You may have seen the following social media post that has repeatedly
made its rounds on Facebook, Twitter, and the like over the past couple years.
It is targeted specifically to those raised during the 1960’s through the
1980’s, and perhaps to the parents who did the raising:
…we survived being born to mothers who smoked and/or drank while
they carried us. They took aspirin, ate blue cheese dressing, tuna from a can,
and didn't get tested for diabetes…. our baby cribs were covered with bright
colored lead-based paints. We had no childproof lids on medicine bottles, doors
or cabinets and when we rode our bikes, we had no helmets…. As children, we
would ride in cars with no seat belts or air bags. Riding in the back of a pick
up on a warm day was always a special treat. We drank water from the garden
hose and NOT from a bottle. …. We ate cupcakes, white bread…and drank soda pop
with sugar in it, but we weren't overweight because WE WERE ALWAYS OUTSIDE
PLAYING! We would leave home in the morning and play all day, as long as we
were back when the streetlights came on. No one was able to reach us all day…
We would spend hours building our go-carts out of scraps and then ride down the
hill, only to find out we forgot the brakes. After running into the bushes a
few times, we learned to solve the problem. We did not have Playstations,
Nintendo's, X-boxes, …. no 99 channels on cable, no video tape movies, no
surround sound, no cell phones, no personal computers, no Internet or Internet
chat rooms..........We went outside to find our friends. We fell out of trees, got cut, broke bones and
teeth and there were no lawsuits from these accidents…. We were given BB guns
for our 10th birthdays, made up games with sticks and tennis balls and although
we were told it would happen, we did not put out very many eyes. …. Little
League had tryouts and not everyone made the team. …. This generation has produced
some of the best risk-takers, problem solvers and inventors ever! The past 50
years have been an explosion of innovation and new ideas. We had freedom,
failure, success and responsibility, and we learned HOW TO DEAL WITH IT ALL!
Really? At first glance,
this monologue seems to capture the ingredients necessary for the achievement
of The American Dream. It was these
childhood experiences apparently that lead to generations of balanced risk
takers, determined problem solvers, and creative inventors. It was these experiences, according to its
nostalgic author, that have fostered the productivity, ambitious work-ethic,
and ability to get ahead that we associate with the American Dream. Moreover, the intention of this rant is to convince
us that the curtailment of certain freedoms coupled with helicopter parenting have
caused some apparent failure we see among the younger generation rising up
after the Boomers and Gen-xers, a group known as the Millennials.
I couldn’t disagree more.
I am glad to be among the lucky who survived many of these
childhood experiences, but I’m equally glad, thrilled actually, that my
children don’t have to. I bet my parents
are thrilled that I didn’t have to face the risk of polio either. Thanks to advances in science, technology, and
in some cases, common sense, we know better.
I’m grateful for the bicycle helmets that Rachel and I wear when we ride
out onto Smith Avenue. I’m glad my kids
don’t blink an eye at what would have been considered weird “health food” when
I was a child (and I’m talking about wheat bread here). I’m grateful for the information that allowed
me to do my best, in this day and age, to have healthy pregnancies. As a parent to a student driver, I’m glad –
thrilled - that driver’s ed is now a requirement and not just an option for
reduced insurance rates! I’m sure the
rules will change again and again, and again. That’s called progress.
Yes, I recall the freedom I had to wander the neighborhood alone
at a young age. I also recall my parents
calling the police in to find me on one occasion. Perhaps, if I had a simple and convenient way
to notify them (or better yet in their minds, ask them) if I could stop at a
friend’s house en route home from another friend’s house, they’d have been
spared tons of worry. And, our
community’s police officers would have been spared a needless house call. Sure I was safe, but I might not have been –
even in the 70’s bad, even atrocious things happened -- and my parents had no
way of communicating with me to find out.
Did those carefree, if not naïve, wanderings lead to my success as a
human being? I think not.
