The pursuit of the American dream

[mystery-ak]

The pursuit of the American dream

We read or hear it from time to time: “the American Dream is dead.”

Blaine L. Pardoe | August 7, 2026

We read or hear it from time to time: “the American Dream is dead.” It’s usually stated this way to feed some narrative or agenda. It is a lie told to manipulate the weak-minded in our society.

The concept of the American Dream is often confused. Most of that is because there is no single definition of what constitutes that ideal. For some, it is the opportunity for upward mobility in society. For others, it is raising a family. Others still believe the dream is having a home and being part of a friendly/safe community. Boomers tend to believe they are more successful and prosperous than the previous generation. The dream is personal, something that each one of us holds private and dear.

Our forefathers came to this country to better themselves. They wanted to be part of something bigger; something incredible: the great American experiment. What sparked them was, and remains, a land of opportunity. They left behind nations where the chance to advance and grow was stifled. They fled countries where freedoms were not permitted. America is a place where a core set of rights exists, and the government cannot take them away.

The Left has tried to corrupt that dream. Leftists have attempted to redefine it as something that is owed by the nation. Their attempts to redefine the dream have made it about material things, like owning a house. The Left embraces the idea that the government is the source of the dream, that it is something to be distributed rather than earned. They claim it’s about equity; equal outcomes regardless of effort. While individuals are free to accept this definition, they are missing the point. It is this kind of thinking that fosters the taint of socialism and communism that is so prevalent. “It’s not fair that he or she is successful. I should have all the success they do.” This kind of thinking is flawed and lazy, the antithesis of what it is to want the dream.

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https://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2026/08/the-pursuit-of-the-american-dream/

[DefiantMassRINO]

The American Dream is alive, but it is being held hostage by bad Government policies, like NIMBY and Green New Fraud.

[escapeefromtaxachusetts]

When my son was in high school, his AP US History teacher proposed that the American dream is dead. MY son disputed that referencing his grandfather ( my father) who grew up in abject poverty, got offered a partial scholarship to MIT but had to decline when family couldn't afford the rest. Left school, served in the Army in World War 2 and decided thru pure will and determination not to be poor. Working 6.5 days per week, he started a successful business and worked his family up to upper middle class. When the US Government decided to build a highway and take his business property by eminent domain, giving pennies on the dollar, he brushed himself off and moved the business and rebuilt another successful one. Sent 4 kids to college without a dollar of debt ( we paid for grad schools ourselves) and he smiled broadly at every graduation.
He has been gone 20 years but his "papisms" are a philosophy of life that lives on, from " an education is something nobody can ever take away from you", to " don't lose your head over a piece of tail" to "if you work for yourself, you can't get sick, tired or lazy."
I hear my kids repeating those to their kids.
In my work, I come in contact with people from all walks of socioeconomic status and I can tell who is working on the American Dream and will be successful.
Like the Travis Tritt song, " I'm going to be Somebody" .
It's not dead despite what the MSM says.

[berdie]

The Dream isn't dead. The problem is largely that kids come out of high school/college expecting immediate results. The big house, 2 cars and big salary. It usually doesn't work that way.

[Luis Gonzalez]

I’m not going to pretend this is a detached literary critique. I agree with much of what the author is saying. But as writing, there is a fundamental problem: he gives us the conclusion before he makes the argument.

The opening tells us the American Dream is alive and that anyone saying otherwise is lying to manipulate the weak-minded. Fine. But why? That is the argument the piece should make. Instead, we get a series of assertions about the Left, socialism, work ethic, citizenship, and personal responsibility.

The irony is that the author eventually reaches a good point: the American Dream is personal and cannot be delivered by government. That deserved to be the starting question, not the conclusion already decided.