Blog #8: Morals or Money? You Choose.

When we look at the American Dream as applicable to each individual, there are infinite meanings to what each person's dream is. It could be to own a car, or own a house. Maybe it means getting an education or or the right to vote. These dreams are unique, but as Walter R. Fisher asserts in his article, Reaffirmation and Subversion of the American Dream, there is a dichotomy between two general versions of the American Dream: materialistic and moralistic.

Fisher explains that this dichotomy was utilized during the 1972 election by Richard Nixon and George McGovern. Nixon represented the materialistic view of the dream, while McGovern represented the moralistic view. They based their campaigns off of their respective views, and this dichotomy was present throughout the election. In order to win the election, Fisher claims that, "...one can not merely reaffirm [their position], one must also subvert the position of one's opponent,"(120), meaning that they had to convince Americans that their view of the dream was possible and just, while the other's was unattainable or wrong. Fisher supports this claim by inserting quotes from speeches of both candidates that attack the other. Nixon attacks his opponent by claiming them to "irrational" and "unrealistic" while McGovern claimed that Nixon's ideals were manipulations that would destroy society as a whole.

This subversion of the American Dream can be seen not only in 1972, but also in 2017. We saw in the recent presidential election how Senator Bernie Sanders' views on healthcare were attacked by his opponents on the basis that they weren't realistic. In contrast, Sanders and his supporters views the abolishment of Obama Care and lack of universal health care immoral. Both sides not only supported their own ideas, but attacked their opponents based on whether their ideas were practical or moral.

Another claim Fisher makes is that people believe in both versions of the dream, whether they like it or not. This claim asserts that one version of the dream may be more consuming for a person, or they may believe in one version stronger than the other, but the other version is always there. For example, if you vote for someone who embodies the materialistic version of the dream, you may still have beliefs that that materialistic dream corrupts. Such as not wanting business regulations, but still believing that everyone deserves quality healthcare.

I can see this display of both dreams in 2017 by the way a lot of people feel about President Trump. I've talked to many people who voted for Trump based on his promise of more jobs and economic improvements. These people bought into the materialistic side of the American Dream that they want have money, opportunities, and not have to pay so much into systems that benefit others. However, these people have also expressed a morality issue with Trump's stance on immigrants, travel bans, and women's rights. This shows how even today people believe in both the materialistic version of the American Dream and the moralistic, but for better or worse, one does govern people's actions more than the other.

Blog #7: Don't Waste My Time

I have never been outside of the United States, seriously, not even to Tijuana or anything. So it's fair to say I haven't experienced other countries' way of life. Asking myself how I am different from other cultures is difficult to answer. Many Americans, not excluding myself, seem to think of their behavior and values as somewhat universal. This is not true at all! After reading Gary Althen's "American Values and Assumptions" I can see how these values are relevant to my life, and am interested that America's values are actually very different from many other cultures.

Individualism is the first quality that Althen discusses, and this is something I can definitely see within my family. When my older sister graduated high school, she didn't really go to college. She wasn't sure what she wanted to do with her life yet, but she did know one thing: she had a burning desire to get out of our parents' house and live on her own. By the time I was even half way through my next year of school she had been working a full time job, saved up money, and rented a house out with three other people. Paying rent, utilities, food, gas, and living expenses was a huge financial burden on her. Instead of saving her money by living at home, she moved out and had to struggle and work hard simply because her sense of individualism was so strong, she felt like being 18 years old meant it was time to move out, no matter the cost.

Another value that Althen discusses is competitiveness. Althen describes, "...Americans naturally see themselves as being in competition with others. Competitiveness persuades the society,"(7). I see this value in my life from playing sports, academic rankings, and or even just playing board games. However, this quality doesn't really apply to me. A large part of the reason I chose to stop playing sports was because I did not have the competitive nature in me to be the best, and I had a hard time understanding my teammates in that way. Similarly, I never cared about class ranking as long as I knew I was doing my best work, but nearly all of my friends were always stressed about stayin
g in the top twenty rankings. I never see myself in competition with others, it just is not one of my values. I value pushing myself to do the best that I can in all of my pursuits without feeling like my work is somehow beneath or above someone else's.

One of the American values that I can wholeheartedly relate to is American's view on time. Sometimes I hate that I think of time as a resource, because it makes things harder to enjoy in the moment. For example, if I know I an only watch TV for an hour until I have to do homework, it's hard to enjoy what I'm watching and not ask myself why I'm even watching TV at all when I could be doing homework. Similarly, I'll ask myself "is this a waste of time?" when I'm reading, or face timing my friends. As an American, I value time and don't want to "waste" it, but I constantly remind myself that doing things that I enjoy is not a waste of time. Like many other Americans, I feel like not being productive with my time results in a waste of a valuable resource.