The American Dream is a Lie.

I think the whole, Horatio Alger, "American Dream" never existed except amongst a few and was propaganda to get Americans to buy into hyper-capitalism. It bred this idea in Americans that everyone has the same shot at success, that everyone has the same opportunities and advantages. I believe this is what bred the rampant selfishness we see today because people honestly think that everyone has the same potential. I often state that the saying, "Pull yourself up by your bootstraps" only works if you have boots or feet.

We've brainwashed over-selves into believing it to, in part, assuage our guilt over screwing the lower class, minorities and others in pursuit of the "dream." In order for one person's dream to come true...someone else has to endure a nightmare. That's the story behind the "American Dream" that they never tell you in school. The "American Dream" was supposed to be the equalizer but African-Americans still face inequality based on their color. And women weren't allowed to buy into the "American Dream" either. They had to buy into the male version of the American Dream where the, "Mrs." stays home and plays June Cleaver. And even though women have a lot more opportunities today, they still don't get equal pay.

And Native Americans didn't even get to LIVE let alone prosper. "Scholars estimate that 90% of all Native Americans were KILLED of native populations were killed by disease and violence during the first 10 years of contact with Europeans, and, later, Americans." And still, today, the reservations are a big, nasty, secret of neglect, poverty and oppression. The unemployment rates on reservations have always been high, but during this Great Recession it's been much worse. The poverty rate for Native Americans is approximately 26%--the unemployment rate during the Great Depression was 20%. And there are many individual reservations, however, who have unemployment rates from 40-80 percent!!!! Also, "American Indian couples earn $71 for every $100 earned by all United States married couples." So, don't tell me that the Native Americans have benefited from this whole "rags to riches" non-sense. They got the rags and the white man got the riches.

A lot of the successes supposedly granted by the "American Dream" were, and are in effect more about your prior position in a successful family, race or sex. Indeed, for many the "American Dream" has been more of a nightmare.

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