It occured to me recently, just how silly the "American Dream" really is. I would not define the American Dream as a white picket fence near a big house in the suburbs with two cars and two and a half children for a husband and a wife. I would say that it is much simpler than that. It is the simple act of creating a life for one's children that is easier and more comfortable than the one you had. Typically, this applies mainly to the material.
There has been a backlash against the remnants of the American Dream since before I was born. To cite just one example, Jello Biafra, the lead singer of the hardcore punk band The Dead Kennedys has some thought provoking things to say in his song "Terminal Preppie".
I go to college
That makes me so cool
I live in a dorm
And show off by the pool
I join the right clubs
Just to build an impression
I block out thinking
It won't get me ahead
My ambition in life
Is to look good on paper
All I want is a slot
In some big corporation
John Belushi's my hero
I lampoon and I ape him
My news of the world
Comes from Sports Illustrated
I'm proud of my trophies
Like my empty beer cans
Stacked in rows up the wall
To impress all my friends
No, I'm not here to learn
I just want to get drunk
And major in business
And be taught how to f_ck
Win! Win!
I always play to win
Wanna fit in like a cog
In the faceless machine
[Chorus]
I'm a terminal terminal terminal preppie
terminal terminal terminal preppie
terminal terminal terminal terminal
terminal terminal terminal terminal
I want a wife with t_ts
Who just smiles all the time
In my centerfold world
Filled with Springsteen and wine
Some day I'll have power
Some day I'll have boats
A tract in some suburb
With Thanksgivings to host
Clearly, Mr. Biafra is not buying into the dream. It is interesting, though not surprising, that the hardcore movement sprung from the suburbs. Although I do not disddain captitalism as much as many in the movement, having lived for most of my life in the suburbs, I do share some of Biafra's disdain. We suburbanites have generally had things quite well. It is safe to say that I have done very little suffering in my life time, even if I bemoan the minor wrongs that I undergo occasionally, often blowing them completely out of proportion. Yet there are a great many of my classmates and others, even some of my close friends, who seem--if they may forgive my pretentiousness--to wish to live the life of the terminal preppie, forgetting something crucially important. A lack of real suffering is not synonomous with happiness.
If I may quote one of the dying breed of the movement, the band Rise Against has something revealing to say.
We’re meant for something more than living just to put food on our plates
I can’t help but wonder--why should we participate?
Indeed. There are those of us who are wondering why we must buy into this American Dream. There is, of course, nothing that says we "must" buy into this charade. We are then left wondering, is it better to break out of the system, or to fight it from within? I believe fighting is called for, but that is a bit of a different topic, left for another day.
To stay on point, there is a good reason that the Dream has failed. Progress, insofar as material possessions are concerned is not an easy thing to define. Having more material comforts is, one would assume, a good thing, but there is clearly a line of sorts which it is best not to cross. Material things can bring joy, but they cannot in and of themselve bring any sort of lasting happiness. What is most interesting, is that any reasonable person will assuredly confirm this. And yet our culture is still belligerently drunk on materialism.
Since the punk rockers have had their say, I will now give Christ a shot.
Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. (Matthew 6:19-21)
This is good, solid advice. As long as this is taken to heart, there is nothing wrong with creating a good life foryou and your loved ones. Yet it is easy to let this timeless truth fall to the wayside, especially in today's world. Advertisements incessantly demand that we fulfill our insatiable appetite for useless junk, useless that is, if we wish it to bring us meaningful happiness.
It is time for another American Dream. One that can bring happiness. I do not wish to get preachy, for that seldom does much good. Yet it should be noted that Jesus had some other practical things to say as well. The punks often missed this, and to a large extent that is why the whole movement failed. Until we, as a people, shift the focus of that misguided dream, we too will end in failure.
Where your treasure is....
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3 comments:
I disagree that preaching rarely produces results and I encourage you to keep it up,people need to be exposed to the ideas (and faith) of others.
I am one of the original counter-culturalists, coming of age in the SF bay area in the late sixties and while much of the self expression of that time was basic hedonism (im not judging it)some had a more overt political content. In rejecting the consumerism and strict moralism of post-war comfort and suburban banality it was revolutionary to the degree that it influenced a consistent opposition.Many became anti-war, anti-nuke, anti-bigotry, even anti-capitalist but many settled into the opiate of intense materialist grubbing.As Vonnegut says, so it goes.
And a welcome back at ya, comrade Ron,I think the fat-chick reference indicates an insidious product of the consumerism you decry.Skinny beautiful is a product marketed like any other and the superficiality it engenders is a dangerous consumer by-product.human as commodity.As for looking at labels of origin before you buy and using human rights as a criteria, great idea,but it's going to create some shopping dilemnas.The items in your closet and shelves produced with unfair labor practices or in areas where corporations can skirt environmental laws are many.
Eric, if Black Friday depresses you the next month of Christmas hogging will be rough.Last night on the news they did a piece on the flood victims of Guatemala living on so little followed by a piece on shoppers fighting over laptops at five in the morning at WallMart or some other inferno.Quite the juxtaposition.
Quite a juxtaposition indeed. On one hand, the irony is funny, but it is at the same time so sad.
I hope and pray that my generation does something about all this, but we appear to be more shallow than even the baby boomers turned out to be. Still, the pendulum has to swing back. It always does.
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