America has stood as the land of opportunity where hard work and dedication are the keys to the promise of social mobility. This is what the American Dream has come to represent over the years. Yet, it seems there has been a disillusionment for Americans over whether the dream is still alive. Forty-one percent of respondents from a Pew Research Center study said that the American Dream was once possible for people to achieve but is no longer attainable. This cynicism from Americans may derive from a slew of economic challenges: rising costs of living, inflation, steep real-estate prices. These are all things creating that feeling of disillusionment in the eyes of many.
This cynicism is further added to once you consider the pessimism surrounding higher education. As the traditional pipeline to a better life, the accessibility of a college education correlates to the accessibility of the American Dream. However, factors such as high tuition and subsequent student loans have contributed to the growing inaccessibility and dreary mindset surrounding college education. We see it largely as a monetary investment, a pipeline to upward social mobility, and yes, this can be true. But I hold that the college experience can be a transformative one for youth, one that stands as a personal and intellectual investment for the you of tomorrow.
The American Dream seems to be coughing and gasping for air with the current economic hardships, inequalities and view of higher education. But, I wonder if a part of this death stems from a changed view of one of its principles. Because of the necessity of financial security, I think our society has focused too much on materialism and overconsumption, which has led to a fixation on wealth and, consequently, dissatisfaction in people’s hearts. Certainly, a mentality of lesser consumption will not magically create roads of gold and prosperity for this nation’s people, but perhaps there are other ways to look at this dream rather than strictly through the lens of economic prosperity.