We should be concerned that so many believe the American Dream is out of reach, but more worrisome is the generational discord on the American Dream.
Americans are souring on the American Dream – young Americans are leading this change. Their attitudes toward the Dream have rapidly declined in just the past few years. This is a problem that is not top of mind for Americans, but that neither party can overlook as we enter the election season.
In 2017, Pew found that Gen Zs and Millennials were very optimistic about their futures with 87% of Gen Z respondents and 91% of Millennials respondents believing that they had achieved or were well on their way to achieving the Dream. Just about 10% of each cohort believed that the Dream was out of their reach in 2017. Older cohorts believed that the Dream was out of reach for them, as they had a more definite sense of their life’s trajectory.
Some of the main concerns of voters in November – inflation, labor dynamics, immigration, and questions on issues like abortion and climate – certainly impact their perception of the American Dream. Many younger Americans are indeed having trouble finding the jobs and careers that they want as well as affording homes and paying their bills. They worry about government instability, polarization, along with its clear dysfunction such as its troubling mismanagement of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Merit and excellence have been replaced by identity politics and a fixation on the binary of oppressor and oppressed. The dangerous principles of diversity, equity, and inclusion have become prevalent throughout campuses and boardrooms and young Americans have seen the power and prevalence of these ideas – ideas that have eroded the belief in American opportunism. Young Americans have seen that DEI principles do not encourage progress or growth.
The American Dream has long been an ethos that has anchored our nation, spurred innovation, and improved the quality of life for countless numbers of people. We became a shining beacon free of limiting structures because the Dream represented the idea that we had control over our future and the ability to make choices about how to work and live life. Younger Americans now feel that this Dream is slipping for them, and politicians across the political spectrum are not taking this seriously.
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