The Epidemic of the American Dream

Four bedrooms and a four-car garage, a lake house with a boat docked at the private dock, European vacations, financial independence, luxury cruises, and luxury cars. All of these are a part of what makes the American dream for many people. The American dream has been around for a long time and has overcome various predators. But in its quest for survival has it become the predator? The evidence seems to be mounting that the American dream has evolved into a dangerous and damaging thing within our current culture.
However the term “American dream” is defined, the word “more” usually appears. More of this or more of that, more than generations past, more, more, more – Americans want more. The insatiable consuming of stuff and things has seemingly become an epidemic among us. But when did this start? Laurence Shames, in his article “The More Factor”, taken from his book “The Hunger for More: Searching for Values in an Age of Greed”, alludes that it has always been a part of, and possibly even the making of America. (76) From 1492 when Columbus discovered this land to the American Revolution, the gold and silver rushes, the great land giveaways, the Texas oil boom, and so on, people have either come to America or were born in America wanting more.
Where has all of this striving for more brought us? Shames says:
In America, a sense of quality has lagged far behind a sense of scale. An ideal of contentment has yet to take root in soil traditionally more hospitable to an ideal of restless striving. The ethic of decency has been upstaged by the ethic of success. The concept of growth has been applied almost exclusively to things that can be measured, counted, weighed. And the hunger for those things that are unmeasurable but fine – the sorts of accomplishments that cannot be undone by circumstances or a shift in social fashion, the kind of serenity that cannot be shattered by tomorrow’s headline – has gone largely unfilled and even unacknowledged . (78)
So, the gap between the wealthy and the poor widens. The number of homeless people increase and the rate of child suicide soars.
So what is different today than it was in the past? In 1949, a 30 year old who was working would see their real earnings multiply by an astounding 63% in just 10 years. In 1959, a 30 year old could still hope to see a 49% gain by the time they turned forty. In contrast, between the years of 1979 and 1983, Americans between the ages of twenty-five and thirty-four realized a decline in their real earnings by fourteen percent. (Shames 80) In spite of a declination of real earnings, Americans have refused to give up on the quest for more.
With Americans’ real earnings being on the decline, what has powered them down the road of insatiable consumption? For many the answer seemed to be multiple jobs. If one can’t fulfill the American dream with their career of choice, simply add a second job. Working more than one job can quickly create a time deficit. With less time available for “…unmeasurable yet fine accomplishments (Shames 78)”, we find that relationships and communities begin to suffer. Broken families, isolated individuals, and the lack of communities for people to connect with are all symptoms of a very real time deficit. Some Americans have turned to the wide world of credit to power them towards the American dream. Many have found this to be a vicious and unforgiving world that can be devouring. With the credit card debt of the average American at staggering figures, vehicle repossessions and bankruptcies on the rise, and home mortgage foreclosures in a crisis situation, Americans still don’t seem to get it. The American dream is truly becoming an elusive, dangerous, and damaging thing.
What will it take to end the unbalanced belief that growth means more? “A different sort of growth—ultimately, a growth in responsibility and in happiness--… (Shames 80)”. There does seem to be an awareness that our consumption as a nation is a problem. There are efforts being made by some to turn away from this crash course. However, without a great effort by many to end the gross consumption, the future could look bleak for our coming generations. This should be reason enough to redefine the American dream to include contentment, sharing, intradependence, and happiness without the dangers of over consumption.