People are complaining. They say they are not achieving the American Dream. They demand government take action. Perhaps, the real problem is they don’t have any understanding of what the dream actually is. After all, the American Dream appears to keep changing. The concept keeps evolving at such a pace, many Americans don’t even believe in something called the American Dream anymore. The average citizen apparently believes the decks have been stacked against them to such a point that achievement of the dream is no longer possible. Of course, it is also possible that some think the American Dream is dead because they really don’t know what it is.
Herbert Hoover’s idea back in 1928 was “A chicken in every pot and a car in every garage.” I suppose that slogan identified the American dream back then. Home ownership became the symbol of the American dream in the 1950’s. But, today a free college education, free medical care, retirement security, and the opportunity to live without debt have all been added to the evolving dream.
Of course, expectations have also risen over the years. Sixty years ago many people would not have expected to live in an air conditioned home with an indoor toilet; much less a telephone. A 21 inch black and white television was a luxury. While we may not expect people to live without the modern technological advances that have been made, are we to define these things as part of the American Dream?
I suppose the American Dream can be whatever we say it is. It is still “we the people” who are supposed to define our nation, so if we say owning a gigantic flat screen television is the new American Dream, then I suppose that is our right. However, the question which must be addressed is will this revised dream be compatible with our form of government? Was our republic established to insure all Americans have a free lunch? Furthermore, do our founding documents give government the authority to give a free lunch, even if some politicians wish to do so? The answer is no! If the dream is reconfigured, then government must be reconfigured; and that is exactly what is happening today!
Perhaps You Have A Personal American Dream.
Personal dreams should not be confused with national dreams. Your personal dream might be to pay off your mortgage or to take a trip to Hawaii. Certainly there is nothing wrong with that; however it is personal in nature. Your neighbor will likely have his own dreams which may have little in common with yours. Although government may provide you with a proper environment to achieve your personal dreams, it is not responsible for your success or failure in the realization. A shiny new boat parked at your lake-front home might be your dream, but it is not the corporate dream of all Americans, therefore this cannot be the American Dream.
The Original American Dream.
The authors of the Declaration of Independence gave us the definition of the first American Dream. They defined it as being so simple it was a self-evident truth. They explained it by saying all men are created equal, and they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, and that among these are “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” This was the American dream as the founders saw it. Once they defined the dream, then they undertook the effort to build a form of government in which the dream could flourish.
The pioneers who came to this land were lured by this dream. The homesteaders who left the big cities of the east to find their little piece of land in the unknown wilderness were pursuing these unalienable rights. The immigrants who came to the United States were looking for their little piece of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Our soldiers went around the globe defending this dream, and our veterans came home to enjoy the life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness their sacrifice had helped preserve. The original dream was a massive motivator.
That was the original American Dream. That was the dream our form of government was established to protect and sustain. So, although it may be our right and prerogative to change the dream at our own pleasure, by default that will also change our form of government. A government such as our founders established was not designed to put a chicken in a pot or a car in a garage, much less a cell phone on your hip or a diploma on your wall.
No, the American Dream was a call to create a society with the freedom and security to fulfill God’s first cultural mandate: “to be fruitful and multiply.” Our founders gave us a form of government totally compatible with the dream they defined. The dream came first! It was stated in the Declaration of Independence. Several agonizing years later the Constitution was finalized which established the form of government required to secure the dream. And what was that dream again? To institute a government where people could flourish and be secure in their life, liberty, and property enabling them to peacefully pursue God’s first and last mandate; to be fruitful and to share the Gospel.
The Dream Has Changed, So the Government Has Changed.
Some say, the new American Dream is the pursuit of material prosperity, the acquisition of stuff. Others say the American Dream is beyond the grasp of many citizens who are just trying to survive. Thomas Wolfe said, “…to every man, regardless of his birth, his shining, golden opportunity …the right to live, to work, to be himself, and to become whatever thing his manhood and his vision can combine to make him.” Opportunity, that’s it. That is the word I have been looking for! That is exactly what the founders were talking about. They established a government not to insure you would succeed, but to give you the opportunity to succeed. That was the golden theme of the original American Dream.
For the majority of American history, our success was enabled by our individual and collective self-reliance, independent spirit, rugged individualism, and faith in God. Then, by the multitude of freedoms allowed by a limited government, we were able to pursue and achieve life, liberty, and prosperity. Our country, just like her citizens enjoyed self-reliance.
What we must acknowledge is the astonishing decline of both individual and national self-reliance and self-sufficiency. Only a few decades ago, America possessed unrivaled manufacturing capacity, unmatched agricultural productivity, inventions and creativity so boundless that “American Know-How” was a term understood worldwide. Our God given natural resources were in great abundance, and being used to the limits of technology. We had virtually no real need to rely on other nations for products, services, or resources. Do we not understand that these are the very things that made America such a powerhouse in World War II?
But now, we have allowed our manufacturing industries to shrink drastically or to relocate beyond our borders. America is manufacturing few of the products we consume today; most goods are imported. Furthermore, the same nation that became the world’s banker, lending money and rebuilding shattered nations after World War II, is now drowning in the red ink of trade deficits and debt to foreign nations. This is all that is propping up our wobbly economy and false prosperity.
Can the original American Dream be restored? Yes, but it will take a concerted effort to address two underlying problems. First, we must re-educate people in the knowledge of what the dream really is. Unfortunately, many Americans still believe that it is government’s responsibility to solve all their problems, so they have no understanding of the original American Dream. Second, we need to reestablish a government that can bring it back to life. The concepts of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness are in critical condition. The few remaining ideals of the original government are nearly impossible to access, or are in the process of being recreated to support the new socialist agenda. The American Dream of the past inspired hope and optimism, modern Americans have little of either. Poll after poll confirms the belief we’re heading in the wrong direction. It is time to end the war on poverty. It is time to stop the culture conflict against our Judo-Christian heritage. It is time to reign in the regulatory and tax burdens hindering our industry. It is time to restore and protect the rights of life, liberty, and property; the concepts of freedom and self-government that birthed the original American Dream. In short, it is time for the federal government to return to its few and defined enumerated powers.
Modern day politicians from both parties have discarded the original dream in favor of promising chickens in pots and checks in the mailbox. A government that grants these things will find it incompatible with also delivering on the promise of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Surely, in a country where people carry more technology in the palm of their hands than the astronauts had when they went to the moon, with God’s help, we ought to have the ability to fix the mess we are in and restore the dream. As Christians, these are things we already spiritually possess in Christ; it is high time we repossess them as Americans. After all, these are the things we were promised.
“…in Him was life; and the life was the light of men.” John 1:4
“…the glorious liberty of the children of God” Romans 8:21
“If ye know these things, happy are ye if ye do them.” John 13:17
Dr. Worthington has been in the ministry forty years and serves as President of Pathway Ministries.