American Dream - A phrase connoting hope for prosperity and happiness, symbolized particularly by having a house of one's own. Possibly applied at first to the hope of immigrants, the phrase now applies to all except the very rich and suggests a confident hope that one's children's economic and social condition will be better than one's own. - Dictionary.com
In reality, the American dream is hard to define. The one above seems to be the most common, i.e., achieving prosperity and wealth. In the beginning it was expected that the dream would be achieved by thrift and hard work.
Is the typical American dream still viable? Some experts say that the boomers will be the first generation whose children won't do as well financially as their parents.
But then that concept has always been around. Do you know this old saying?
"Shirtsleeves to shirtsleeves in three generations." The first generation makes it. The next generation blows it. The third generation starts all over.
During this time of Lent I've been reading about people throughout our history who's predominate dream was not the one above. It wasn't my dream or my husband's. We did want our kids to do better - but not necessarily monetarily. We wanted them to follow their highest dreams and passions.
Lots of folks in our church have been reading Richard Stearn's book "The Hole in Our Gospel." Stearns is the president of World Vision. This week, in Stearn's book, I read the Millennium Goals adopted by the United Nations in 2000. Here they are:
Eradicate extreme hunger and poverty
Achieve universal primary education
Promote gender equality and empower women
Reduce child mortality
Improve maternal health
Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases
Ensure environmental sustainability
We all have dreams. Martin Luther King, Jr. was a great American. He had a dream.
I think that, when I have dreams and goals over and above my and my family's material wants, it makes me a better person - and happier.
***
In reality, the American dream is hard to define. The one above seems to be the most common, i.e., achieving prosperity and wealth. In the beginning it was expected that the dream would be achieved by thrift and hard work.
Is the typical American dream still viable? Some experts say that the boomers will be the first generation whose children won't do as well financially as their parents.
But then that concept has always been around. Do you know this old saying?
"Shirtsleeves to shirtsleeves in three generations." The first generation makes it. The next generation blows it. The third generation starts all over.
During this time of Lent I've been reading about people throughout our history who's predominate dream was not the one above. It wasn't my dream or my husband's. We did want our kids to do better - but not necessarily monetarily. We wanted them to follow their highest dreams and passions.
Lots of folks in our church have been reading Richard Stearn's book "The Hole in Our Gospel." Stearns is the president of World Vision. This week, in Stearn's book, I read the Millennium Goals adopted by the United Nations in 2000. Here they are:
Eradicate extreme hunger and poverty
Achieve universal primary education
Promote gender equality and empower women
Reduce child mortality
Improve maternal health
Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases
Ensure environmental sustainability
We all have dreams. Martin Luther King, Jr. was a great American. He had a dream.
I think that, when I have dreams and goals over and above my and my family's material wants, it makes me a better person - and happier.
***
