What is your view of "The American Dream?"

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uhh so boring and mudane.......

Well, you do have to do something to pass the time until you die.

I guess I just don't see what is so great about working long hours at a job you probably don't like so you can buy stuff...I mean why should working be the thing you spend the most time doing? And why should one adjust their personal lifestyle for their job?.....I mean lets get this straight I'm supposed to find a job I probably wont like, work my ass off and then have to be worry about being fired due to my personal lifestyle which should have no bearing on the job.

I just hate to see people working their lives away for little or no enjoyment.

That is the American Dream.

Well then I want no part of it......I think I will look into a job I like or other options besides jobs that I like. It would be cool if I could work at the smoke shop I always go to and I am pretty sure they would not care what I do during my free time or whether or not I come off as 'normal'.

The late great Charles Bukowski said something to the same effect.

But the American dream also involves sharing your life with that someone special, and raising a family in security and happiness. The American dream consists of more than just materialism.

-Bill, otherwise known as Kraichgauer

Last edited by Kraichgauer on 24 Dec 2011, 2:48 am, edited 1 time in total.

perhaps you should join up with the zeitgeist movement.

on a more serious note, why not try and find a job that you actually like? it might help ease the burden a bit.

The American dream is to buy a house so the banks can foreclose on you.

Wasn't always like that.

-Bill, otherwise known as Kraichgauer

I happen to enjoy my stuff.

I like that i have reliable and zippy transportation whenever and wherever i feel like it.

I like that i have a house. That it's my house, not some other guy's house that i live in.

I really like that i don't have to do a lot of math in my head when i buy groceries. I've been poor enough to have to buy food on credit, so i really appreciate that it does not affect my life in any meaningful way if i decide to drop $25 on a hunk of meat.

I like that i can spend a hundred bucks on a friend without a single pang of frugality.

I like that i don't have to check my bank account before making a mortgage payment. That's a big load off my mind, and a relatively recent perq.

but wait, you say. free your soul from the burden of material things. Whatever, dude. I think the central truth there is that it's easier not to want things.

But i do want things. And largely, I can have them.

All this is the result of having worked hard and applied my talents.

But why work all day long? Because there is much to be done, and many have to work together to accomplish it, and we all must work together at disparate times of day.

That and nobody will pay me half this much to work half as many hours.

Do i love what i do? No. I tolerate it. It doesn't hurt me. That's the best most people can hope for.

But i transacted some business today with a man who turned his avocation into his vocation. With a whole mechanical engineering degree and half an MBA under his belt, he opened a brewing supplies store. I spent $22 on hops, grain, and yeast. On a whim. From a man who is visibly miserable.

Sometimes following your dreams only leads you out into the weeds.

If you can do it and be happy, have at it.

I'll stick to working for a living and reaping what i sow.

Hitting a home run for their chosen baseball team to win the world series. I know so many Americans are crazy about baseball even though I am not. So to all those Americans that are, dream on.

That dream isn't uniquely American.




Maybe, but I think that extreme materialism may be a bigger factor in the American dream than in other national dreams.

That is why I want to apply at Puff & Stuff, my favorite smoke shop in the area I live in. Otherwise I guess I could apply at other smoke shops, look into other jobs like maybe animal shelters(provided its not one that kills the animals).........but yeah don't know that anyones hiring right now.

It appears you have much more than I could ever hope to have, so its no wonder you're alright with this american dream......some of us aren't so lucky though.

Also I see the following as a problem: Do i love what i do? No. I tolerate it. It doesn't hurt me. That's the best most people can hope for.

Why should people spend most of their time doing something that at best they can tolerate.....sorry but I already have a hard enough time enjoying life so I doubt getting a job I don't really like but can tolerate would really help my situation. If that is all I have to look forward to should I pursue the american dream then I don't want it.

Maybe your American Dream is to one day own a smoke shop!

That would certainly be cool...........other then that I would like to somehow get into the music industry, not the one involved with all the crappy popular music today but I want to somehow get involved with the music I like mostly metal, psychedelic rock and some kinda industrial/electronic rock type stuff(have yet to figure out the exact different genres of that sort of music.) I think it would be cool to be one of the people that helps set up concerts, or just to work at a venue that has a lot of good shows.