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Re-dreaming the American Dream
Tomorrow’s Independence Day. A
day to celebrate the American Dream. Now quick—tell me
what the American Dream is. Yes,
it’s a trick question. Were your first thoughts are
about having money and things, security and comforts?
We are surrounded by messages that tell
us that’s the American Dream, so if you don’t
watch it, you can slip into accepting that dumb idea. When
I see the American Dream defined as getting and spending,
I get hostile—the same way I get when white supremacists
wave the stars and stripes. I want to yell, Drop it! You’re
not what that flag’s about and you don’t get to
pretend that you are.
People who want to sell you more stuff
pretend that the American Dream is about guess what?—buying
stuff. They define us, they address us, not as citizens, but
as consumers. I resent that.
It’s true that a lot of our ancestors
came here because they couldn’t make a living where
they were. But what about the ones who came because they dreamed
of being free? The ones who came to escape political oppression?
What about the ancestors who came here in chains and dreamed
of being free in White America?
The dream of being free citizens of a
strong democracy—that’s the American Dream that
rings a great bell in the heart. Forget that dream and we
can allow ourselves to become nothing nobler than consumers
of stuff.
The Founding Fathers counted on strong
citizens to make the nation work—they created a system
that balanced a presidency, a legislature, a court system
and an informed, active citizenry. (I know, they didn’t
include all of us, but now we’ve fixed that and we’ve
all got the vote.) We are the essential fourth sector of this
democracy. You and me. Us citizens.
Those whose American Dream really is nothing
more than to consume, find their lives are consumed by stuff—by
getting it, tending it, using it and protecting it. Keeps
you really busy—keeps you out of the hair of people
who want your vote every few years, but may not want you watching
too closely, in between elections. Informed, active citizens
can really bug politicians—which is what the founders
of this democracy counted on us to do.
Being a citizen can mean going to city
council sessions instead of to the mall, writing your Representatives
instead of watching your favorite TV shows. But that doesn’t
mean it’s not fun—I’ve been to county and
state meetings that were absolutely hilarious—and they
don’t even charge admission.
But it’s still all too seriously
true that eternal vigilance is the price of liberty. If we
are just consumers, if we give up the power the Founders gave
us—we get just what we deserve—a city, a state,
a country that run the way other people want them to, not
the way we want them to.
Tomorrow, when I’m flipping hamburgers
and watching fireworks, I’ll be celebrating the real
American Dream—the freedom to be a watchful, involved,
caring, pushy citizen.
Site content © 1978-2004 Ann Medlock
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