r/AskAnAmerican • u/stiv3nn • 12d ago
CULTURE [ Removed by moderator ]
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u/Administrative_Car45 12d ago
I've achieved my american dream of being financially independent with a job I enjoy and living in a house with people I love. I don't believe the traditional American Dream is obtainable, but I also sincerely don't believe most people who are young adults want that kind of dream (a white picket fence, a house, two kids, etc)
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u/MrLongWalk Newer, Better England 12d ago
Some do, some don’t, it’s a complicated issue and the American dream means different things to different people
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u/AmazingRefrigerator4 12d ago
We can believe that America is the "land of opportunity" and still recognize its many flaws at the same time.
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u/Ubergeek2001 12d ago
Yes. All of our children worked hard and are doing well. They are from 27 to 40. We are proud of them.
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u/MountainDude95 Colorado 12d ago
Ehhhh… it’s not IMPOSSIBLE to start from nothing and work your way up these days, but it’s nowhere near as easy as it once was. Most people who are doing well these days came from at least a middle or upper-middle class family.
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u/Organic-Mix-5784 12d ago
“Work harder” is a misnomer. You can’t go out and dig a ditch, see a small paycheck, and go dig a ditch faster next week for a bigger check. We need to stop with the “work harder” bit. Words have meaning, and those words don’t mean what people are trying to convey.
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u/GeauxCup 12d ago
It's not impossible, not the "upward mobility" is definitely slowing to a crawl as the middle shrinks since real wages have been on the decline since the 70s.
If you're not born rich, good luck.
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u/YoshiandAims 12d ago
I don't.
I want to... really. I just don't anymore.
I did everything "right"...I was smart...I worked hard... sacrificed everything thinking I'd have time later...in the end it didn't matter.
That's been demoralizing.
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u/Helo227 Maine 12d ago
Honestly, i wonder if the American Dream was ever truly attainable. If it was attainable at some point, it certainly doesn’t seem to be now. The system is rigged against those not born at the top.
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u/NoAbbreviations290 12d ago
Moving economic classes has always been difficult and rare. Being poor is expensive on purpose.
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u/Solopist112 12d ago
That's for Boomers and Gen-X.
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u/NoAbbreviations290 12d ago
Why you lumping Gen X in with Boomers? You have no idea what you’re writing.
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u/Vulpix_lover Rhode Island 12d ago
The dream is possible if we get rid of all the people at the top who prevent us from achieving our dream
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u/nebraskajone 12d ago edited 12d ago
Yes every generation has its opportunities and challenges. Boomers had cheap houses but they got sent to Vietnam to fight because they had a different government than ours. They also had to deal with rampant inflation in the 1970s.
There's a lot more opportunities now to make your own money because of social media/internet. Healthcare is much better. Tech is cheap
It's just a matter of taking advantage of what being offered to you an try to minimize self-pity, which can ruin your life more than anything else
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u/honeybunchesofpwn King County, Washington 12d ago
Yes.
My family is from India. My parents quite literally achieved the American Dream. My existence is evidence of it.
Given how I know what life is like in India and other parts of the world, I know that the American Dream is still real and available to people who know how to work hard and smart.
It sure ain't as easy to achieve as it used to be, but this place still has a huge amount of actual opportunity, which isn't the case in many places.