The Origin Of The American Dream.
The American Dream, as a concept, was founded on a notion, as an aspiration or reward, in the spirit of the Declaration Of Independence by virtue of a very clear, but simple, statement of fact first laid out in 1776.
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.
However, the explicit word combination of "The American Dream", as an actual, referential, phrase with any related meaning, did not appear, in any current day recognizable form, until well into the early years of the Industrial Revolution.
Photo by Tom Coe on Unsplash.
Caption by Article Author
The Origin Of The American Dream.
The American Dream was founded as a notion, an aspiration or reward, in the spirit of the Declaration Of Independence by virtue of a very clear, but simple, statement of fact first laid out in 1776.
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.
Photo by Tom Coe on Unsplash.
Caption by Article Author
However, the actual phrase, in any current day recognizable form, did not appear until well into the early days of the Industrial Revolution.
But, why does any of this matter to you?
Well, if you've set out to achieve The American Dream for yourself by following the guidance typically offered by well-meaning, but misguided, parents, friends, school-counselors and society, then it should matter. Here's why ...
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That's because you've been conned into believing a lie! The lie that by going to college, securing a great job, climbing the corporate ladder and investing in the housing and the stock markets will lead you to living a rich life! It wont!
Here's why the conventional path wont get you where you want to go and what you need to do about that to actually realize The American Dream for yourself.
How The American Dream Became Folklore.
The phrase actually first showed up in traceable form in 1910 when the author, David Graham Phillip used the phrase “the universal American dream and hope” in his novel Susan Lenox. This was followed by a reference to the phrase, in 1916, in an article by the Chicago Tribune using the phrases “the American idea, the American hope, the American dream…”.
But it was not until 1931, in the midst of the Great Depression when historian, James Truslow Adams, wrote his seminal book, The Epic Of America, that the concept and mythical ideology of The American Dream, as we accept and understand it today, was first clearly presented and stuck. Adams included the phrase in the preface to his book. There he wrote:
There has also been the American Dream, that dream of a land in which life should be better and richer and fuller for everyone, with opportunity for each according to ability or achievement...a dream of social order in which each man and each woman shall be able to attain the fullest stature of which they are innately capable...regardless of the fortuitous circumstances of birth or position. (my editorial emphasis)
The American Dream And The Great Depression.
Adams wrote this at a time of great stress for many in the Depression era. Hence the idea of The American Dream became a symbol of hope and a brighter future ahead. The possibility of getting to live the kind of life implied by achieving The American Dream became embedded into American Folklore.
In effect, the implied promise of opportunity to reap the benefits of living in a better future just by achieving The American Dream was beautifully, simply, defined in this manner by Adams! This definition was perfectly timed for the era!
The notion that literally anyone coming to, or living in, America can have the opportunity to get ahead through skills, hard work and tenacity is what has driven many on towards pursuing their own dreams one way or another.
The American Dream became the siren call, drawing immigrants in to America from all over the world.
Have You Achieved The American Dream?
Are You Following Your Passion
Or Doing What You'd Love To Be Doing?
If not, you need to go from being an Employee to being Self-Employed.
You need to be building your own business!
Have a question you want answered to help you get into following your passion, doing what you want to do, when you want to do it, and living your dream of lifestyle freedom?
The Golden Age Of The American Dream.
Product development and production accelerated in the years following World War II. Manufacturing of all kinds, across the board from steel, aluminum, copper and glass to housing, housewares and automobiles exploded. Workers where needed in ever increasing numbers leading to an increasing demand for middle-managers - the seeds of the Middle class.
In practice, The American Dream became theoretically even more possible for a growing, but select few, during those early Post War boom years. Even the investments in the trans-national infrastructure and the space race opened the doors to major opportunities to reach the American Dream for many.
This was the time of a major spurt in the growth of the Middle Class. It was the the birth of Consumerism and the rapid growth of the Consumer Society. It was a period of Post War boom meeting up with Baby-Boomers growing up, entering the work-force and becoming consumers.
It's Not Your Granddad's World Anymore.
But, while the idea of achieving the American Dream worked well as a motivating incentive, back while the Industrial Revolution was still growing and good jobs were plentiful, many today are left wondering why it's seemingly no longer available to them. Why has the opportunity for good paying jobs disappeared?
That's why some folks have latched onto the myth about "Make America Great Again". Fact is that America has always been, and still is, great for some. However, for many, that's not been the case for some time now. They feel abandoned as their factories have closed and their jobs have disappeared. They are angry and want to lash out at what, and whom, they perceive is responsible for their loss.
The Unfortunate Death Of Manufacturing
But, the problem is that The System, for years now, has hoodwinked people into becoming dependent on it for their source of income.
It's been a very successful campaign. Unfortunately, having become dutifully compliant and dependent on The System, these folks are now abandoned. They are stuck with old world skills. They now have no way out nor any of the new skills necessary to handle the new kind of jobs in this new technology driven world.
