Continuously serving Kosciusko County since 1854
What is the "American Dream"?
Is it wealth? Materialist goods? Fame?
Do you accomplish the American dream only if people remember you long after you are dead?
Who determines who has succeeded in accomplishing the American Dream? Do you have to get your photo on the cover of People magazine? Is there a public poll you have to win?
If there is an American Dream, is there also a "French Dream," a "German Dream" or a "Russian Dream"? Or is their dream to live the American Dream and never mind their own culture, heritage, history and lives?
Before America, what did anyone want to achieve? Did the "British Dream" become the "American Dream"? Before America, did anyone care about the kinds of things Americans today seem infatuated with?
If the American Dream is wealth and fame and ownership of one's own home, what do you dream for once you have it all? Do you just keep amassing more money, more goods and more popularity? How many magazine covers do you need to be on? How many stories about you should be written?
What about love? What about family and friends? Where do they fit in into the American Dream? Do you find your one true love naturally, by coincidence, or do you look for the perfect person that will look good on your arm? If your family and friends aren't living the American Dream, do you forget and discard them in order to keep up with the Jones and Smith families?
Does the right college help you achieve that American Dream faster? Is a private college more likely to provide you with access to the American Dream more readily than a public university? While there, do you pledge a fraternity or sorority, and which one? Sigma Nu, Lambda Chi or Teke?
And what about yourself? What physical features best represent that American Dream? A short nose, a long nose, a small nose or a stubby one? Thin lips or full? Blue, green or hazel eyes? What color should your hair be? Should you go natural hair color or dye it depending on what's trendy? When it turns gray, do you also dye it to keep that young look that Americans are obsessed with? Do you wear a toupee or wig when your hair starts falling out or do you go for the Michael Jordan clean shaven head look?
Does the American Dream even require one to wear the right clothing? Do all men need to wear Abercrombie & Fitch and Hollister or is a cheap good pair of Levi's enough?
And what about the perfect American Dream"job? Is it better to be a teacher, doctor, lawyer or NBA star? Does the perfect American Dream professional make more than $100,000 per year, $250,000 per year or do they have to be earning millions and millions of dollars?
How many hours a week does one have to work to be successful? Forty hours, or is that too many? Too few? If you are working for someone else and not yourself, are you really living the American Dream?
Not forgetting politics, what party best represents the American Dreamers? Are there more Republicans living the American Dream or is it really Democrats? And what about Independents and members of the Green Party? To achieve the American Dream, must you choose a party and stay with it regardless? Can you switch parties or can you just vote for the best candidate regardless of party?
Which religious faith counts more members as living that American Dream? Catholics? Baptists? Unitarians? Muslims? Jews? But, then again, shouldn't a religious person forsake earthly wealth and possessions and help those not living the American Dream?
Does God care about the American Dream and whether or not you achieve it? Or is he more interested in philanthropy, love and peace?
What is America today and does God really care more about this country than the other countries with billions of his people in them? What about Israel, isn't that his chosen people? And if so, what does that mean for non-Jewish Americans?
What is a dream and how can it be achieved if it's only a dream with no hard work and determination behind it to make it come true?
Politicians talk of the American Dream, but do they really know what it is they are talking about? What definition are they using for their speeches and sound bites about the American Dream and how best to achieve it?
If America is split down the middle, does that mean the American Dream is no longer a simple answer or any answer at all?
Do my thoughts, opinions and questions matter? Do yours? If not, then whose do matter?
Is it important that every question have one answer? Or does living in America also mean there is more than one answer? Can America have more than one voice? More than two voices?
Where do we go from here?
What do we say to the future generations if there really is no American Dream to achieve now or in the future? If you don't vote, have you handed over your American Dream to someone else?
How ever will we decide the answers to all these questions if we don't ask them in the first place?
Question everything.
