The United States has been a nation of immigrants. A country supposedly of boundless opportunities and possibilities.
The term "The American Dream" was popularised in 1931 by author James Truslow in his book The Epic of America, in which he speaks of "that dream land in which life should be better and richer and fuller for every one, with opportunity for each according to ability or achievement".
Frenchman Alexis de Tocqueville during his travels through the US in 1831-32 observed "that American democracy was successful because the idea of equality was a notable feature of their society".
Words inscribed on the Statue of Liberty also provide a beacon of hope for those who have travelled from distant places: "Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, the wretched refuse of your teeming shore."
Unquestionably the US has been built around many noble ideals, but is the American dream still as real as it once seemed? In the period following World War 2, the US became the dominant world economic power, but with an equivalent military rival in the USSR. Up until the 1970s the US maintained a strong industrial base and the country in general lived through a time of considerable affluence and optimism. There were also, however, emerging challenges to the social norms and conservatism of the era.
Musician Bob Dylan became a powerful voice for a new generation, as evidenced in the lyrics of his 1964 song The Times They Are A-Changing. The 1950s heralded a literary subculture movement known as The Beats, intent on presenting a different perspective on American culture and politics, one of its most influential figures being Jack Kerouac, author of On the Road. In particular, The Beats were reacting against paramount American values of materialism and social conformity.
The Hippies of the 1960s and 1970s also rejected the mainstream mores of the US in seeking less materialistic and more reflective lifestyles.
The 1960s was a decade of considerable violence, with the assassination of President John F. Kennedy in November 1963 followed by the assassinations of Martin Luther King jun and Robert Kennedy in 1968.
On a positive note, albeit well overdue, was the passing of the Civil Rights Act in 1964, which outlawed discrimination based on race, colour, religion, sex or national origin, and the Voting Rights Act of 1965 outlawing racial discrimination in voting — both pieces of legislation being passed during the presidency of Lyndon Johnson following President Kennedy’s death. The Moon landing in 1969 was a stunning scientific and engineering achievement and an extraordinary moment in history.
The Vietnam War (1955-75) increasingly polarised the nation, resulting in the deaths of over 50,000 American soldiers and ended in a hasty and embarrassing exodus from the US embassy in Saigon, as the Vietcong troops swept into the city. The equally sudden and shameful departure from Afghanistan in 2022 after a failed 20-year conflict with the Taliban was reminiscent of this.
Republican president Ronald Reagan served two terms as president (1981-89). In the 1980 election he received 489 electoral votes to Jimmy Carter’s 49. Four years later he won every state in the US except Minnesota and Washington, the biggest presidential win in history. The year 1989 also heralded the collapse of the USSR and the fall of the Berlin wall.
In the early 1990s the US was the pre-eminent economic and military power in the world.
However, in the past 30 years the US has become increasingly fragmented politically. Presidential elections are regularly determined by a few so-called swing states. The Reagan era is a distant memory, possibly never to be replicated again.
Russia has recovered a sense of pride and destiny after the upheavals of the 1990s. The US is no longer the dominant world power. It has other capable military rivals.
Once where it seemed unified, there are now significant and ideological divides.
Even now there is no unanimity on border issues, the economy, cost of living, housing, taxes, heath, abortion, the constitution and a raft of other topics. The US’s middle class, like ours, is struggling.
So how is the American dream today?
The numbers crossing its southern border may suggest for them the dream is alive and well, and difficult though it may be, infinitely better than remaining in their own countries.
For many Americans it may be no more than a dream, but nonetheless an adequate life can be lived in the land of the free.
Some, of course, can do really well financially, if that is the measure of the dream.
The dream may be illusory.
Gonzo journalist and author the late Hunter S. Thompson had his doubts.
He wrote the novel Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, which seems to be more in the nightmare category. His literary heroes were F. Scott Fitzgerald and Ernest Hemingway. He was cynical about much, politics in particular. Drugs and alcohol were his refuge. He committed suicide in 2005.
But James Truslow’s vision of the American dream is arguably still as relevant today, despite changing times and challenges.
His words exuded hope, even though the country was in the midst of the Great Depression.
• Joss Miller is a retired Dunedin lawyer.
