What Really is the American Dream? Author: Alexander Bruno Abstract
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LAN 1-DE1, dethik61 chan, Giay cam ket tra no Ngan hang Chinh sach xa hoi, De
| fortunes, liberty and welfare in the American person. The dream in itself, however, is not a
measurable entity; it is satisfaction of accomplishment and very situational and personal. So, the theoretical framing for the American Dream is: the belief in self-actualization of the good fortunes, guaranteed by American liberties, opportunities and freedoms. The spirit of newness drives the quest to conquer, so the American Dream is a conscious, as well as a ‘spiritual’ pursuit of anything that the dreaming believes is possible. To qualify this position, let us again turn to de Crevecoeur (1782) for a deeper insight as he is one of the early proponents of the ‘Great Spirit’ which drives the American ideal. By going deeper, it is hoped that the search helps to define a synthesized understanding for, and a rightful place of the dream. A more concise understanding of the spirit of the American person is therefore foundational to understanding the dream. What is the basic characteristic or indivisible element of the American person? To answer the questions, this exercise takes on this critical narrowed-down function, aimed at discovering this common notion or claim, that there is indeed something special about being an American. If there is that special something, it has to be the American Dream. 13 . Letters From an American Farmer, de Crèvecœur, 1782, 39. Bruno, 2019. What Really is the American Dream? 8 The views of de Crèvecoeur (1735 – 1813) help in framing the search, and ad the fuel to the ongoing discussions on the American Dream. As one of the original radicals of American fundamentalism, de Crèvecoeur identifies and articulates the essence of the ideal American person with his appeal to the unknown, and unseen, for blessed guidance for the preservation of the land which he loved. He writes: I beseech Thee O Father of Nature, that our ancient virtues, and our industry, may not be totally lost: and that as a reward for the great toils we have made on this new land, we may be restored to our ancient tranquility, and enabled to fill it with successive generations, that will constantly thank Thee for the ample assistance Thou has given them. 14 What the author is saying here is that, the divine ‘father’ of nature grants unto willing participants, the ability to reach beyond themselves to gain that which s/he may not even be aware of. This is more or less the guiding idea behind the aspirations of the American Dream. de Crèvecoeur, who contributed this at a time when the essence of the American identity was being conceived, adds that “self-preservation is above all [other] political precepts and rules, and even superior to the dearest opinions of our minds; a reasonable accommodation of ourselves to the various exigencies of the times in which we live.” 15 Without even knowing the spirit, one knows, or is at least aware that something other than materialism drives human ambitions; even if those ambitions are seemingly satisfied in, or by material manifestations. Self actualization is fundamentally an American ideal because it is promised through the articles of the nation’s founding documents. The dream is therefore uniquely America, as there is hardly other such 14 . The Norton Anthology, de Crèvecoeur, 625. 15 . The Norton Anthology, de Crèvecoeur, 621. Bruno, 2019. What Really is the American Dream? 9 written or unwritten promise of national construction which ties human livity into its structural framing. The interpretation of de Crèvecoeur’s statement may be seen in other lights, but he is reflecting on the essence of renewal by revisiting the past, and this occurred way before the colonial experience. de Crèvecoeur was of course speaking from a front-row seat in the theatre of divine authority, having experienced the workings of colonialism during his teenage years in England. After de Crèvecoeur settled in New York following a tour of duty with the Canada militia, he found America to be a place of renewal, as was captured in his letters from an American Farmer, quoted in preceding paragraphs. The dream therefore can be seen as the possibilities of renewal and/or redemption. The expressions of freedom in those early days all seem to echo the same clarion call. There had been (and probably there still is) this prevailing sentiment hovering over the American society in the early contacts with human realities and the challenges of renewal. Sentiments of ownership of one’s personhood, and the ability to fend-off further negative encroachments was the modus operandi of the early American narrative (probably it still is). Something was happening with the American citizenry in the founding era, and it was as if it were ordained by the Great Spirits. There were revolutionaries and there were loyalist. Revolutionaries waged aggression against loyalists and this helped in weaving that innate sense of the togetherness spirit; a belief which strengthened the cause of rediscovering America, and reaffirming the aspiration of the American person – not just as individuals, but also in the collective sense. The English man, Thomas Paine (1737 – 1809), who is listed as “the most persuasive rhetorician of the case of [American] independence,” 16 is one of those individuals who harbored 16 . The Norton Anthology, de Crèvecoeur, 639 Bruno, 2019. What Really is the American Dream? 10 the early American personhood. Operating in colonial America during the time of spiritual upheaval, Paine pontificated that “it is necessary to the happiness of man that he be mentally faithful to himself.” 17 It is, therefore, my understanding that there is an essence behind any physical manifestation, and that essence is the spirit. This spirit is that same agency which Paine evoked to savagely attack the insularity within ‘civility’ in his ‘Common Sense: thoughts on the Present State tải về 333.38 Kb. Chia sẻ với bạn bè của bạn:
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