An ESL blog

If you ever wondered what is meant by the phrase ‘American Dream’. Here is a definition from the library of congress website.
In the book The Epic of America, James Truslow Adams used this term first.

“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. It is a difficult dream for the European upper classes to interpret adequately, and too many of us ourselves have grown weary and mistrustful of it. 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.”

Basically ‘American Dream’ implies material prosperity. But the hard truth is that material prosperity doesn’t always lead to happy life. This is the most efficient platform or system in the face of the planet to become financially successful for an ordinary person. End of that success journey (if there is one) doesn’t guarantee happiness.