, ownership of home and property, job that pays enough to provide good home and education to family, and a good retirement.

[Everett]

Life, Liberty, the Pursuit of Happiness, and Property.

[A18]

It's a stupid term, that shouldn't exist.

[Moooooo]

It's a stupid term, that shouldn't exist.

Why?

[Akno21]

The idea that your background has no effect on what you can become.  

[A18]

It's a stupid term, that shouldn't exist.

Why?

People's dreams are of course subjective, and not usefully sorted by geographic lines.

[Frodo]

Freedom that comes with citizenship; the opportunity to make a new beginning with a clean slate; as well as being judged on your own merits, and not on that of your parents or ancestors.   

[MODU]

The "American Dream" is merely that people can succeed in whatever they dedicate their lives to.  In reality, the "dream" is an individual’s goal towards their own self-actualization.  For me, my "dream" changes each year as I progress through life.

[Democratic Hawk]

I tend to view the concept of the "American Dream" along with the Maslowian concept of self-actualisation. It denotes to me how every man and woman can go about building themselves a better (e.g.more rewarding, more fulfiling, etc) life

No matter who you are or whatever you, you should strive to improve yourself (in any sphere of life, be it work, relationships, etc)

Dave

[opebo]

This American's dream is Southeast Asia, circa 1999.

But the generic one is probably two tiered -
1) join the owning class.
failing that,
2) the 'middle class lifestyle' of homeownership, decently paid job, benefits and security that was created by liberal keynesianism, and exists now only in Europe.

[Rin-chan]

Financial security, ownership of home and property, job that pays enough to provide good home and education to family, and a good retirement.

I was going to say something like that!  lol You always do that! lol

Rin-chan

[PBrunsel]

To rise from poverty to prominence, like Abraham Lincoln and Herbert Hoover.

[Frodo]

To rise from poverty to prominence, like Abraham Lincoln and Herbert Hoover.

That isn't distinctly American, though.  Saddam Hussein rose from rags to riches, as did Josef Stalin and Mao Tse-tung. 

[MarkDel]

Financial security, ownership of home and property, job that pays enough to provide good home and education to family, and a good retirement.

BINGO...this is right on target. I would add "raising children who become productive members of society"

[Josh/Devilman88]

Just living out thier deams they have....

[Bleeding heart conservative, HTMLdon]

Financial security, ownership of home and property, job that pays enough to provide good home and education to family, and a good retirement.

^^^^^^^^

[dazzleman]

Financial security, ownership of home and property, job that pays enough to provide good home and education to family, and a good retirement.

BINGO...this is right on target. I would add "raising children who become productive members of society"

..that would leave out opebo's parents, who appear to have achieved the American dream in other ways....

[dazzleman]

The idea that your background has no effect on what you can become.  

That's a good point -- it's the idealistic/philosophical side of the American dream, while the rest of us have generally talked about the material side.

Of course, background does affect what you can become, though some people are able to overcome negative backgrounds, and some, as we have seen here, have successfully degraded a positive background to become monied trash.

We should strive for this as an ideal, recognizing that in this life, it can never be a full reality.

[Akno21]

The idea that your background has no effect on what you can become.  

That's a good point -- it's the idealistic/philosophical side of the American dream, while the rest of us have generally talked about the material side.

Of course, background does affect what you can become, though some people are able to overcome negative backgrounds, and some, as we have seen here, have successfully degraded a positive background to become monied trash.

We should strive for this as an ideal, recognizing that in this life, it can never be a full reality.

Yeah, there's definitly a reason why it's a "dream" and not always a reality, but I'd say that America offers the chance to live beyond what you came from just as much as any other country in the world. Obviously many people who grow up poor are going to stay that way when they reach adulthood, but in America we are able to rise above our background, and that isn't possible in many other societies.

[Emsworth]

There is no such thing.

[PBrunsel]

To rise from poverty to prominence, like Abraham Lincoln and Herbert Hoover.

That isn't distinctly American, though.  Saddam Hussein rose from rags to riches, as did Josef Stalin and Mao Tse-tung. 

You like to make an argument out of everything, don't you? Are you going to tell me that Lincoln didn't live the American Dream because of Stalin?

[Frodo]

To rise from poverty to prominence, like Abraham Lincoln and Herbert Hoover.

That isn't distinctly American, though.  Saddam Hussein rose from rags to riches, as did Josef Stalin and Mao Tse-tung. 

You like to make an argument out of everything, don't you? Are you going to tell me that Lincoln didn't live the American Dream because of Stalin?

As a matter of fact, I was simply pointing out that rising from rags to riches is not the whole story of the 'American Dream' -my comment was not meant to imply that upward mobility (which is what you are getting at) had no part to play in it. 

So calm down -no one was trying to attack you. 

[PBrunsel]

It certainly seemed you were trying to say my idea was Communist. It is a thoroughly American tradition and ideal to rise from poverty to greatness, i'll always say that is the American Dream.