What is the American Dream?
Is it still alive?
Is the American Dream still alive?
It’s June 2025, and right now if you look at the news it’s very possible that you’d decide the answer to that question is a resounding, No.
There are riots and Marines in Los Angeles County. Prices on everything are rising, and have been — I’ve been feeling like I’m being priced right out of existence for years. The cost of living is just ridiculous. And seemingly everyone disagrees with everything that’s either being done, not done, or undone in Washington, DC.
But is it all just a matter of perspective? There are many in this country who believe the exact opposite — for them the American Dream is still alive and well.
If you ask me whether the American Dream is alive, my answer today is Yes. But eight or ten years ago, I’m not sure you’d have gotten that same answer…
Back in 2018, my business was failing — mostly because I was just a little fish, in a real big pond. My marriage was failing — mostly because of said business and the stress it put on us all. Anyway, this isn’t about all that — you get the picture.
But today, things are good. I’ve recently become a grandfather, times two! I’ve just gotten a new job that will allow me to focus more on my writing, while still providing a steady income.
So yes, for me the American Dream is absolutely alive. But just me saying yes, doesn’t make it true for others — I wonder 🤔 am I alone in this thinking? What about what others in my community think? There are so many different demographics represented in my community, I need to get their opinion too.
So I hit the streets!
Vaibhav, a 21 yo Indian immigrant who introduced himself as Harry, believes the American Dream is very much alive.
When I asked Harry, “Do you believe in the American Dream?”
He said, “Yes,” without the slightest hesitation.
When I asked him, “What does the American Dream mean to you? What is it?”
He paused for just a moment before he said, “Citizenship.” And then followed by saying that, “With US Citizenship comes the good life.”
Harry went on to tell me how hard life was in India. He said that crime was out of control, and that people with low income have no chance to better their life there. But that in America, “If you work hard, things can get better,” he said.
Harry also talked about how hard life is here as an immigrant — that things are more difficult for them and that immigrants are sometimes taken advantage of. He makes $2.00 less per hour than his American coworkers, and there’s nothing he can do about it. That’s just the cost of being here on a work visa — a cost he’s willing to pay, to have his own shot at the American Dream.
On Friday, July 4th, I spoke with Jose M, an Hispanic American, at our town’s Fireworks celebration. Jose looked to be about my age, forties maybe, and has lived in Georgia since 1996.
When I asked Jose if he thought the American Dream was alive — he gave me a big smile, and said, “Yes.”
Jose said, “Coming to the USA changed my life. Nothing I have would have been possible in Mexico.”
Like Harry, for Jose the American Dream is all about opportunity. He talked about his three children — both of his daughters are successful and doing well, as are his grandchildren. And when he told me his son has been serving this country in the US Army for the past thirteen years, he was beaming with pride.
When I asked Jose what his life had been like in Mexico, before he immigrated into the USA — He said that it had been very difficult.
“I don’t want to talk bad about my home country,” Jose said. “But life in Mexico is very hard. Before I came to America, I was working two jobs and could not even afford a vehicle to get to work. But here, after only six months of working I had a van.”
He went on to tell me that he was the only one of his family members to come to America, all of his brothers and sisters stayed south of the border. And that while he does his best to help them, their lives in Mexico have been much more difficult for the past thirty years.
Before parting ways with Jose, I asked him to give me his opinion on the current “situation” concerning deportations.
Jose is a US Citizen, and while he agreed that criminals should be deported, he said that what’s really needed is, “Reform.” He said that the government needs to recognize how much Hispanic Immigrants do for this country in return for being here. They are not all criminals.
He said, “Most are good people, who show up to work everyday and work hard.”
Jose believes that there should be a path to citizenship for the immigrants who are here, working hard, and staying out of trouble. And that merely being here illegally, doesn’t make you a criminal — a criminal has a criminal record, or conducts criminal activities.
So, is the American Dream still alive and well?
Wikipedia says, The "American Dream" is a phrase referring to a purported national ethos of the United States: that every person has the freedom and opportunity to succeed and attain a better life.
Well according to myself, Harry, and Jose, the answer to that question is Yes.
The American Dream is very much alive and well!
We believe that if you work hard and stay out of trouble, anyone living in The United States of America has an opportunity to improve their economic standing. Of course there are no guarantees in life — the path will be tough, it will even be dark at times. But here in the USA, the light of hope seems to shine just a little bit brighter.
I’d love to hear your thoughts — What does the American Dream mean to you? Do you think it’s still alive and well?
Thanks for reading! This was a bit of change for me — it wasn’t long after I began writing the American Dream essay, that I could see the need to take a more journalist approach. A special thanks goes out to Harry and Jose, without them this article would not have been possible! If you enjoyed this post, how about showing it some love by sharing it and clicking that ❤ button.
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Here’s an essay I wrote back in January for the Ocilla Star Newspaper. It’s more about compassion, but I thought it would go well here since MLK dedicated his life to fighting-for the American Dream.
A Beloved Community
In Dr. Martin Luther King Jr’s ‘Birth of a New Age’ speech he says, “I would like to suggest some things that we must do to live in this new world, to prepare to live in it, the challenges that control us. The first thing is this, that we must rise above the narrow confines of our individualistic concerns, with a broader concern for all humanity. You see this is a new world of geographic togetherness. No individual can afford to live alone now.”
What strikes me most is how both Harry and Jose define the Dream not as wealth or success in the traditional sense, but as opportunity and dignity.