http://www.cnn.com/2006/POLITICS/10/18/dream.feedback/index.html

The American Dream

Those three words conjure up an image of Americana. Images in pastels or black & whites of a smiling caucasian couple. Picket fence and a lot of land.

If I was to take a guess at what at that dream consists of today it would be a few things: A home, running car, a secure job, the ability to provide your children, and maybe some travel. How can we generalize the American Dream? We are a country of 300 million people. Unique backgrounds. Unique personalities. We are people of different races, different religions, different sex, and the list goes on. We have different desires and different fears. Sure there are some similarities that we share across the board. But that'd be the American norm and not the American dream.

Then again I wonder why the word "dream" was inserted after American. "Goal" would be more fitting. A dream to me is something out of reach. It's enjoyed before the alarm goes off and the song Monster Mash on your Sony Dreammaker alarm clock clicks on. It happened to me this morning. Dreams can be unattainable, unrealistic, and just far fetched.

It's time to rewrite the articles that appear in CNN, Time, Newsweek, and other American periodicals. People live their lives never pursuing dreams. They think about them in the office, during their commute, or lie awake at night wondering about them. How do you define the American goal? The same way you define the Asian goal, European goal, etc. It's what you want to achieve. It's not going to fall in your lap. It's not up to others. It's up to you. So stand up. Go out. Put in your best effort. That goal maybe never materialize due to circumstances out of your control. But if you end your life knowing that you pursued what you wanted to do then rest asure in your last days that you accomplished more than most.