"The cornerstone of a middle-class life in America (and that means the cornerstone of the American dream) is a good job. The American dream is on life support because men and women by the millions who want very much to work - who still have in their heads the ideal of a thriving family in a nice home with maybe a picket fence – are unable to find a decent job.“ So writes Bob Herbert in looking at the waves of economic distress washing over the U.S. of late ("Sharing the Pain,“ The New York Times, 11 Mar 08).
Herbert adds more brushstrokes to enhance the bleak picture. "Now that the economic crunch is reaching those near the top of the pyramid, there is finally a sense that the U.S. is facing a real crisis. Forget about a soft landing. The stock markets continue to tumble. The dollar has weakened. The subprime mortgage debacle has morphed into a full-fledged panic. And Joe Stiglitz is telling us that war in Iraq will cost $3 trillion.“
More details yet heighten the sense of alarm of this waking nightmare. "We have always gotten a distorted picture of how well Americans were doing from politicians and the media. The U.S. has a population of 300 million. Thirty-seven million, many of them children, live in poverty. Close to 60 million are just one notch above the official poverty line. These near-poor Americans live in households with annual incomes that range from $20,000 to $40,000 for a family of four. It is disgraceful that in a nation as wealthy as the United States, nearly a third of the people are poor or near-poor."
What does this mean? "As Andrew Stern, president of the Service Employees International Union, told me some months ago: 'Workers are incredibly, legitimately scared that the American dream, particularly the belief tthat their kids will do better, is ending.'“
This should be disturbing. A cornerstone of what has been considered to be so wonderful and special about America is being yanked out of the edifice of American life. "The dream is in grave danger because the ruling elite stopped looking out for the collective interests of the society and all but stopped investing in the future. We are swimming in a vast sea of indebtedness, most of it bringing no worthwhile return.“
The changes to be made are clear enough. "Without an educated and empowered work force, without sustained investment in the infrastructure and technolgies that foster long-term employment, and without a system of taxation that can actually pay for the services provided by the government, the American dream as we know it will expire.“ If the changes are not made, we are warned, the American Dream will die.
The American Dream is fast becoming a waking nightmare for many. The nightmare is telling us that we have gotten off-track. As always in interpreting any dream, of the sleeping of waking realms, its significance is in how it changes our behavior. We are being asked to alter our thoughts and behaviors in order to make life in America better conform to our ideals, rather than to our ignorance and greed.