What does the new American Dream look like?

I don’t think there is an American Dream anymore. It used to be about Liberty, and being different from other countries. Now it all seems like we’re trying to be like Europe.

@Anon_Jihad Hmm, I don’t think that’s the case at all but in what ways do you mean? And Europe has plenty of liberty, no?

@Anon_Jihad I think Europe has surpassed us in terms of liberty, so I’d say that’s a fine thing to strive for.

I actually prefer this concept of the American Dream more than the more widely accepted one.

Contrary to popular opinion, the American dream isn’t about buying the home and having a nuclear family, it’s about “more”.
Always striving for more. More money, more cars, more success at the job and so forth.
People aren’t satisfied with having a family and a home anymore. They want to be multimillionaires, they want the fancy jewelry, the gadgets, they want to have affairs, they want to party like its 2012 and there’s no shortage of people who are more than willing to part with their integrity and basic human decency to get there.
For most people, the American dream has becomes a dream of indulgence.
In the 21st century, the American dream will morph into something hopefully a little more humble focused on something a little broader than the contentment of the individual.

I don’t know what it was or what it is now and frankly don’t care. I don’t base my aspirations on what others tell me I should want or be, I base them on what makes me and those I care about happy (or at least what I think will do the trick). I don’t understand why anyone would do it any differently.

@Simone_De_Beauvoir, that article jives a good bit with Tim Ferriss’ gospel. I don’t know how I would define it now, except for doing your own thing and maybe that leveraging technology in smart ways is how many people get there.

The American Dream looks like a Whopper with cheese, fries and a coke. And make it super-sized.

If not, we wouldn’t be the fattest country in the world.

The American Dream has become the Worlds Nightmare.

Dead in the water?

Right now I’d say it’s just having a job.

It is a good question, but unfortunately I do not have a good answer. We are going through a period of transition, at a national and international level. At the moment our lifestyle is unsustainable and it will be interesting to see if this will require the world to give up on the idea of bigger and better and to move toward an idea of steady state.

In the day we sweat it out in the streets of a runaway American dream
At night we ride through mansions of glory in suicide machines
Sprung from cages out on highway 9,
Chrome wheeled, fuel injected and steppin out over the line
Baby this town rips the bones from your back
Its a death trap, it’s a suicide rap
We gotta get out while were young
`cause tramps like us, baby we were born to run

or something like that

I have never bought into the american dream.

I live simply but well and am glad I do not want most of what is deemed ‘necessity’ by many.

I drive a 12 yr. old car, and will continue to drive it till it blows up. lol

I have a small but very charming little house on 5 acres. I prefer smaller homes and more space outdoors.

I have a newer laptop and a small flat screen TV but, do not subscibe to cable and watch DVD’s selectively. No mouldering away in front of the boob tube for this gal.

I happily forfeit a bigger home, newer car and a cell phone for ‘more’ time and other pursuits such as travel or just doing nothing at all.

I will and have always chosen time over money.

I have everything I want, everything I need, less IS more! :-)

I think the trend will continue to shift towards more simple living, less gross consumerism, more emphasis on time over money, family, simple pleasures.

At least I’d like to think so. Might just be my own projections of how I live my american dream.

There will always be those caught up in the over identification that ‘stuff’ and status is where it’s at. I really disagree with the pace of what it takes to sustain modern lifestyles and the so called american dream.

I think the american dream has turned into an american nightmare for many these past few years.

I always thought the American Dream was a house, 2.4 kids, a dog and a white picket fence.
I do want a few material things but I more want to see what is on the other side of the veil. I don’t care what other countries are doing, nor do I feel the need to compete with anybody in the acquisition of material wealth.
If I could have my druthers, I’d choose for the consciousness of everyone on the planet to be raised a few notches. That, in a nutshell, is my dream.

@Trillian

Excellent answer! I concur!

The new American Dream looks like a pile of manure owned by the filthy rich and guarded by the brutally moronic from the goodly folk who refuse to become as big a thief as those now running the show.

The American dream is in the bill of rights.

The words American Dream are used whenever the writer wants to evoke a certain image, which is usually evident within the article. There is no ‘real’ thing. It is a writers version of poetic license.

The Green Revolution to renew America and the world to create sustainable way of life. It will take 20–30 years to implement the dream. Let’s get started.

Hee! Recycling the term “Green Revolution.” Touché!

We live the American Dream everyday. When we wake up and pray or not Thats the American Dream. When we drink from clean water. thats an American dream when we sit on this site and question the government or outright lie about our government, thats the American dream. When we act however we want to act, that’s the American dream and finally when we create something and profit from it that is the quintessential American dream if ever I seen one. There are many examples of the American dream of course you could just compare us to say Darfur and realize how special this “American Dream” really is.

We don’t have warlords’ thugs driving around in Toyota Hilux’s with flak cannons bolted in the back terrorizing the weak.