The American Dream Today

So in the last video we talked a bit about the American Dream and its origins and the change in perception about it and American Dream and maybe we could talk a bit more about what is the American Dream in today's society in the US. Maybe you can quickly tell us what the American Dream exists for you, what that means for you today basically. Well for me personally the American Dream is having a high level of financial security because a lot of people in our generation here in the United States, those of us who went to university and graduated maybe went to graduate school and graduated. We were left with student loan debt that I think many people in other countries don't understand fully because of the education systems in other countries but here in the United States is very expensive to go to university. So once we graduate we come out of university with a large amount of debt that we have to then pay back and that puts in a way that puts handcuffs or puts shackles on our ability to move up the socio economic ladder and to achieve full financial security in our lives. So the American Dream for me is being able to do the things that I want to do when I want to do them how I want to do them and to a certain degree I can do that but there are limitations on how far I can do that or how far I can go in doing that because of student loan debt for example. Me personally the American Dream isn't necessarily having a house and a car and you know a family of you know three or four kids or whatever it is you know it's being able to live in the moment enjoy the time I have and have the freedom to do the things that I want to do when I want to do them and so I have to a certain degree achieve that I do have a certain level of financial security but you know it could be better it could be more if I didn't have certain obligations when it came to the student loan so for me it is that ability to do things when I want to do them how I want to do them. You think this is a generational thing as well but because like from what I know red and saw documentaries and stuff this is something that you know the generation that's a 22 I know so 40 years old that they are more focused on you know maybe this aspect of happiness and on you know having a house. And having you know the family having the car something as it used to be. No for sure I definitely think that generation of millennials you know I think we place a higher value on happiness and satisfaction with our lives as opposed to financial or economic success for example I think my parents for example for them you know achieving the American dream was you know buying a house and having a nice car and you know the white pick a fence around the property you know that that them was success and to a certain degree it still is right I mean you know their ability to own certain material things is how they valued success or how they placed a value in success whereas I feel like myself I'm different I think my generation is different in in how we value success because I think we're more inclined to do what makes us happy even if it doesn't necessarily mean we're going to be financially better off. Do you think this is that you know the that there were external factors that basically pushes a generation into feeling like this that because maybe because you cannot you know reach certain things anymore house prices are on the rise all the time you know the income in general has increased the way it you know should do if you want to afford certain material things so do you think that as a kind of a you know that is connect somehow that this this you know the the I know the views of a generation and external factors of the you think it's because of the view of a generation that you know that it has an impact on other factors. Personally I think it's a combination of things I think our generation is one of the most educated generations in world history right I mean when we talk about the level of education and intelligence we are one of the most if not the most educated generation in world history as far as you know book knowledge and how we see the world and I think with that comes. And I think we have a realization that money doesn't necessarily bring happiness right and I think we've seen it in our parents as well right I parents have achieved a certain level of economic success and wealth in their lives but we have seen how it necessarily has not translated into happiness. And when we talk about the rates of depression and we talk about the rates of mental illness for example they're at the highest they've ever been but at the same time as a as a global community the economic wealth of countries has increased but that hasn't necessarily translated into happiness and I think our generation has recognized that and has placed you know a higher value on on that now it may also have to be a little bit more difficult and so we have to come also to the realization that we have to be happy with ourselves because that journey to the top is a bit more difficult and if we go into the journey with the same kind of mindset that our parents had we're going to end up being unhappy and to be being you know not necessarily satisfied with you know with our lives and so we've had to change our perception of how we view success how we view happiness and how we view you know our place you know in the world and in society. I mean this is something like that leads me to another question that I've been thinking about is like you know when you look around the reads like you know from various different sort you have the feeling that this generation now so like the memories or something is like a weak generation right because everyone's complaining they don't want to work as hard as we did you know they don't want to spend you know dedicate so much efforts to something you know because if I think of like you know the generation of my parents you