According to the “World English Dictionary” the American Dream is defined as “The notion that the American social, economic and political system makes success possible for every individual.”  According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary an example of the American Dream is

The term “The American Dream” was coined by U.S. writer and historian James T Adams in his 1931 book, “The Epic of America.” 

Are you living the American Dream?  Or, are you still trying to realize that dream?  Does the American Dream still exist for the average person? And if so, who is the average person today in America? 

Like so many other Americans, my grandfather immigrated to the United States in search of the American Dream.  He had heard stories of the economic opportunity in this great land called “America.”  So, in 1916 from Palermo, Sicily my grandfather and his brother boarded the ship “Santa Maria” and sailed to New York via Ellis Island. I am still in awe of what this man endured in search of the American Dream. 

Now let’s fast forward to our present day “American Dream.”  Did you or your neighbor down the street ever dream of being an Astronaut and walking on the moon?    Well, I guess that dream is just that….a dream.  Or, how about the dream of owning “the house with the white picket fence?”  If you are lucky enough to have a job in this strained economy the prospect of getting a loan to purchase that house is becoming increasingly difficult.  Did you say that your credit score is “excellent?”  Sorry, that doesn’t matter the banks still say “no” more often than not.  What about the notion that your house is an investment for your future retirement plan?  Sorry, not any more.  Retirement???  Who can afford to do that??  I guess that job as a greeter at Wal-Mart is looking better and better to some of us old folks!!  Did someone say “Social Security Benefits?”   I wonder how much longer that is even going to be an option.  With a deficit of $16 trillion, cuts will be made somewhere. 

Growing up my parents talked about the importance of education and how education would help me realize the American Dream!  Did you know that 53% of recent college graduates are unemployed or under employed?  According to an article written in the “Atlantic” America may have too many college graduates?  Really?  If college graduates are facing some of the worst employment options they’ve had in years how are they ever going to realize the American Dream?  Or, as the poet Langston Hughes put it, “What happens to a dream deferred?”

Remember the American Patriotic song “American the Beautiful?”  The lyrics were written by Katharine Lee Bates in 1893. It is noted that the beautiful phrase “Amber Waves of Grain” was inspired by the wheat fields of America’s heartland Kansas.  The wheat fields of 1893 as compared to the wheat fields of today are like comparing apples to oranges. The Glia-alpha 9 sequence, a protein absent from traditional wheat can be found in virtually all of modern day wheat.  Among other things this Gliadin present in our wheat today causes appetite stimulation (it has been referred to as an Opiate.) The wheat of today is present in so many foods…or should I say hidden in so many foods.  Soups, dressings, granola, candy bars, and fast food just to name a few.  At this point I am sure you are asking yourself what does this wheat have to do with the American Dream.  Well, let’s talk about that…as a child do you remember watching television commercials and thinking I want this product or that product featured in the commercial?  The children of today are inundated with commercials about depression drugs, knee replacements, vaccines, allergy remedies, arthritis medication, sleep enhancers, diabetes medication, osteoporosis medication and the list goes on and on.  When was the last time your child ran up to you with their childhood excitement and asked for you to run out and buy them BONIVA because of the commercial they just saw?  Our society is sick and we are only getting sicker.  By 2030 in the state of Kentucky 60.1 % of the population will be considered obese.  Currently that number is 30.4%.  The state considered number one is Mississippi with a current obese population of 34.9% increasing to 66.7% by the year 2030.  These numbers are startling!!  When you think of the American Dream do you think of a population with 66.7% of the people obese and on medications such as those previously mentioned.  Our children do not stand a chance!  They have obese role models, vending machines in schools with foods that contain products not listed on the ingredient list so they really have no idea what they are eating, commercials on television for drugs that act as band aids, doctors that push those drugs and vaccines, and once again the list goes on and on. We all need to ask ourselves, “Is this the American Dream that we want for our younger generation?” 

Is this America that we live in today truly the “land of opportunity?”   Is that foreclosure sign in your neighbor’s yard clearly a sign of the times?  Do we continue to feed our children Franken food all the while they like their parents before them are becoming unhealthy and obese.  Is this the American Dream or just our new revised edition?  Does the American Dream even exist? 

{jcomments on}