The New American Dream

Any body see any unicorns lately? Sasquatch maybe? How about a winning lottery ticket? No, I didn't think so. At least I haven't. But that doesn't mean we aren't looking. Nor does it mean we are giving up no matter how great the odds against us might be. If there is one thing I will say about Americans, when it comes to searching for that magic elixir, we stand aside for no one. After all, isn't that the new American dream? You suddenly discover you had a rich uncle you never new about who just died and left you one million dollars. Or you are picked out in a crowd by some quirky movie producer who makes you the star of their next mega hit and the result is you are adored by millions and have fame and fortune beyond your wildest imagination.

Is there any one among us who has not fantasized at some time about those turn of events happening to us? I sure have. Given the tough economic and political times in which we find ourselves, who could blame any one for occasionally gazing at the stars and weaving a fantastic tale which ends in our getting everything we ever wanted? To all who do dream those dreams, I say "dream on, " but with a warning: do not let those dreams get in the way of reality, no matter how grim and frustrating it might seem at present. That frustration, by the way, is fed to us daily by far too many talking heads and, even worse, elected officials who continue feeding us the myths that (1) the road to regaining our footing as individuals and a nation will not require sacrifice and compromise; (2) big corporations and conglomerates are not going to have to have to put aside their obscene thirst for profit and power to work for the greater good of the entire population; and (3) we as individuals are not going to have to accept the reality that individuality only works in the context of cooperation and respect with and for others.

Communication is never more vital than in times of stress and duress. Furthermore, communication is never better than when it is honest. It is no coincidence that the worst bumps in our nation's evolution have occurred when honest communication was not practiced. The Red Scare of the 1950s, the Vietnam conflict of the 1960s, Watergate of the 1970s, the impeachment of a president of the 1990s, and the invasion of Iraq of this young century were among the dark times in our recent history perpetuated by false communication. Even when truth began to shine through, however, it still took years to recover from the damage that was done. My sense is people can, in fact, handle the truth. Sadly and ironically, it seems far too many of our leaders can't handle telling it. We need better communicators.