Is the American Dream really dead?

      In my previous post, I discussed a lot of my views on what the American Dream meant versus what it means today and how our whole identity revolves around our career. Have you ever wondered why it is this way? I can tell you it was not always like this until the industrial revolution. Now wait one moment! I promise I will make this history lesson short, however, it is very important background information. The industrial revolution resulted in a rapid change from rural farm life to factory-line work. The rapid innovation of machinery, it allowed people to mass produce products like never before which resulted in capitalism that we know today. People used to work about 12 hours a day, 6 days a week leaving almost no time for anything else. Due to factory lines being so effective with mass production, business owners were making substantially more than they ever did when everything was handmade. But unfortunately, that money was kept with the owners and not distributed fairly. Not only were the hours long, but the work was mundane standing in place doing the same repetitive work with not much thought and extremely hazardous working conditions. So while the rich made more or more, the workers slaved away with a measly hourly wage that could barely support their families. 

       So why tell you all of this? The main reason being we are not as distant from our past as we think. Yeah maybe we don't work 12-hour days but usually around 8 hours. We are still on a wage system with many jobs not feeling fulfilled in any real way. We become alienated from the product we are working on and also don't get paid the fair wages we deserve. If you really think about it, capitalism still has a strong grip on America which has only caused more and more greed. The wealth gap in this country is so much further than even I could have imagined. The top 1% of the richest people in America hold about 32% of the country's wealth while the bottom 50% hold about 2.6% of the country's wealth. When you truly understand how wide the gap is, it really makes you question the entire system America is built on. 

     I do not think that the American Dream is completely dead, but I think we need to change our system and definition of what the American Dream should be. The American Dream should not be working your life away with almost nothing to show for it. It should be about uplifting our citizens and allowing them to have a good quality of life and be able to support themselves with their wages. Though controversial, I think the best action would be to slowly start implementing socialism into our system. Many people confuse the term socialism with communism but they are extremely different. Socialism does not mean that everything is equal, but that everyone has an equal opportunity. Implementing more socialist policies such as paid vacation time, universal healthcare, free education, and higher taxes but getting more benefits will allow the American dream to become a reality again. I strongly advise many of you to do your own research on why this would be beneficial to everyone including the rich.