The American Myth of Success

Johanna Baynard
Sep 3, 2018 · 5 min read

In America, we teach that everything, at every point in our lives is a choice. This translates to an idea that if you are facing hardship now, you must have made a bad choice then. After all, the world is so perfect, only a bad person is not successful. We reinforce this myth in a thousand different ways. We place the athlete on TV and listen carefully while he describes a life of struggle until he made the choice to work hard and become a star athlete. These stories always end with the familiar refrain “If I can do it, anybody can.” Indeed, there is some truth to this saying, however, it is, in no way, a…

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Dedicated activist for economic equality. Baby Boomer. Wife, mother and blogger: Life According to Johanna, johannayorksr.com and themammablog.com

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