Grist To The Mill Serves The Needs Of "The System"
Building on the sentiment I first saw expressed by Gavin Nascimento, here is a notion with which I totally agree and have extended accordingly.
“If we are not being taught how to grow our own food, not being taught how to take care of ourselves and our families and not being shown how to live without the need for huge governments, banks or corporations – as our ancestors once did before the dawn of the Industrial Age – then we are not being educated.
We are, instead, being indoctrinated to become dependent on, and subservient to, "The System" as nothing more than a constant supply of grist to the mill that feeds the coffers of the ‘corporate robber barons and warmongers’.”
Have You Achieved The American Dream?
Are You Following Your Passion
Or Doing What You'd Love To Be Doing?
If not, you need to go from being an Employee to being Self-Employed.
You need to be building your own business!
Have a question you want answered to help you get into following your passion, doing what you want to do, when you want to do it, and living your dream of lifestyle freedom?
The Fallacy of “The American Dream”
This myth originated shortly after the birth of the Industrial Revolution because there was an urgent need to attract masses of new workers to come in support the burgeoning manufacturing industries. The System, for a period of time, needed people, in large quantities, to fill the once growing gap of between jobs and available potential workers.
There had to be an incentive to convince people to become prospective employees ready to jump onto this new opportunity! Achieving the “American Dream” was conjured up as the promise - the carrot - made to attract workers into becoming willing to trade their time and creativity in exchange for a guarantee of a wage, health-care and a pension. People had to be enticed to join that revolution and fill the need!
The possibility of realizing the American Dream has been the mythical carrot dangled before the nose of upcoming high-school and college grads'. The objective has been to hoodwink them into following convention. To convince them that by going to college, securing a great job, climbing the corporate ladder and investing in the housing and the stock markets will lead to living a rich life!
But, things have changed: Now our industry might is a thing of the past. The Industrial Age is now in a tail-spin, currently rapidly disappearing and dying. New technologies like robotics, automation and Artificial Intelligence (AI) are quickly replacing actual workers at all levels and third-world countries have risen to replace many of our conventional industries. We have moved into the Information Age.
Time To Face Reality.
So Freedom, today, is really about now seeing the lie. It’s about escaping the trap of believing what The System, or Society, would have you believe: that the American Dream can be achieved by any conventional means.
It begins by realizing that either getting a college education or undertaking a skilled trade apprenticeship followed by getting a good (9-5) job and relying on investments in IRA's, the stock market and your home’s appreciation to somehow magically create you a millionaire in time for retirement, if not sooner, is a lie. This path will never ever lead you to realizing the American Dream!
Business As Usual!
That belief is complete baloney, guaranteed to actually deliver a life equivalent to doing time, penal servitude, in a time and wage trap. It will leave you Just Over Broke in your JOB and quite likely also relatively unhealthy, to boot, by the time you reach retirement - if you even live long enough to reach retirement!
It is a lie that was originally promoted as bait to persuade you to trade your time, creativity and allegiance in exchange for a JOB with limited reward potential and vulnerable, "benefits". Why would you do that? Aren't you smarter than that?
Isn't it time for you to switch from helping someone else achieve the American Dream for themselves to helping yourself to be successful and achieving the American Dream for yourself?
From Employee To Self-Employed To The American Dream!
There has never been a better time than now to think about going from being an employee to becoming self-employed. Never been more opportunity to go from being a slave of The System to being free of dependence on The System for your source of income and benefits!
Access to modern technology has made this possible. Through the Internet, you can now easily connect to customers across the world. With the latest software and support systems, you can be doing business anywhere 24/7 while you are skiing, sailing, playing Bingo or just relaxing at the pool.
Why would you not want to have your own online business when you could then be doing what you want to do, when you want to do it, for however much you want to do it, with whom you want to do it wherever you want to do it?
Click the link below to go to my survey where you can ask me the question that's been bugging you about how to escape The System and get into creating your own business or how to get from being an Employee into being Self-Employed.
Have You Achieved The American Dream?
Are You Following Your Passion
Or Doing What You'd Love To Be Doing?
If not, you need to go from being an Employee to being Self-Employed.
You need to be building your own business!
Have a question you want answered to help you get into following your passion, doing what you want to do, when you want to do it, and living your dream of lifestyle freedom?
Comments And Feedback.
Are you now ready to escape The System. Ready to go after achieving the American Dream for yourself? Do you now know how to make money to live life on your own terms?
Please scroll down below to the Comments* section below to share your feedback and leave a comment. (*Note: If you see a number before the word "Comments", it's how many comments have already been added. If 0, then be the first to share your thoughts.)
I want to hear from you; I look forward to hearing from you. What are your hopes and dreams for living free of dependence on The System? Has reading this post helped you or has it missed the mark? Please tell me below here. I read all comments because learning from your opinion and about your needs is important to me in helping you. Thank you for sharing with me.
