The Cellar - View Single Post - Who can tell me sth about the American Dream

alphageek31337 · 09-07-2004, 12:07 PM

He came to waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay too cynical a forum to ask this question, but a provocative one it is.

The American Dream is a hangover from Ford Model-T, social contract days. The idea was that in a capitalist system, things are tough, but if you put forth the extra effort you can get ahead and eventually own your own house, car and little white dog, and use them as tools to aid you in raising a happy, healthy family with decent, law-abiding and satisfied children who will help to take car of you when you grow old. For a fair example of the American dream (from a Scottish perspective), try to take the sarcasm out of the opening monologue from the movie <i>Trainspotting</i>:

Choose life. Choose a job. Choose a career. Choose a family. Choose a fucking big television. Choose washing machines, cars, compact disc players and electrical tin openers. Choose good health, low cholesterol and dental insurance. Choose fixed interest mortgage repayments. Choose a starter home. Choose your friends. Choose leisurewear and matching fabrics. Choose DIY and wondering who the fuck you are on a Sunday morning. Choose sitting on that couch watching mind-numbing, spirit crushing game shows, stuffing junk food into your mouth. Choose rotting away at the end of it all, pishing your last in a miserable home, nothing more than an embarrassment to the selfish, fucked up brats you spawned to replace yourself. Choose a future. Choose life..But why would I want to do a thing like that?

That, my friend, is the reality of the American Dream. Where going a little further, doing a little more used to get you ahead, there's no way now, because the system demands so much of you that it's impossible to give that extra effort. You will most likely have rent to pay, or, if you're lucky, a mortgage, and paying that will require every ounce of force you have in you. And when you spend all of your life with one company, working 50 hour weeks, struggling, getting that promotion here and there and trying to carve yourself out a little niche in the world remember that there's someone in India with the same skills as you willing to work for half the money, and he will most likely end up with your job.

09-07-2004, 12:07 PM	#14
alphageek31337 Enemy Combatant/Evildoer Join Date: Jan 2001 Location: Pittsburgh, PA Posts: 263	He came to waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay too cynical a forum to ask this question, but a provocative one it is. The American Dream is a hangover from Ford Model-T, social contract days. The idea was that in a capitalist system, things are tough, but if you put forth the extra effort you can get ahead and eventually own your own house, car and little white dog, and use them as tools to aid you in raising a happy, healthy family with decent, law-abiding and satisfied children who will help to take car of you when you grow old. For a fair example of the American dream (from a Scottish perspective), try to take the sarcasm out of the opening monologue from the movie <i>Trainspotting</i>: Choose life. Choose a job. Choose a career. Choose a family. Choose a fucking big television. Choose washing machines, cars, compact disc players and electrical tin openers. Choose good health, low cholesterol and dental insurance. Choose fixed interest mortgage repayments. Choose a starter home. Choose your friends. Choose leisurewear and matching fabrics. Choose DIY and wondering who the fuck you are on a Sunday morning. Choose sitting on that couch watching mind-numbing, spirit crushing game shows, stuffing junk food into your mouth. Choose rotting away at the end of it all, pishing your last in a miserable home, nothing more than an embarrassment to the selfish, fucked up brats you spawned to replace yourself. Choose a future. Choose life..But why would I want to do a thing like that? That, my friend, is the reality of the American Dream. Where going a little further, doing a little more used to get you ahead, there's no way now, because the system demands so much of you that it's impossible to give that extra effort. You will most likely have rent to pay, or, if you're lucky, a mortgage, and paying that will require every ounce of force you have in you. And when you spend all of your life with one company, working 50 hour weeks, struggling, getting that promotion here and there and trying to carve yourself out a little niche in the world remember that there's someone in India with the same skills as you willing to work for half the money, and he will most likely end up with your job. __________________ The individual has always had to struggle to keep from being overwhelmed by the tribe. If you try it, you will be lonely often, and sometimes frightened. But no price is too high to pay for the privilege of owning yourself. ---Friedrich Nietzsche