There never was an American dream. There is - or rather, was - an American fantasy entertained by immigrants, that turns into a rather bland, if not unpleasant reality check when they arrive in the US and don’t strike it rich, which is the overwhelming majority of them.
Even the Pilgrims sailed to the New World with that fantasy in their minds, and then were confronted with the pretty awful realities of their miserable voyage and even more miserable life in the Plymouth colony. This is nothing new.
also. can we stop mythologizing the Massachusetts colony as being our national origin. the first english speaking colonists in the Virginia colony trying to make a quick buck through violence and deceit. yeah, the Massachusetts played a role in our modern christofascist imagery, but this whole thing has from the outset been about money and we can’t do anything about that until we confront that
There never was an American dream. There is - or rather, was - an American fantasy entertained by immigrants, that turns into a rather bland, if not unpleasant reality check when they arrive in the US and don’t strike it rich, which is the overwhelming majority of them.
Even the Pilgrims sailed to the New World with that fantasy in their minds, and then were confronted with the pretty awful realities of their miserable voyage and even more miserable life in the Plymouth colony. This is nothing new.
also. can we stop mythologizing the Massachusetts colony as being our national origin. the first english speaking colonists in the Virginia colony trying to make a quick buck through violence and deceit. yeah, the Massachusetts played a role in our modern christofascist imagery, but this whole thing has from the outset been about money and we can’t do anything about that until we confront that