I think these are good questions to combine because I think they go together nicely. Times have changed a lot over the years. This has caused to a change in what the American Dream is and what we would consider a 21st Century American. It is not coming home to the white picket fence and a home cooked meal prepared by your wife who is happily awaiting your arrival. While this would be very nice, that is not the way most Americans live nowadays. Nowadays, many women work outside of he home and in some cases are the bread winner of the family.
Americans nowadays are always on the move, stressed out, eating fast food, and never have enough time to get done what they need to get done. It's sad, but that is how most Americans live their day-to-day lives. Also, many 21st Century Americans live in this virtual world. All we see now, is people talking on the phone, texting, on the laptop, iPod, iPad, iPhone, iWhatever, or playing video games. I think the biggest problem when it comes to child obesity is how much our children sit inside on their ass and watch T.V. or play video games. I think if this was cut out and outside activity was better reinforced, we would see this problem level out a little bit.
As for the American Dream, people want a lot of what they cannot have. I still think their is that pursuit of happiness, if you will. People want to have nice things and want to be happy and financially stable. But, in these times, that is hard to do. People nowadays are just looking for any type of employment opposed to the career of their liking. Like I said earlier, the American Dream has changed from the white picket fence to the new Blackberry or iPhone 4. Many of the things we want in our live and for our kids are of the electronic type. The thing is, I only see our lives becoming more driven by electronics. But, I guess time will tell.
Eric
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I definitely agree about how lazy the 21st century American is. I couldn’t believe the amount of miles the slaves walked in beloved. I have considered getting a mini fridge for my basement because I hate walking upstairs to get a drink. So I’m very much so guilty. We also, in my opinion, have a lot less worries than people ever did, yet I think we are more stressed. We spend so much time with our electronics that we lose touch to the people we care about. I know there is Facebook and other communities but that also allows us to drift away by finding new people. As for the fast food, I hate it. But days when I have work then go straight to class, then straight to pick my daughter up, I rely on it. And I think a lot of people do for that same reason.
ReplyDeleteAmericans are lazy but I don’t know if we can really blame that solely on technology. I do agree that technology and the easiness it supplies us has a definite impact for example instead of going to the library for research I get on the llcc library database and do my research there but If I am not mistaken technology is just the continuation of something that was started around the time after WWII. The parents of this time never wanted to see their kids suffer and endure any of the struggles they had to go through during their life such as the depression so when they had money after WWII they spent it on their kids and met their desires. It was actually during this time that technological advances came along but if it weren’t for the parents wanting an easy life for their kids and themselves then it never would have been introduced.
ReplyDeleteMy dad would always teLL me stories of how it was back on the farm in the old days. Homecooked meals everynight and a hot shower right before bed. Today we are always on the run and trying to get everything done. There is more people stressed these days about their bills and jobs. It is hard now days to find a job. Familys don't have a lot of time to have as much time together. Our family is always on the run and family time is hard to find.
ReplyDeletePeople without jobs can't always get the best american dream. They can try to live their dream the best they can. Americans are used to alot of the new technologies. The best thing to do is take and walk instead of watching T.V. The best thing to do is plan a dream and accomplish it.
I'm a true American. I skate by with minimum effort in most things I do, school, work, friends...but I alwys expect more just because I live here. That's my right...right? I know that I'm not going to be a millionaire, have a fancy house, or even get the job of my dreams (mostly because they dont need graphic designers on porn sets). But I stll want all of those things whether or not I am willing to work for it. The pursuit of happiness is a life long journey, even in the end for those who "have" all they want....they still leave this earth wishing for more. American spirit of greed and want. I'm not saying ALL Americans were not willing to work, some are, we see it in the news where a man makes his business successful out of his garage to a Foutune 500 bread winner, but that is unfortunately the exception. We need to start realizing that our goals are too far fetched and set the bar lower so we are not a dissappointed in out future...I have....and I'm a pretty happy guy! I'm just sayin'.
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