Not that the "American Dream" was ever as Horatio Alger wanted us to believe, but there still is, at least, something. It never goes away, because it is essentially what we have pursued from the start - we just sometimes lose track and allow it to be defined incorrectly. That something has struggled to find its voice especially since this administration took the reigns.
So, we need to revive it - and then, as a means for maintaining our own security, we must export that dream to other countries. That should be our foreign policy, to bring the dream to others around the world. They shouldn't have to come here to achieve it anymore. The American Dream is achieved when one achieves that which was written down in our Declaration of Independence. All people have a right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Of course, most of the rich, slave holding white men that signed that document believed that it only applied to white land owners ... but, only a hard-ass would believe that Thomas Jefferson didn't have foresight when he wrote those words. Indeed, it took over 200 years for us to realize the goal that all men where created equal, and we are still fighting for liberty and the pursuit of happiness every day. There are far too many American's in poverty. The fight is not over. And when one considers the plight of billions around the globe, it doesn't take long to realize where our focus ought to be. This doesn't call for a revolution, but merely for us to realize those values laid down years ago... those rational, amazing values that have nothing to do with 2000 year old ancient documents written by stupid, vile individuals... I won't name any specific texts.
The most beautiful thing about these values is that they are the answer to the complex problems of the day, and if you just remember them it becomes clear where we are going wrong and also what we need to do to get back on track. The American Dream is not some individual pursuit, for individual people to 'pull themselves up by their bootstraps.' That is the American Dream that Hunter S. Thompson said was dead, but I say it was the way in which the powerful kept the weak in line - the way, ironically, that the American Dream was kept from so many people for so long in our country, and it is also still the way it is being kept from people today - albeit not nearly as bad as before the civil rights movement, the womans rights movement, the labor strikes, etc. People must demand the American Dream, and once they do that - they get it. Or at least a part of it. The American Dream is what makes success possible, but that is not what it is in and of itself. You must have the American Dream before hard work can pay off, before you can move up in the world.
The Dream still has not been fully realized. We have come closer and closer over the years, and naturally it has become more and more difficult for the powerful/wealthy to keep the masses subjugated, which explains why so many companies are exporting their jobs overseas to people who have achieved so much less of the dream than we have here. Yes, we are exporting COUNTER-DREAM. We are exporting slavery and pain. This is why they hate us, not because of our Freedom - but because we do little to help others realize that Freedom. One may look at our recent history for examples... the wars in the Philippines, Vietnam, Nicaragua, and more recently Iraq. Our relationship with Iraq, and the rest of the middle east, over the past half century makes it blatantly clear why we are in the situation we currently find ourselves. Also, it should cause any thinking human being to take the position that there is absolutely no feasible US-Led military solution to this problem. Iraq is going to get much worse before it gets better, and it will never get 'better' as long as the American military is present.
The Middle East is going to be a violent place for many years to come, and there will be immense hatred towards America's government and its' people for many more decades - and the only way to begin to etch away at such hatred is by a fundamental shift in foreign policy. George Bush is actually correct when he says that we need to bring 'freedom' to the world, but his words are empty - there is no way in hell the means by which he engages will ever realize that goal. To ignore our history and pretend that America has always been a proponent of Freedom is the same tired Horatio Alger line - misleading, depraved, and atavistic. Fortunately, it does not work for long - eventually, the American People do get angry. We organize and we stand up against it, and while at times we fail - we ultimately prevail. We obtained the 8 hour work day, we banned child labor, we obtained civil rights for all peoples within our borders. Despite all the negative steps George Bush has taken since in Office, to live in America today is still much greater than it was to live in the America of the past - thanks to those Americans of yesteryear.
The American people are healthier, smarter, and less violent - and while I know many people think I'm crazy when I say that, it's the truth. Today we really are less violent than we were, and we really are smarter than we were - but we must remember that we used to be excessively violent, extremely stupid, and abhorrently unhealthy. There is still a lot of room for improvement, and all we have to do is study our history and remember those basic values - life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
And if we can achieve them for ourselves, the next step is to achieve them for others around the globe - to bring those values to South America, China, Indonesia, Iran, Saudi Arabia - and yes, Iraq. But depleted uranium is not the tool, people are the tool. Humanity is the tool. We must export our dream, and that dream is simply the realization that all people have the right to live with liberty and to be given the means to achieve happiness - if those means aren't present, then people must demand them. When enough people demand it, they get it.