Megan+E.

= Where has the American Dream gone? =



Once upon a time, there was a thing called the American Dream. Mommies and Daddies worked very hard to better themselves and save up money to buy a house, and maybe even a car. They started out with very little; the Dream was all about being able to make something of yourself. These Mommies and Daddies started out with very small houses or maybe even apartments, and very old cars if they could afford one at all. They worked and worked and worked long hours for little pay until they had enough for a bigger house, and they maybe got a raise or a promotion and were able to buy a newer car. In the land of the American Dream, success was directly related to hard work. But, those Mommies and Daddies had children. At first, these children worked just as hard as their parents, and maybe even ended up a little better off. They got an even bigger house with an even newer car (maybe two!) and shared the same values as their parents. And then they became Mommies and Daddies. But the children of //these// Mommies and Daddies started off wealthy. They had toys to play with and a big backyard to play with them in. They had cars that would drive them wherever they needed to go, and Mommies and Daddies who wanted to spend their money to make their children happy. Only these children never saw their Mommies and Daddies working hard, and assumed they just //deserved// the money and success their family had.

As these children grew up, the American Dream died. It was replaced by American Entitlement. These men and women, just like when they were children, wanted the newest, shiniest toy, and expected Mommy or Daddy to just buy it for them. Well maybe they understood the money wasn’t going to come from Mommy or Daddy, but they definitely expected it from a generous Uncle. Uncle Sam. They signed mortgages and loans and contracts with one hand while extending the other to their magnanimous benefactor. They expected the money to be dropped into their waiting palm just because.

Older generations didn’t //expect//. They **worked**. The current economic situation stems from the expectation that the government will save us and fix our mistakes. We need to understand that life is not a Disney movie. There is not always a Prince Charming waiting to rescue us. Sometimes all we have are ourselves to make things work. Sometimes work, hard work, is all that will make things work.