The events of 9-11-01 will never be forgotten. In many ways it has defined our generation. After all it is our generation searching for jobs in the crippled economy and our best and bravest fighting overseas. We won't forget, because everyday of the rest of our lives has been changed. Serving as a constant reminder. Those attacks took thousands of lives and the subsequent retaliation has taken thousands more. The loss of life and financial expense of maintaining two wars has been devastating, but as the years have ticked by the true cost of that day has become more and more apparent. We are losing faith, we are losing hope.
"The American Dream is dead," You can hardly watch the news or explore the web without hearing this statement. Many people feel disenfranchised by our government, the economy, and are upset that they didn't get that little white picket fence. I understand that. As a child I wanted to be a dinosaur. Yet, still to this day I am merely a weak human. I KNOW disappointment. Luckily my dreams have changed since then, and maybe ours should to. Afterall, it is the American DREAM, not the American Guarantee. A dream is something you have to chase. Something you have to work for and something you may never obtain. It is something you have to define for yourself. That white picket fence, with a dishwasher, a steady factory job, and a tiny house was the gold standard for the 40's-70's. That life honestly, makes me want to vomit a little bit. For some though that is their dream, and I say go get it.
My American dream? My dream is always a moving target, my dream is found in the journey. This means that I will never own it, but if I work hard enough, I will live it... In reality the most all encompassing definition of the American Dream can be summarized by the age old phrase, "Hard work, pays off..." That phrase is always true and the USA doesn't own the trademark. It just has never been so evident as when the American people bought into that ideal. We took it too a entirely new level. Our dreams brought the world flight, electricity, light bulbs, television, the internet, and virtually every form of communication technology we all enjoy today. We BROUGHT it! Our government didn't give it to us. It wasn't guaranteed, no one handed people these dreams, and certainly no one else made them realities... No one but themselves and those who also believed. It was individuals who followed their dreams and changed the world and those individuals were American's. They are the ones who made those dreams our own. Everyone can dream, but American's did it so well that we had our own brand of dreaming, the "American Dream."
Is accomplishing our dreams as easy as before 9/11? Absolutely not... But since when have we cared about what is hard? We aren't entitled to an "American Dream" it is our debt. Our debt to all those who died on this day 11 years ago. Our debt to all those who have died ending the dreams of those who thought they could crush ours that day... To all those who say the dream is dead. Show some respect. Stop expecting your dreams to come true and realize that as an American it is expected of you to earn it. To all those who thought they could crush our dreams on 9-11-01, today is 9-11-12 and this American's dreams are very much alive. I love this country, and as long as I and millions of others like me have a pulse, you will never kill the American Dream.
"The American Dream is dead," You can hardly watch the news or explore the web without hearing this statement. Many people feel disenfranchised by our government, the economy, and are upset that they didn't get that little white picket fence. I understand that. As a child I wanted to be a dinosaur. Yet, still to this day I am merely a weak human. I KNOW disappointment. Luckily my dreams have changed since then, and maybe ours should to. Afterall, it is the American DREAM, not the American Guarantee. A dream is something you have to chase. Something you have to work for and something you may never obtain. It is something you have to define for yourself. That white picket fence, with a dishwasher, a steady factory job, and a tiny house was the gold standard for the 40's-70's. That life honestly, makes me want to vomit a little bit. For some though that is their dream, and I say go get it.
My American dream? My dream is always a moving target, my dream is found in the journey. This means that I will never own it, but if I work hard enough, I will live it... In reality the most all encompassing definition of the American Dream can be summarized by the age old phrase, "Hard work, pays off..." That phrase is always true and the USA doesn't own the trademark. It just has never been so evident as when the American people bought into that ideal. We took it too a entirely new level. Our dreams brought the world flight, electricity, light bulbs, television, the internet, and virtually every form of communication technology we all enjoy today. We BROUGHT it! Our government didn't give it to us. It wasn't guaranteed, no one handed people these dreams, and certainly no one else made them realities... No one but themselves and those who also believed. It was individuals who followed their dreams and changed the world and those individuals were American's. They are the ones who made those dreams our own. Everyone can dream, but American's did it so well that we had our own brand of dreaming, the "American Dream."
Is accomplishing our dreams as easy as before 9/11? Absolutely not... But since when have we cared about what is hard? We aren't entitled to an "American Dream" it is our debt. Our debt to all those who died on this day 11 years ago. Our debt to all those who have died ending the dreams of those who thought they could crush ours that day... To all those who say the dream is dead. Show some respect. Stop expecting your dreams to come true and realize that as an American it is expected of you to earn it. To all those who thought they could crush our dreams on 9-11-01, today is 9-11-12 and this American's dreams are very much alive. I love this country, and as long as I and millions of others like me have a pulse, you will never kill the American Dream.
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