The American Dream is the promise to have it all and enjoy it 
all.  It's been glorified and sentimentalized as a utopian goal 
not just by the media and Hollywood stars, but also by businesses
and politicians, including the President of the United States.  
But in reality, the American Dream is becoming more and more 
like the "Impossible Dream."  Today, many Americans believe that 
their odds of winning the lottery are better than attaining the 
American Dream.

Originally the American Dream concept was born out of lack and a 
genuine need for security shortly after the Great Depression and 
WW2.  Because jobs were scarce, the greatest aspiration for most 
Americans was securing steady employment and owning their own 
home. As a result, work ethic and integrity were very strong.  
The focus was on a wholesome values system, family and 
community, all of which created pride, real prosperity and real 
joy. However, over time the same prosperity which resulted from 
being a nation of producers, also created a nation of consumers, 
driven not by need but rather by the desire to "keep up with the 
Jones's."  

Today, the American Dream is more of a marketing concept, 
whereby Madison Avenue and government alike, have convinced 
people that they have to have a certain standard of living 
(such as a second home, a vacation in Europe, expensive jewelry 
and other "toys") in order to be happy and fulfilled.  Even the 
Christmas holiday has lost its original meaning and has become 
highly commercialized. 

In other words, we've been brainwashed to believe that, "He 
with the most toys lives," rather than "He with the most joys 
lives."  By taking on even higher amounts of personal debt, 
Americans are more stressed out and less optimistic and 
fulfilled then ever before despite their high standard of 
living.  That's because "toys" (material goods), without 
purpose and a wholesome values system, only produce an 
artificial joy that is as fleeting as it is cruel.  

The American Dream as we know it, is no longer something that 
is born out of need and lack but rather out of greed and desire. 
Therefore, it does not represent the true spirit of America, 
which was based on perspiration, innovation, risk and reward 
with the focus on a wholesome values system, integrity, family, 
community and a strong work ethic. 

From an Enron economy and huge government deficits, to our 
failing educational system and the break down of the family 
system (where kids are left home alone to grow up with their 
peers, gangs and TV), practically every facet of our lives is 
negatively effected by the pursuit of materialism, which is a 
by-product of the American Dream. 
 
In a materialistic-driven society where there is an obsession 
with fame and fortune and winning at all costs, the prevailing 
wisdom is to do what's politically correct, rather than doing 
what's in the best interest of the community.  And when the 
intoxicating love of power overcomes the power of love, it's 
easy to see why absolute power corrupts absolutely. 

The concept of The American Dream (as we know it now) is not 
only a marketing concept but it is also used by politicians for 
getting votes and keeping constituents happy.  In the cut-throat 
world of politics where the stakes are high, politicians are 
driven by their own self-serving agendas.  As such, the 
different political parties have their own agendas when it 
comes to helping certain members of society achieve the American 
Dream.  The Democratic party on the one hand supports labor 
unions and union contracts that provide for big wage increases 
for the common worker so that they can achieve a piece of The 
American Dream.  In so doing, they guarantee work and wages for 
people who are not necessarily that productive, at the expense 
of everyone else.  On the other hand, the Republican party 
believes philosophically in the free enterprise system.  Their 
vision is to have an economic system that rewards primarily 
people who are successful, which means mostly wealthy people, 
at the expense of everyone else.  

In other words, both political parties and the special interest 
groups who contribute to their election campaigns are trying to 
achieve the political version of the American Dream for their 
constituencies at the expense of everyone else.  Ironically, 
both political parties realize that because the pie is limited, 
making the American Dream a reality for all Americans is 
virtually impossible.  As a matter of fact, most people are 
kept in perpetual debt their whole lives in order to maintain a 
standard of living consistent with the new ideal of the American 
Dream. It's this unattainable dream that drives both parents 
into the work place, working longer and harder than ever before, 
which contributes to the ills of society.

So in order to make the American Dream possible for as many 
Americans to achieve, consumerism had to be created. The point 
of consumerism is to get people to spend more by going into 
debt. The logic is that higher spending produces wealth for 
some people. The problem is that there is a limitation on how 
far people can go into debt.  Eventually the economy becomes 
a "house of cards" because it is unable to create "jobs of 
value,"(based on producing, creating and manufacturing).  
Instead more and more jobs are in the services industry, 
catering to our insatiable need to consume. Eventually this 
type of faulty economy will result in financial chaos where 
institutions, banks and even governments fail, as we've seen 
by what's happening in California. 

In the pursuit of pleasure and avoidance of pain, we've been 
looking for solutions and fulfillment in all the wrong places. 
The solution to restoring our economy, our failing systems and 
our  institutions, as well as our sanity, is through the spirit. 
That's because whether we realize it or not, we are spiritual 
beings experiencing the human experience and not the other way 
around.  As such we were meant and designed to live a life of 
meaning and purpose by recognizing the unity of life and living 
in harmony with universal laws that are characterized by 
integrity and the honoring of all living things. Total 
prosperity and peace are dependent on the strength of our 
spirit. 

Only when the "business as usual" type of politics is replaced 
by business with integrity (whereby the power of love overcomes 
the love of power) can we hope to see a meaningful and lasting 
transformation that's also cost effective.  Perhaps if we live 
by the mantra that, "He with the most joys lives," rather than 
"He with the most toys lives," knowing that paradise is not so 
much a place but rather a state of mind, can we once again 
appreciate the simple pleasures in life while recognizing that 
indeed the best things in life are free.  Now that's the real 
thing, unlike what Coca Cola claims to have.  

And while most of us may not be Lords of the Rings, we are 
always the Lords of our own earthly destiny.  Simply put, we 
all have the power to create our own destiny through personal 
responsibility no matter what we've been brainwashed to believe. 
Perhaps when we reconnect with our spiritual roots, and 
understand the unity of life, we can finally recognize that we 
are all connected in the web of life, that whatever effects 
one directly, effects us all indirectly (the global economy 
perfectly illustrates this fact).  Perhaps then confrontation 
will give way to cooperation and destruction will be replaced 
with construction.  Only then we will discover that peace is 
not so much unity in similarity but rather unity in diversity 
- a diversity that needs to be celebrated.  Perhaps as we 
realize that we are all children of God, we will also learn 
to honor life and finally experience true and lasting peace 
and harmony, which inevitably leads to total prosperity for 
all in a win-win spirit.  Now that's something to sing about.