Tales of a coffee-holic: Whither the American dream?

Many of those who made statements about the death of co-founder of Cabela’s, Dick Cabela described his life as the American dream. As someone who started a business on a $45 investment at a kitchen table that grew to a $3.6 billion world wide corporation, he surely did create a dream life for he and his family.

Cabela saw wild success in his business, lived in small town American with his family and was a regular church-goer. His life was surely the envy of many of his peers. Although most people will never see success comparable to that of the Cabela family, it makes me wonder if most of those in my generation will ever achieve anything resembling this American dream.

Recent college graduates face a more difficult job market than those in decades past, according to a January Reuters article based on an analysis by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.

Parents in this nation always hope that their children will live more successful lives than they ever did. For some in my generation, this will not be reality. Many young, recent graduates take jobs for which they’re overqualified or are only working part time, the study said.

Jobs are still hard to come by in many areas and it can be difficult to recruit young people to areas like Sidney where jobs are plentiful. My always empty co-reporter’s chair is a perfect example of this. Many young people want to live in the city, where the cost of living is higher and there is much more competition for jobs. Increasing college loan debt coupled with a lack of jobs in areas where young people desire to live might make achieving the American dream more difficult than ever before. The average student loan debt for new graduates in 2012 was almost $30,000.

Difficulty in finding work for new graduates is exacerbated by the fact that many of them don’t have good interpersonal skills, aren’t punctual and don’t present well, according to a recent article in Time magazine. The fact of the matter, in this cynical reporter’s mind, is that things cannot keep getting better for each successive generation. At some point, they will get worse—and maybe now is that time. Kids can’t keep continuing to attain more profitable jobs with higher salaries than their parents. It’s just not possible. There are many jobs out there that do not require a college education and still need to be done.

Even if we forget making money and consider getting married and buying a house to be an integral part of the dream, the latter is becoming less feasible for many living in cities, doomed to rent forever.

If the American dream is more about material success than general happiness with one’s life then maybe it shouldn’t be what we strive to attain. Perhaps a better solution is to face the fact that maybe you’ll never make more money or have a more prestigious title than your father, and that’s alright. Measurements of life attainment shouldn’t be all about money and the words before your name on the plaque on your desk. Monetary security is something I think most sane people crave, but that doesn’t mean owning everything we desire.

Maybe instead of feeling as if we failed at continuing to improve on the lives of our parents, we should decide to redefine the American dream and turn our search for it into a search for companionship and choosing to enjoy what we do. Appreciation for mere food and shelter shouldn’t be undervalued. Having everything you could ever want might get boring anyway.