The american dream is bad

i agree, asmodean.

 

The American dream is amazing, it's what you want it to be, and if you can't see one you're a bad dreamer. If you don't like the more commonly said American dream, go find another, we've all seen one certain movie about chasing the American dream through a drug crazed frenzy in Las Vegas.

 

if life were fear and loathing, but alas...

 

i don't know what you are talking about but i DO have my own dreams. they are about the kind of world i'd rather be living in. not about empairing my judgement nor about gratuitous austentatious accumulation or even the pseudo-sophistries of excitement addiction.

they are about japanese gardens and little people sized trains and not having to OWN anything to be able to create and explore, which is where the real gratification comes from.

NOT from trying to impress anyone.

=^^=
.../\...

 

I think people and society change values...so does technology!

 

he was referring to hunter s. thompson's fear & loathing in las vegas.​

​

you can barely see, but they're sitting in the car.​

it's one of the animated pages in the book.​

 

and what the hell is that supposed to be?

 

as explained several times elsewhere in as many threads on as many forums:

=^^=
.../\...

is an anthropomorphic cat steepling his hands and saying nemeste.

i used to like ascii emoticons but have little love for their having been replaced by "smilies". (even if some of the newer animated ones are kind of "cute")

(and what the hell is supposed to be "amazing" in any positive sense, about a large number of people being brainwashed into dreaming the same dreams, thinking the same thoughts, or believing the same beliefs?

that's what i ment by not knowing what the hell he was talking about. i HAVE heard of hunter s. and his several of his books, fear and loathing included. which to my perception is still a bit too mainstream for my interests)

i have been to las vegas. i even knew very closely and personaly someone who lived and went to school there. i was there at her wedding. and on several other occasions. including the little park by where the library was then. as well as the crap people more often go there for.
i have also been stoned.
and i see no connection between either and my personal dreams nor any reason why i should have to.

=^^=
.../\...

 

ahhh now that it's cleared up, i apologize for coming off a little offstandish.
i was kind of in a pissy mood, lol, and i was just like, what the HELL...? but yeah.
i have a bumper sticker on the back of my car that says namaste on it.
and i used to have a dog, that i named namaste.
she was the best dog ever, other than joey and dixie.

but now i have eleven cats and zero dogs.
and i like that you used a cat for the namaste thing.
brings back a little of both worlds for me, and i like that.

again, i apologize, i'm really not that rude, actually.

 

The american dream was manifested and achieved by millions beginning when the first settlers came and saw an empty land(who the fuck are those guys?)and there were untold and uncountable miles and miles of free land for the taking,if you were tough enough and driven to live a free life.(who the fuck ARE those guys?)Imagine it.You could go just about anywhere and if you liked the look of the land --you just stopped,started to build a house (free stuff everywhere to build with)plant some crops,raise some kids and settle in.All for free,using your own hard work.If it became crowded,you picked up and moved on--hell there were thousands of miles and all kinds of land ahead,free for the taking.(who the fuck are those guys anyway?)What it's become?-------------------------(description to come)---------

 

um, o.c.d.?

referring to the native americans?
they were here first.
the settlers that came, if i am not mistaken...
was the virginia company: the established jamestown.

well, the pilgrims from england, or whatever.
i don't know, i just love pocahontas, lol.

 

I feel that the american dream is... eat, work, eat, consume, intake lies, ponder in shallow thought, sleep; repeat until you believe that your free and happy.

 

Yeah, that's how I took it. Whenever I've heard mention of someone following the American Dream, it has been in the context of some rags-to-riches, lifted-themselves-up-by-their-bootstraps story.

Put simply, it's the idea that "anyone can make it" in contrast to the alternative, consumerist explanation of "all you can eat". Which seems less a dream, more like a nightmare to me.

Well, I think maybe in the past, when America was a younger nation, the American Dream was more realistic. For a start, there was much more opportunity, as in the example given here:

Of course, the point he's making is that these days, you can't just go and find yourself some land. Now, you have to COMPETE for resources, and the minute that's the case, hard work isn't necessarily enough. It becomes about things like... who you know, having financial backing, being lucky...

