What is the "American Dream"?

[cali]

Clearly it's different things to different folks. One common descriptor is that the next generation will be better off than the one preceding it. But even that's open, somewhat, to interpretation. Better off how exactly?

For many people the American Dream is a bloated fantasy of consumerism: McMansions, gadgets galore, cruises, new cars. Education isn't valued for its own sake but as a vehicle to get the stuff.

I think this iteration of the American dream is the dominant one, and a strong factor as to why so many people in the middle class support the tea party crap and tax cuts for the wealthy: They believe that they or their progeny will achieve this American Dream. In other words, they're voting against their own self interests of today for their perceived self-interests of Tomorrow. Mix this in with the strong religious strain and you've got a stubborn belief system that is impermeable to logic and reason.