You have heard it said that the US is the land of opportunity, and that anyone can suceed. Thomas Wolfe alluding to this idea said, "…to every man, regardless of his birth, his shining, golden opportunity ….the right to live, to work, to be himself, and to become whatever thing his manhood and his vision can combine to make him."
We call this idea the American Dream. But when does a dream become a nightmare? Matthew Warshauer writes about the changes in the American Dream in this on-line article. Warshauer summarizes that the original dream has been replace by a desire for quick wealth. The original idea of the Protestant Work Ethic and a caste-less America emphasizing sacrifice, sweat, and then success has been replaced by radical industrialization and materialism. Hard work is now replaced by good luck.
Upon reflecting on this article, this morphing of the dream drives the marketing emphasis of the American Dream. This makes debt a constant reality and the accumulation of goods the ends and goals. Greed becomes good as Wall Street's star Gordon Gecko proclaimed. People go to college, to get a good job, so that they can get money, which gets them lots of money.
But what about meaning or purpose? Some surveys suggest that 87% of Americans hate their jobs and every day 1 million people call in sick. In her book Bait and Switch, Barbara Ehrenreich takes on the hunt for a corporate job finding that no one hires. But even her idea of the American Dream is not the original one, but the new "gimme gimme" American dream of luck and stuff
The original American Dream had its roots in the Protestant view of calling, work ethic, and thrift. What we need to get out of this American Nightmare is a return to the understanding of calling, purpose, and living simply. Then, we become generous people giving to the community, to the poor, and the Kingdom of God our time, talents, and treasures. This giving is not on top of their work but the very nature of it. If our work is not giving, then we may be chasing "stuffitis" and being enslaved to debt.
How can we begin to change our perception of the American Dream to a Dream that is faithful to Christ?
