Does the American Dream actually foster happiness?
Dating back to when I was first old enough to conceptualize money, I have been dreaming of achieving the so-called “American Dream.” I have dreamt of my perfect life and “having it all.” And looking back, that desire was probably cultivated from watching tv shows, like The Apprentice, where glamorous lifestyles were made out to be achievable.
As a child, my dream was simply that — a dream. But now that I am older and actually in charge of my own life, I still find myself asking, what if I could have it all? Going back to The Apprentice, that very question is proposed during the TV show’s introduction. But instead of dreaming about that concept like I once did, I have recently found myself stopping to consider what “all” means.
Watch the introduction of the Apprentice; with the song, “For the love of money” by The O’Jays, echoing in the background as expensive material items are being paraded past the audience, it is clear what is being portrayed as “all.” And ultimately, that introduction is really a quintessential example of what society has deemed achieving the American Dream looks like.
But are people really able to achieve that? And further, are people really happy when they idolize the American Dream?
The short answer to those questions is no.
Boiled down, the American Dream is written as the equation, hard work = success. And as told through contemporary America media, success is measured by money and material items. But the issue is that few people can actually afford such elaborate things, which leaves the rest to feel as if they are always falling short of success.
Yet, people continue to consent to the American Dream because it promises a definite avenue toward success and happiness. It simplifies all of the complications of modern life to erase real issues of inequality. In reality, adhering to the American Dream makes people confine to the agenda of those with more wealth than it does to actually elevate one’s personal socio-economic status. But we are blind to that because the American Dream is so culturally engrained that we never really question it.
And that needs to change; the American Dream as we know it needs to be forgotten. Instead of confining to the American Dream, we should focus on happiness being the focal point for success. In a study from the University College of London, Robb Rutledge found that achieving a widespread increase of happiness starts with lowering our goals. Yes, that sounds detrimental, but hear me out. Americans are so good at shooting for the huge dreams — you can become the president! — but we neglect the lesser, attainable and, frankly, more important goals. Simply, there isn’t room for everyone to “shoot for the stars.” When everyone shoots for the stars, most are bound to fall short. The prevalent, overreaching mindset that is spurred on by the American Dream, does more to beat people down than it does to build them up.
Along those lines, one of the measures for happiness is the size of the gap between expectations and our reality. So if we continue to expect people to set unattainable goals, we are going to be nothing but a society always falling short of expectations that is spiraling toward unhappiness.
And think about it; only one person can be the president of the United States, but we can work together to give everyone the equal opportunity to have a happy family and people to share genuine laughter with.
