We Are “The American Dream” (820 hits)
Category: NoneRating: 1.71 on 28 reviews (Rate this item) (V)
Submitted by mockidol (View user info) at 2006-06-22 17:54:43 EDT
"And when I find them, I'm going to gnaw on their skulls, because it just hasn't gotten weird enough yet."
-Hunter S. Thompson-
I have no idea what to think of life. The above quote hails from Where the Buffalo Roam, but it brings to mind that other tale about Las Vegas. You know; the one about the American Dream. Apparently, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas is "true" if you use the word lightly, but acceptable hallucination induced writing aside I still believe it's more of a fool's fable. Anything that refers to an American dream has to be a work of fiction. On a whole, America can't even figure out what its dream is.
Yeah, we all talk about our desires to amass sums of money large enough to swim in ala that duck from Saturday morning cartoons, but have we forgotten the white picket fences? Have we suddenly ignored our need to multiply, our hopes for two point five kids?
No we haven't been disregarding them. They're things we'll always want. But we'll always covet that gold plated SUV spinning tires big enough to crush a tractor too. The fact is, we want both these lives, and they'll never coexist. We've inherently forced ourselves into a cultural game of "the grass is always greener on the other side."
Now I'm sure some of you older, wiser crowd could point out my youth and immaturity as an aspect of lacked knowledge. And I admit, there is a certain rewarding concept behind a family that I'll never understand without having my own feet in the same waters, but do you not still long for fortune, fame and recognition? Do you not still quietly dream of that book deal? That face of your upon a screen? I guess what I'm saying is the exact opposite of a quote from my favorite author.
Amy Hempel once said, "Things are never as bad as they could have been." But is it not appropriate, for my cause at least, to say, "Things are never as good as they could be?" What I'm getting at is we are never truly happy in the present tense. We are only truly happy looking back.
Our society is a culture where success is judged by rewards so we never really know how we've done until it's, well, done. A life scale version of "Hindsight is 20/20" I guess. Only after the fact can we finally look back and say, "Hey, I did a good job," because only then can we finally see the repercussions of our actions.
You never know you had the American Dream until it's gone, because only then can you see it was great.
Since I've been saying we live our lives looking for more, blinding us to the dream that we have, it leads to the conclusion that we can only see the beauty of our time on a whole when we can see it in that form. And we can only look back at life that way after death.
Only when our life is over can we finally examine it and tell ourselves, "I lived a good life." Now I'm not suggesting suicide or an early demise, the American Dream is hardly a life sold short, I'm just saying it's impossible to be unbiased about our lives while living it. There is just too much emotion caught up in the moment to let us realize what we have, but our lives are truly great.
So I tell you in ending, the American Dream does exist in all of us in its own spectacular form that we can never really see until it's gone. So let's stop reaching for what we can't have, and let's grasp what's right here in front of us. I ask you to repeat after me:
I'm done chasing the American Dream.
I'm going to live it.
User Reviews
Submitted by rob_berg (user info) at 2006-07-16 20:04:17 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
"Yeah, we all talk about our desires to amass sums of money large enough to swim in ala that duck from Saturday morning cartoons, but have we forgotten the white picket fences? Have we suddenly ignored our need to multiply, our hopes for two point five kids?
No we haven't been disregarding them. They're things we'll always want. But we'll always covet that gold plated SUV spinning tires big enough to crush a tractor too. The fact is, we want both these lives, and they'll never coexist.
We've inherently forced ourselves into a cultural game of "the grass is always greener on the other side."
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Probably one of the most profound offerings I've read on this here site.
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"We are only truly happy looking back."
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Wrong. Many people are quite happy with their lives. YOU might not be happy with yours, and for the record I am not completely satisfied my overall performance of late but there have been many times where I have been downright delighted in the moment.
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"I'm done chasing the [insert nationalistic identity here] Dream.
I'm going to live it."
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Fantastic advice. Have a +2, you seem to be fond of them.
r.
Submitted by The_taste_of_Monkeys (user info) at 2006-07-16 19:36:00 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Im living the British dream. I sit all day on my lazy ass getting free money from an ineffective government whilst simultaneously cramming tea and crisps into my gaping pie-hole
Submitted by Stagger_Lee (user info) at 2006-07-16 19:21:59 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Am I living the Australian dream?
Submitted by livEvil (user info) at 2006-06-23 12:46:25 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
here's another...
my bad.
Submitted by livEvil (user info) at 2006-06-23 12:45:14 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
sorry, i meant +2
dick.
