My View on the “New” American Dream

                My television, is an old 29 inch tube behemoth. As I sat in front of it, watching Bear Grylls demonstrate to me, the proper way to devour a grub worm for my own survival, I thought to myself, I really need one of those sleek, flat, high-def TV’s. Then I immediately thought to myself, “why? Why do I need an extremely expensive piece of equipment that in no way improves my life, which will sit consuming power, while I never use it?” Is it so I can sparingly watch in more detail, a man out enjoying the many wonders of what this earth has to offer?

About a week ago, I was having a discussion with a good friend regarding the exact same subject matter. What is the point of working for so long, getting promotions, and saving your money, only to blow it all on a nicer place, a sleeker car, a larger television, or always dining at a five star restaurant? Why am I not concentrating on saving my money to go on a sabbatical, travel the world, immerse myself in cultures unknown to me, styles of life that I may enjoy much more than the material supersession that I always find myself trying to obtain.

From the beginning, the American Dream has always been that of a mild materialistic drive. Get your own plot of land, your own house, and raise a family with a white picket fence kind of mentality. Yet slowly this dream has been warped. No longer are we proud to be out, working the land we own and reaping the rewards of our labor. We achieve status by having the farm-o-bot, who is fluent in hundreds of farming techniques, developed in Japan, marketed in the U.S., and you’re the first person to get one.

The day after thanksgiving, which used to be a day to enjoy with the family and burn off the turkey by playing football with the family, has turned into a multi-billion dollar “every man for himself” consumer feeding frenzy. People have died from being trampled in the animalistic frenzy to buy things that we don’t yet have a need for. Thanksgiving, a day based out of greed and slaughter, has hit its plateau, and is rapidly falling back into savagery.

 Some of you may think that I’m making some harsh statements, or that they seem exaggerated. I’d respond by asking you to take a look around your home. How big is it? How many “guest rooms”? How many televisions? How many “things” that you haven’t used in months? Some of you have DVD collections that rival warehouses. How many times can you really watch Beautician and the beast before you gouge your eyes out? (for me this was 0.80).

As I sat there, watching Bear Grylls, now traversing the dangers of a mud covered incline, I sat wondering. Why am I still here? I picked up the remote, turned off my TV, grabbed my coat, and headed outside. As I began walking, I had no intended destination, and I ended up at the end of a trail, looking over the sound realizing that this is what I want to be doing. My American dream is to appreciate the freedom I was given to see America, and every other country I want to see, and all the beauty they have to offer.  As I sit here writing, I feel far more fulfilled, with a new outlook on life, and a new goal, to live MY American dream.