Between the Gallop polls as well as major news networks across the US, it has become clear that the vast majority of US citizens have actually warmed up to the situation. Warmed up is perhaps the wrong phrase, however as years of stagnation and little hope seem to emerge, many Americans have grown accustomed to the over 9% national unemployment rate, opposed to the nearly 6% unemployment before the recession and stagnation hit. With such grand compromises of employment emerging, is it a sign of a new American Dream, or just a realistic outlook on circumstances?
Between Joe Biden, Barack Obama, and John Boehner, everyone always draws comparisons to this notorious novel concept of the “American Dream”. Between the Scranton, Pennsylvania boy making it to Vice President, the mixed race decedent of a Kansas mother and a Kenyan father making it to President, or a child of twelve to an Irish and German middle class family giving the main voice to the Republican party, it would seem that there was some validity to the “American Dream” argument, even as unlikely as it may be. Yet the transformation occurring today may be a process that has been long over due: a revolution to the ideals of the “American Dream”.
Success rates amongst entrepreneurial groups are slim, even amongst the US, who prides itself amongst its entrepreneurial spirit. And for those who simply want to have a life long career, the chances are slim: more and more evidence proves that it is very unlikely to simply serve under one, major career for a whole, working lifetime. G.M. union members realize this all too drastically.
Yet still, this does not mean the end of the “American Dream”. Rather, it’s a new chapter. Like any CEO realizes, adaptation is crucial. The ideals of working hard and succeeding have been dead and buried for a long time. It’s not about working hard, frankly, so much as working smart. It’s the next page in the story that really counts. My favorite allusion to this happens to be with the shark: without moving constantly, it dies. If any kind of resemblance to the “American Dream” are to remain, it will have to base itself upon this premise.
As I read through this column, I know that it may sound cold and almost like your clichéd pep talk. However, what must be realized is that unemployment is not for the failures of society: it is just a phase of one’s working career. We take our failures and we learn from them, we take others failures and we use them to our own advantages. The dawn of the new “American Dream” is upon us. The real question is, are we prepared for it?