Did my being cut from middle school field hockey and basketball tryouts
impact me? Absolutely. It’s no wonder that my favorite sports don’t
involve team play. Instead, one sport I
love today is one in which I was welcomed to participate in as a young teen. There were no cuts on my school’s track team. Did that make me less determined, ambitious,
or willing to take on risk? I am standing here on Temple Emanuel’s bema,
aren’t I? It did, however, help turn me
into a life-long runner who rejoices at being out there stretching myself
beyond my comfort zone and far beyond my natural skill set.
This seemingly innocuous social media post is far from
harmless. It has the potential to stir
unrest, engender negativity, and create division. It works to convince us that we are failing,
that for the first time in American history, young people will not be as
accomplished as the previous generation preceding them. That, they will not achieve or even have
access to the American Dream.
The American Dream.
Though based on the ideals set forth in our
country’s Declaration of Independence which holds, “certain truths to be
self-evident” including “life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness," the formal concept of The American Dream did not exist until the
years of our country’s first Great Depression.
The American Dream was not birthed until 1931 when author, James Truslow Adams (no relation to
either Presidents Adams), used the phrase over 30 times throughout a book
titled,The Epic of America. In it, he defined the American dream as
"that dream of a land in which life should be better and richer and fuller
for everyone, with opportunity for each according to ability or achievement.” (p.214-215)
Adams
understood this American Dream to have been present from the start of our
nation, from the Declaration of American independence, and, in his words, to be
“the greatest contribution we have made to the thought and welfare of the
world.” (Cullen, 4).
Interestingly enough, as familiar, as popular, as the
ideal of The American Dream is to us today, it was an entirely foreign concept
at its introduction. Adams was even
advised against entitling his book as such.
That was his original plan – to name his book The American Dream not The
Epic of America, but he was told, “that …No one will pay three dollars for
a book about a dream.” (cited by Cullen, 3). Apparently, in his day, more were willing to
fork over some cash for an “Epic” as opposed to a “Dream.” After his book, however,
the phrase The American Dream quickly entered common parlance where it remains
and since has become an expression of our national ethos.
The American Dream.
What
scares us into writing diatribes such as the social media post by which I
opened this sermon is our fear that we, or our children, won’t achieve the same
material wealth of previous generations.
It is no a coincidence that the whole notion of an American Dream and
this social media post were both born in periods of economic distress. Sadly, however, whereas Adam’s 1931
commentary left Americans feeling optimistic about their future, our
contemporary and anonymous author has written a passage that stirs up fear. It’s not the future that will save us but
rather, he argues, a return to the past, a past that he has glorified.
The
reality of our economy and the job market not withstanding, I believe that the
American Dream is doing just fine. I
believe that the generations that follow me, that follow most of us, have a vision
and will have opportunities that surpass anything my generation or those before
me had. Millennials, those born somewhere
in the 1980’s through the early aughts, while often accused by the media of
being narcissistic and self-absorbed, are, according to a 2010 literary report
of the Pew Research Center, “confident, connected, and open to change.” Those
certainly aren’t words that would have described my generation.
They
are also described as complex and introspective. Remember, this is a generation that as
children witnessed the terror of 9/11 and the subsequent and seemingly futile
wars that have tapped our nation both spiritually and economically. They have endured the impact of what is now
called The Great Recession both as children of parents affected and now as job
seekers. They have been raised in an
America where gun violence is rampant and sometimes very close – too close-- to
home. Their world is very different than
mine and from many of yours, and that isn’t because they wore compelled by law
to wear seat belts or bike helmets.
This
group is skeptical of organized institutions.
But, frankly they may not need the outside organizations in the way that
we have in order to connect. They live
in a constant and ever-present network, and many are eager to use that network
to improvise solutions in the moment creating in-person meet ups and hacking
sessions in order to tackle serious social and environmental issues.
Indeed,
this generation that follows mine has a civic and global awareness that may
supersede any before it. Studying abroad
and gap years were and continue to be the norm for these folks. Connecting so naturally via the Internet and Skype
has enabled this generation to transcend geography and virtually abolish any
physical barriers to communication. The
experiences of this generation has lead them, as a whole, to have a quickness
on their feet, a sense of empathy with others, and an interest in making the
world better. Google’s former CEO and
current Chair of the Board, Eric Schmidt, who as a leader in the tech sector
has worked extensively with Millennials, describes this generation as, “better”
than his own, “better prepared, better educated, more collaborative than any
generation, and more socially conscious; they want to feel their work has a
social purpose.” (Rehm interview, NPR, 9/22/14) A representative of this generation, quoted
in the New York Times this past August, confirms Schmidt’s observations[GW1] ,
“the better [I’m] doing,” he stated, “the more [I] can share with other
people.” (NYT, 8/17/2014).