In other words, the American Dream stood in contrast initially with how it was perceived to be over here in England, where you could work hard and do "good stuff", but still be stymied because you weren't connected, in the old-boys network, and so on. But nowadays, even in the States, if you're going to run for office, or build a business, you're going to have to compete with those who have more money to begin with, are more connected, etc....

In the sixties, England was supposed to have become a meritocracy. And yeah, to some extent, it did open doors to people who perhaps otherwise would have been excluded. But in many respects it seems as though while the net is cast wider, you're still going to have to join the club and play by its rules to prosper.

Contrary to popular opinion, working hard can still secure success, indeed it's often necessary. But it's nowhere near enough on its own. As for consumerism, there are lots of reasons for it, from the pressure of marketing, wanting to belong to a peer group, wanting to distract yourself... but to me in some cases it almost seems like a failure of imagination... like, you can't make your own action. But then again, many an American Dreamer has made a fortune from pandering to such consumerism. When there's no land left to find, you're going to have to sell something to make your millions...

 

the american dream is work hard and you can raise your standard of living dramatically, and its not always true, but moreso than other countries, generally....immigrants come here with nothing and end up owning their own businesses, homes, etc all of the time

Don't see whats wrong with that

 

The American Dream...you can accomplish basically the same in any other country with a minimum wage of over $6.00 (US). Piece of cake.

 

High their, I'm a middle-aged white Amerikan male of Anglo-Saxon/Norwegian descent who has visited the UK and Tijuana, Mexico, so I am therefore in a (LOL) perfect position to comment on the Amerikan dream.

Of course I must confess that as an Amerikan, I am weird. So I guess I can't really speak for Joe Konsumer in Smallville, Wisconsin, cuz I don't even own a shotgun or a pickup truck, for chrissake. Hell, I hardly ever even watch TV, so what the hell do I know? However I have been a goddamn stinkin' professional employee in companies like McDonnell Douglas Aerospace & Northrop Aircraft et CETera, so that SEEMS pretty mainstream, donut? Little do they know that I was an undercover freak, tho a few guessed my secret...bottom line (that's so Amerikan) is that a person does what a person needs to do to stay alive and feed the kids. This is the society I was born into, this is my environment, and a good Darwinian organism adapts to survive.

So my kommentary: The Amerikan dream seems to be about material comfort. Do I want material comfort? Shit yes, doesn't everybody? Admit it, for chrissake. Am I willing to sacrifice material comfort for the greater good of worldwide humanity? Ummm, let me think about it...LOL. For a few years I was making a six-figure income. I felt like a fraud the whole time, but I damn well basked in the luxury. Then my freak nature was discovered, and the folks who were funding my Amerikan dream kicked me downstairs. Let me tell you, it is a very short step from luxury to poverty. I was unemployed for over a year and lost almost everything I had gained. How do I feel about that? Sometimes I'm pissed. Sometimes--I just laugh and laugh. GOD what an adventure that was! Those who get to experience luxury without interruption often can't grasp the possibility of joy without it.

Bottom line is, for you accountants who are entering these notations in your ledgers: Give up the blaming and the finger-pointing and the holier-than-thou, I'm-so-stinkin'-superior-cuz-I'm-not-an-Amerikan attitudes, brothers and sisters. We all inherited our circumstances, whatever they are. Bottom line is: We're all souls on a spiritual journey, and what you have and what you are is what you need for the lessons in this go-around. Next time around, you TOO may be a stinkin' Amerikan konsumer. LOL Oh, GOD, the shame... LMAO

 

Awww, the American Dream... such a big thing to you Americans.
We don't have a dream in this country.
Why?
COZ WE'RE AWAKE!!!

 

yep

 

Yes Psygrunge, I understand your point. What you're saying is that all of you are better than all of us.

LMAO

Yes, I see quite clearly how awake you are. LOL

Say Psygrunge, ever heard of something called a "straw dog?" Check it out. It's one of your favorite ploys.

LOL

Hey, I like your new sig pic, buddy. It's so British Isles. LOL Okay, I'm giving you shit. I do like it, sincerely. It's like Welsh grass on grass. LOL Very, very green and cubist.

 

Oh dear.
Have you even heard of Al Murray?!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ul7EDYXmDNE
Watch and understand.
This guy, well, he knows.

As for your comment on my sig and my British self, it wasn't funny, offensive, giving me shit;
It was rather laughable.

Peace and love to you brother.