know you I know you went into a job and most of the time you stayed there for like 30 40 years or something you know you didn't you know change jobs so you know very infrequently if at all and then you know you always get this this backlash for to the younger generation basically you know you need to work hard and you need to work hard and you need to you know and give a little bit more and stop and this this it's kind of an interesting combination because as you're saying if we look you know this is also because what you said maybe because we know so much more about you know these aspects or how important it is to our mental health like these aspects like logical aspects about life and you know happiness and you know being you know content with with what we have or where we are do you think there's also a place of all of it you know that the knowledge of you know that we know of science definitely tells us that you know money doesn't make us happy or a house doesn't make us happy you know that because of this knowledge that we we see this more realistically than many the generations before us and that we place less value on these material things well listen I I'm not going to sugarcoat the fact that you know we come from a generation that is one of the most entitled generations we are much more entitled because of the success of our parents had right our parents their journey to their success, I think the road there was a bit more difficult, but that made it easier for us coming after them. And I think that's what they wanted. All parents say they want to provide for a better life for their kids and they had. And I think we are a byproduct of that. Now what I will say to that is even though we are entitled, we have, as a generation, faced a lot of obstacles that in my opinion were created by our parents when it comes to our ability to move up the socioeconomic ladder. And so our generation has had to be more adaptable. We have had to recognize that we have to change our mindset, change our skillset, change the way we view the world in order for us to find happiness and to, in our minds, find success, whereas our parents didn't necessarily have that same kind of challenge. I think their challenge was probably more of a real physical challenge. It was like you said, working that job 8, 10, 12 hours a day to provide for their families so that their kids could have a better life than they had. Whereas we grew up in a society of wealth and material wealth. And so, in many situations, not everyone of course, but in general, we have the things that we wanted and the things that we needed and we didn't necessarily have to work so hard for them. But we have had to change the way that we do things the way that we see things. An example would be our generation had to go through September 11th. We've had to go through an economic disaster in 2008 and 2009. Now we're having to go through a pandemic which is also causing an economic strain on our countries. These kind of things are like once in a generation kind of situation and now we've gone through three of them. Arguably, some people may say more. Whereas our parents, really our parents came out of War War 2 and they maybe had one major level situation that they had to go through and adapt to. It was relatively high level of stability in the years where they were the most economically productive. Whereas our generation had to go through much more challenges during our years of economic productivity. And this causes a lot more flexible and adaptable. Because of this, it's changed how we view success, happiness, place in the world. Do you think if you go back to the American Dream, do you see this original concept of the American Dream still holds true for most of the population in the US who is still living in the American Dream and its original sense? Well I think we'll answer the question directly. The people or the population that is living the American Dream in its more original kind of concept, I think are the people at the upper end of the socio-economic ladder. Because those people, they have the capacity to withstand these kind of economic challenges that we've seen over the past 20 years or so. Whereas people in the middle to the lower end of the socio-economic scale, haven't necessarily had the capacity to withstand these kind of trials and tribulations. Whereas the upper end of that scale, they may be maintained their status in society. The people in the middle and towards the bottom have been knocked down or wrong or two. That has of course caused people to change their perception of the American Dream and what it means to achieve it. For the people at the top, I think it's still the same. House, car, family, all of that. Whereas people in the middle and towards the bottom, I think it's more so about happiness. It's less about material wealth and more about what do I have to do to find happiness. Now, some people may value material wealth as a form of success and you will see it. You will see people who are barely making ends meet, but they're driving a Mercedes-Benz or BMW or a really expensive car because for them that is success. That's still a form of success, even though you may not be able to afford it or it may not be an economically wise decision to make. They still make it because for them it's about the perception. It's about how people are going to perceive them, not necessarily how they feel about themselves. You're also having people who are trying to obtain the American Dream, but also deal with the perceptions of others and how they view their attainment of the American Dream. Is this something in the German schoolbooks, at least you read a lot about immigration that immigrants come to the US still today with this idea or with this vision of if they work hard enough that their dreams come true? Do you think this still represents the reality of what immigrants are living today in the US? Yes, but to a