I
have no doubt that the generations that follow mine will achieve their own
version of The American Dream. And, that
really is the point of the whole notion, isn’t it? At the core of the American Dream, at least
as originally conceived, is to move forward, to create opportunity, to have a
vision for the future that is not simply a reproduction of the past. The American Dream has a lot in common with
Reform Judaism – it imagines change and values progress.
The
Millennials themselves, however, may not trust in the American Dream. A current song by the rapper MKTO makes this
clear. He writes,
Never
take candy from a stranger
And
keep your eyes open for danger
'Cause
this right here is the twisted paradise
This
ain't the same summer song that you used to know
'Cause
Jack left Diane thirty years ago
The
world is spinning too fast for you and me
So
tell me whatever happened to the American dream
This
ain't the same summer song that you used to know
So
baby, let's live and die before we're getting old
You
know that nothing is the way it used to be
Our
attitudes, such as expressed by that social media post, haven’t helped. For too long we have equated material
prosperity with the American Dream. Home
ownership and luxury vehicles – stuff - have become markers of success. Our
consumerist culture enables this distortion of the American Dream: some things
money can buy, for the rest there is debt…oh, I mean MasterCard. This is where we have failed Mr. Adams. We
have seized on his 1931 definition of The American Dream as a perpetual
striving for “better, richer, and fuller” while entirely ignoring his
qualification that, immediately follows, “It is not a dream of motor cars and
high wages merely, but a dream of social order in which each man and each woman
shall be able to attain to the fullest stature of which they are innately
capable, and be recognized by others for what they are, regardless of the
fortuitous circumstances of birth or position."
Shame
on us. Even Ben Franklin, who made more
than his fair share of money and is considered by some “a prophet of capitalism,”
(Curren, 64) viewed the wealth he accumulated as a vehicle for a greater
good. Once financially secure, he
retired from his printing business in order to devote himself to both: the
research and study of electricity and to philanthropic endeavor.
It
is so tempting to imagine the past as better than then the present. We survived it, so how bad could it be? It is just as easy to forget that the past is
at least as complicated as the present. We
are just really good at whitewashing the complicated parts out of our
memory. Francis Scott Key, as The Sun paper reminded us this summer,
offers a poignant example. He is recalled
– appropriately so - as an American patriot who sacrificed his freedom for the
sake of a friend. Just the utterance of
his name evokes images of the American values of independence, loyalty, and
liberty for all.
We
forget, however, that the America of his day was not the America of today. He is celebrated for the poem that would in
time become our nation’s beloved Star Spangled
Banner. We forget that only the
first verse of that poem became our nation’s anthem. The rest we have happily forgotten. The full text reflects the far more messy and
complicated reality of war in a period where whites owned blacks. Key was remarkable in his day in that he donated
his legal services to blacks and stood up for their rights. He was also typical of his generation in that
he was very much in favor of slavery and did not believe slaves' rights were on par with
their owners. I don’t raise this to bash Key.
He deserves his place in the historical record. But, let him remind us too that the past is as
complicated as the present. It behooves
us not to put it too high on any pedestal. I love the study of history for the insights
it brings, but I prefer to trust in the pursuit of the present and the future.
During
the holiday season, we reflect upon and honor the past. We challenge ourselves to “renew ourselves”
as in “yamenu k’kedem” those days of
old. As we enter 5775, one of great challenge
for our country, for Israel and other regions beyond our borders, as well as
for our own small congregational community, let us equally renew ourselves by
taking note of the generations that are coming up after us. Let us learn from their compassion and social
consciousness, from their creativity and their willingness to collaborate. Let us use their tools: let us meet up and
hack in our effort to find solutions. Let us be inspired by them as we all work
towards creating a reality that is dream worthy.
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