Did the "American dream" change over time, or was it just my interpretation of it? (lemm.ee)

submitted 1 year ago by NotSpez@lemm.ee to c/asklemmy@lemmy.world

44 comments fedilink hide all child comments

So growing up, I had this idea that the American dream was about that if you put in an honest amount of work, you would be rewarded with a good life. This would mean you would be able to take care of yourself and your family, afford a car and a house. In my view, working one job would probably be enough.

Nowadays, I get the idea that the American dream has become about working your ass off in order to have a chance to become a millionaire. Somehow glorifying “the grind” appears to be a part of it too now.

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments

[-] some_guy@lemmy.sdf.org 4 points 1 year ago

Further, the prosperity of past generations was in the wake of WWII and destroyed economies around the world. The US was virtually untouched and had a boom-time that is unrealistic under any other circumstances. The US literally started on third base and our parents or grandparents thought they hit a triple.

[-] Dagwood222@lemm.ee 4 points 1 year ago

I didn't get into it in my nutshell, but Nixon's Vietnam policy had a bonus. Because we were making so many bombs, the US steel mills couldn't keep up with the demand from Japan and Germany. they ended up building their own plants, plants that were much more modern and used less energy. When the Oil Boycott hit, the cheap foreign cars were in high demand and Detroit was left scrambling. After the Vietnam War ended, the US had old, worn out infrastructure in the 'Rust Belt.'

this post was submitted on 09 Aug 2023

45 points (89.5% liked)

Ask Lemmy

27241 readers

1473 users here now

A Fediverse community for open-ended, thought provoking questions

Rules: (interactive)

1) Be nice and; have fun

Doxxing, trolling, sealioning, racism, and toxicity are not welcomed in AskLemmy. Remember what your mother said: if you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all. In addition, the site-wide Lemmy.world terms of service also apply here. Please familiarize yourself with them

2) All posts must end with a '?'

This is sort of like Jeopardy. Please phrase all post titles in the form of a proper question ending with ?

3) No spam

Please do not flood the community with nonsense. Actual suspected spammers will be banned on site. No astroturfing.

4) NSFW is okay, within reason

Just remember to tag posts with either a content warning or a [NSFW] tag. Overtly sexual posts are not allowed, please direct them to either !asklemmyafterdark@lemmy.world or !asklemmynsfw@lemmynsfw.com. NSFW comments should be restricted to posts tagged [NSFW].

5) This is not a support community.

It is not a place for 'how do I?', type questions. If you have any questions regarding the site itself or would like to report a community, please direct them to Lemmy.world Support or email info@lemmy.world. For other questions check our partnered communities list, or use the search function.

6) No US Politics.

Please don't post about current US Politics. If you need to do this, try !politicaldiscussion@lemmy.world or !askusa@discuss.online

Reminder: The terms of service apply here too.