The American Dream

The American Dream

By Nick Streza

How do you define "Pursuing The American Dream"?

Today, does my country, the United States of America, declare to the world that we are the place of liberty and opportunity for prosperity for all of our citizens? As the last fifty years have gone by the understanding of "The American Dream" has undergone a transformation and is now being redefined for our current generation. For many in our country today the phrase "Chasing the American Dream" is a desire to have a guarantee that our government will safeguard and protect them from the need to personally sacrifice to make their lives better.

For these individuals, success is measured by the uniformity of our society not by their personal ability to achieve excellence. The confidence they have for their success originates and is built on the prerequisite of government control. Chasing this kind of dream requires people living in the United States to have faith that the government will provide an easier life for them today and will make our country better for our children.

In 1776 my country declared to the world that we would be the place of liberty and opportunity for prosperity for all of our citizens. Years went by and the term "The American Dream" symbolized the outcome that was experienced by people who accepted personal responsibility and worked hard. By the middle of the 1900s the phrase "Chasing the American Dream" became the envy of much of the world. This phrase described those who believed in the guarantee that our government would safeguard and protect for them the personal freedom that promised them the individual opportunity to succeed and prosper and, along with those government safeguards was a confidence they had for their success originating and built on the prerequisite of personal responsibility. The chase allowed people living in the United States to have faith that they could provide a better life for themselves and to build a country where there would be even greater opportunities for their children.

Today's Progressives promote the concept that your personal dreams should be tied to government provided security. Those who buy into this mindset go through lives as selfish takers rather than generous givers. If our citizens accept the Progressive ideal that expects government to uniformly take care of everyone, three things happen. First, we have a new meaning for "Chasing the American Dream." Second, we are being downright mean to the poor and lower income people in our country. When someone is taught to believe that the do not have the ability and a personal responsibility to the take advantage of the opportunities available to them in America in order that they may increase their standard of living, instead of calling this mean one might consider this evil.

In addition to the two things above, Progressive ways of seeking The American Dream will burden each consecutive generation because of the unwillingness of the preceding generation to make good decisions, work hard and sacrifice for something other than their personal comfort. In our country, the opportunity that comes with our right to liberty and freedom is the thing that allows us to look optimistically into the future for the next generation and soar above the highest expectations we have for ourselves today.

You and only you are responsible for your future. Due to years of bad decisions, irresponsible behavior, self-serving use of American tax dollars and even illegal behavior on the part of some of our elected officials we as a nation and we as individuals are facing some difficult times in the near future. To work through the difficult times we are facing today, we only need follow the example of those in Joplin, Missouri after they faced the devastation in the aftermath of the tornado there recently. Those folks gave us an example of what our country is built on: Those who take on the personal responsibility to do all they can to take care of themselves and then look around and do all they can for their neighbor.

* Comments I receive will regularly be used in my column, so please feel free to contact me at the following email address: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .'; document.write(''); document.write(addy_text36756); document.write('<\/a>'); //-->\n This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

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