It's Time to Undream the American Dream
What is the American Dream? That depends on when you're talking about it. In the beginning, the American Dream was about "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness." It came from the idea that all people have a God-given right to pursue their own course in life, without regard to their rank at birth, within the confines of an agreed-upon moral code. Freedoms included those of speech, worship, peaceful protest, fair courts, etc. (We'll ignore for now the fact that these liberties didn't usually extend to women or people of color.) By the mid-19th century, the American Dream had expanded to include the promise of free land, granted by the government if you "proved up" by building a house, raising crops, and enduring the dangers, loneliness, and harsh weather of the frontier. Millions of people spread westward, hoping for new and prosperous lives. (We'll ignore for now the fact that this land had been stolen from indigenous tribes.) Many other