Submitted by mockidol (user info) at 2006-06-23 12:43:02 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
-2? You cock.
Submitted by shitfuck (user info) at 2006-06-23 12:39:15 EDT (#)
Ranking: -2
The American Dream is to first nuke every peaceful country on earth, then itself.
You fucking Americans are a joke.
Submitted by livEvil (user info) at 2006-06-23 12:29:42 EDT (#)
Ranking: -2
this was profound. i'm glad there's other people out there that think like me.
Submitted by LittleMonster (user info) at 2006-06-23 10:24:30 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
whoa.........
Damn.
Submitted by MyNameIsTim (user info) at 2006-06-23 08:56:11 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Submitted by JonnyX (user info) at 2006-06-22 18:03:02 (#)
Ranking: 2
easiest ranking ever.
Kids, trust ol' JonnyX on this one - I have read Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas literally 40 times in my life - it is one of the greatest works of fiction EVAR. Go out, and read it NOW.
"As your attorney, I advise you to drink heavily"
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can i borrow that?
Submitted by MyNameIsTim (user info) at 2006-06-23 08:55:33 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
What I'm getting at is we are never truly happy in the present tense. We are only truly happy looking back.
that's profound as shit
Submitted by Sacrilicious (user info) at 2006-06-22 20:51:38 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
I hope you plan on multitasking, because it would suck if you left uber to live this dream.
Submitted by ubetidid (user info) at 2006-06-22 19:47:24 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Submitted by kaos-king (user info) at 2006-06-22 19:40:27 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Yep...
Submitted by The_Yellow_Dart (user info) at 2006-06-22 18:53:49 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
No Comment
Submitted by Gunslinger (user info) at 2006-06-22 18:30:14 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
I liked it.
Submitted by PerkMan (user info) at 2006-06-22 18:16:26 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
I read this and my dream was to pop more vicodin.
hah take that american dream!
Submitted by polymorph505 (user info) at 2006-06-22 18:13:57 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
You're absolutely right mockidol, and take a pointless +2 for a well written, thought provoking post during one of the slowest uber days I've seen in a while.
Submitted by MrSparkle847 (user info) at 2006-06-22 18:11:57 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Do you not still long for fortune, fame and recognition? Do you not still quietly dream of that book deal? That face of your upon a screen?
_______________________
Me and a band blasting music out from the center of a stadium.
Not only is that impossible since I'm seeking a science career, but even within the scientific realm, I'll never make a cool discovery.
Submitted by mockidol (user info) at 2006-06-22 18:08:23 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
Submitted by FilthyAssistant (user info) at 2006-06-22 18:06:40 (#)
Ranking: 2
I can't give anything less than a +2 to something that makes reference to both Amy Hempel and Scrooge McDuck.
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You know Hempel....
Will you marry me?
Submitted by FilthyAssistant (user info) at 2006-06-22 18:06:40 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
I can't give anything less than a +2 to something that makes reference to both Amy Hempel and Scrooge McDuck.
Submitted by mockidol (user info) at 2006-06-22 18:06:06 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
Submitted by polymorph505 (user info) at 2006-06-22 18:00:59 (#)
Ranking: 2
So the ideal American is either rich beyond belief or multiplying like Ha Ha Rabbit on viagra? No wonder this country is going to hell. Good post though
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No.
I was basically saying that we are all too concerned with living a dream that isn't our own and we'll never be happy that way until it's over. Living a life aspiring to a particular mold will only yield a lifetime of reaching for more.
In short, make your own dream.
We Are Our Own American Dream.
But this was a rant of sorts, so you may have missed that.
Submitted by JonnyX (user info) at 2006-06-22 18:03:02 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
easiest ranking ever.
Kids, trust ol' JonnyX on this one - I have read Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas literally 40 times in my life - it is one of the greatest works of fiction EVAR. Go out, and read it NOW.
"As your attorney, I advise you to drink heavily"
Submitted by scourge (user info) at 2006-06-22 18:02:52 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
I need to rate more over there. I tend to read and not rate over there.
Submitted by polymorph505 (user info) at 2006-06-22 18:00:59 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
So the ideal American is either rich beyond belief or multiplying like Ha Ha Rabbit on viagra? No wonder this country is going to hell. Good post though.
Submitted by BobLobla (user info) at 2006-06-22 18:00:29 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
DO IT
Submitted by mockidol (user info) at 2006-06-22 17:58:54 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
Thanks scourge.
I'm glad you read/ rated it here.
You missed it on the other place.
Submitted by scourge (user info) at 2006-06-22 17:57:40 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Live it then, little man.
This was well written.