lesser degree than in the past. I still believe if you do apply yourself when you work hard enough, you can achieve a level of success. Now, is that level of success the same level as it was 20 years ago, 30 years ago, 40 years ago? Maybe not, because the country is in a different place today than it was then. The way we view immigrants today is a little bit different than it was then as well. And so as an immigrant coming into the United States, I still believe they have a more pure view of the American Dream. But I think, and of course you would have to speak to an immigrant about it, but I would imagine that reality changes very quickly. Let's see, actually arrive here, they see what the situation is, they see what the life is like, and the difficulty of achieving this pure vision of the American Dream. Do you have it because you are from the San Diego area? So you're kind of close to the Mexican border or something. So do you have any experiences or more knowledge about this kind of the area that you live in in terms of immigration, the impact of the views of the immigrants from Mexico? Well, first of all, California is the largest state in the United States. There's more or less about 40 million people who live in California. California is the most wealthy state in the United States. But it is also, in certain aspects, the poorest state in the United States. There is a large gap between the wealthy and the poor in the state of California. And in large part, because we have a lot of immigrants who come to California because of the close proximity to Mexico. And San Diego being a border city, San Diego is literally 20 to 30 minutes from Mexico. We have a lot of people who cross the border every day. They live in Mexico because they can't afford to live in San Diego. So they commute every day across the border. And that becomes a reality for many immigrants is that they come to the United States with these dreams and aspirations. And reality hits and they realize that it's a lot more difficult than they thought it was going to be. And I think many times they either end up going back to Mexico permanently because the United States wasn't what they thought it was going to be. Or they're in this situation where they commute every day. And so, you know, because because there's so many immigrants in this area, I think my view of immigration may be a bit different than in other parts of the country, because it's real. I mean, you see it on a daily basis. And you see, I mean, I don't see it, but you know of people and families who are living in a two bedroom house and there's 5 or 10 people right living in there, right? Because, you know, they're trying to achieve their vision of the American dream, right? And their vision of success. And so for them, I think they're more like our parents were, right? They are the ones who are having to work, physically work hard, everyday labor jobs, right? Exactly, exactly. And so they are the recipients of, you know, of what it means to work hard and to try to, as we say in the United States, you pick yourself up by your own bootstraps, you know, and you just work hard. And so that's what they're doing. And you see it, you know, very clearly here in the state of California. So do you think like this, this comes up in American dream is also depends on, you know, for example, what you do or where you are in terms of, you know, your self-estaters or your, I'm thinking about it, your software engineer from, I don't know, Germany. And you move to the US, your experience of the US, you might be totally different than that of an immigrant from Mexico. Do you agree with that or where, how do you see that? Well, I definitely agree or believe that a person's, an immigrant's view or vision or concept of the American dream is different in reality than depending where they come from. If you come from Germany, in general, you come from a different standard of living. Yeah. Then someone from Central America does, right? And so if you come to the United States and you're having to live in a two bedroom house with 5 or 10 people, that would not be a vision of success or an American dream. But if you're coming from Central to South America and you're coming from a desolate, destitute place, coming to the United States and living in a two bedroom house with 5 or 10 people is a step up, right? And to a certain degree is a level of success. It may not be the ultimate goal. But if you ask that person, if they're successful, they would probably say, yes, in comparison to a German that came and had the same situation. So I think depending where you come from, and depending what you do, depending on your level of education, is going to also be dependent on how you view your attainment of the American dream. How do you see this developing? If you could look into the future, like do you see any trends? Or what do you-- I mean, it's like you just speculate. You can speculate in about it now. But what do you think? How is this concept or this idea developing in the future? And maybe the next, I know, two, three, four decades? Well, America will continue to spread the message and the concept of the American dream, whether it be through television, through entertainment, through the media. And so I think the purest concept of the American dream will remain. But I think it will go through an evolutionary process as well, where in reality, it will probably change. And depending on, I think, the economic success of the United States will also determine how far or how much the American dream concept evolves. We know that China, for example, is on the rise. Their economic status in the world will continue to grow. We'll continue to also evolve, which I think will also play a factor in how the American dream and capitalism is perceived. But I still think that this idea of the American dream will survive. But I think it will evolve into something different than what it is today.