Is the American Dream Still "The American Dream"?
Are millennials changing what the "American Dream" once was? Is the "American Dream" existent still? Times have changed -- some may say for better and some for worse.
It is 2018, after all. We're a month away from the start of a new year, and just like with any new year, things change, technology advances and the world evolves a little bit more. As it seems that millennials are taking over the world, I'm beginning to wonder whether or not they will continue to carry out the so-called "American Dream".
Maybe, it's just because I'm living in Seattle, but I'm starting to see less and less of the white picket fences with children playing in the front yard. I see more dogs in Seattle than I do children, and that's alarming because for years it seemed as though Americans believed it was their sole duty to procreate.
While I'm all for more dogs and fewer children, it just looked odd that now people are choosing to cut back on the baby making. It's been said that millennials are choosing not to have children because of the world that we're all currently living in. Does that mean that one day there won't be any more people on earth because this generation opted out of carrying on their family tree?
For the longest time, the standard appeared to be that a man and woman would go to college, get their degrees, date each other and then get married, so long as the woman's father gave his blessing. The man would then work all of the time while also trying to get the woman pregnant. Two or three kids later, the woman would become a stay-at-home mother while the man continued to provide for his family. Eighteen years later, the kids go off to college, and that same couple becomes empty nesters.
However, the standard now doesn't seem to follow those guidelines. Women marry men who their fathers may absolutely hate, men become the stay-at-home parent, and there are a lot of married couples who don't even want children. Hell, a lot of women are even the breadwinners in their marriages. Go, women!
I don't hear much about the American Dream these days, but I'm still hopeful that earth will be around for a few more hundred years. It'd be nice for someone in the near future to remember us.
On the other hand, I can understand where some of the millennials are coming from -- bringing a child into the world right now could be viewed as selfish. America is extremely divided right now, and until it gets back to being one, maybe these non-baby-having millennials are making the best decision.
Then again, who am I to judge? I am a millennial.
Read more of my opinions here.
