How Successful Is The American Dream?
A friend once told me that he was “living the Dream”. But what exactly is “the Dream”? Now the Dream to my friend may have been waking up late down at the beach, partying all night with girls, living without a care in the world, but nevertheless it was still “living the dream” to him. We all having different perceptions of what “the Dream” really is. Of course my friends dream would differ greatly from, let’s say, my fathers dream, or Tiger Woods dream for instance. That’s the beauty of living in our country; we all get to live the “American Dream”. It is nearly impossible to define the American Dream because we all have our own personal goals, and we all follow different sets of values. One may argue that you must be successful to achieve the American
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Dream.
Success can be measured in so many ways so it is so fitting that success ties into the American Dream. Hochschild uses a quote from Bill Clinton in her essay “The American Dream that we were all raised on is a simple but powerful one—if you work hard and play by the rules you should be given a chance to go as far as your God-given ability will take you” (Hochschild pg 5). Clinton may have done some shady things while in office, but he really hit the nail on the head with this one. I like the use of the words “God-given ability” because in reality, most people tend to follow a path in life that lets them use their natural talents and abilities, such as musical geniuses pursuing a career in music, or someone that is good with numbers pursuing a career in finance or mathematics. Success to a musician may not come in the form of money or some kind of monetary gain, but in knowing that something that they have created has affected peoples lives. I have a deep respect for musicians and music, which is why I am choosing my favorite band to demonstrate the
American Dream.
The band I chose is called the Disco Biscuits. In the band are four members, all college educated (for about two year), and at UPenn nonetheless. The Disco Biscuits or “Bisco” as they are called by their fans began their career as a Phish cover band. Phish was a popular jam band of the 90’s. The started out playing at frat house in Philadelphia, at UPenn and the surrounding colleges such as Drexel and St. Joes in the late 90’s. They had a small but loyal following. This band was not about making money, or playing in front of massive crowds at Madison Square Garden, they were simply in it for the love of music, and for the appreciation they got from their fans. As the bands following started growing in the early 2000’s the venues began to get bigger and bigger, and with more people listening word of mouth was traveling very quickly. My first show was New Years Eve in 2005, and by this point the band was no longer a cover band, but a full established band with their own music, and an even larger but still very dedicated fan base. This show was completely sold out at theatre that held about 8,000 people. Now 8,000 may not seem like a lot to a person going to see Billy Joel, or the Red Hot Chili Peppers in concert, but to a small band this was the world. After the end of the last song the keyboard player got on the mic and said “I just want all of you guys to know that tonight is career justifiable to me”. Now looking back on that statement I feel like it was at that moment that he felt he had achieved his American Dream. They took a chance in a very tough business, risking their entire lives by putting their concentration on their musical talents rather than in the classroom and it paid off. Something that each band member had been working towards for their whole lives paid off, they had achieved a dream that probably started when they were as young as 10 years old when John “Barber” Gutwilig picked up his first guitar. Although there are many other people, and or bands that have achieved much greater things in music and in life, I felt as though this band, who has inspired so many people including myself, is a text book example of someone living up to their “American Dream”.
Dream.
Success can be measured in so many ways so it is so fitting that success ties into the American Dream. Hochschild uses a quote from Bill Clinton in her essay “The American Dream that we were all raised on is a simple but powerful one—if you work hard and play by the rules you should be given a chance to go as far as your God-given ability will take you” (Hochschild pg 5). Clinton may have done some shady things while in office, but he really hit the nail on the head with this one. I like the use of the words “God-given ability” because in reality, most people tend to follow a path in life that lets them use their natural talents and abilities, such as musical geniuses pursuing a career in music, or someone that is good with numbers pursuing a career in finance or mathematics. Success to a musician may not come in the form of money or some kind of monetary gain, but in knowing that something that they have created has affected peoples lives. I have a deep respect for musicians and music, which is why I am choosing my favorite band to demonstrate the
American Dream.
The band I chose is called the Disco Biscuits. In the band are four members, all college educated (for about two year), and at UPenn nonetheless. The Disco Biscuits or “Bisco” as they are called by their fans began their career as a Phish cover band. Phish was a popular jam band of the 90’s. The started out playing at frat house in Philadelphia, at UPenn and the surrounding colleges such as Drexel and St. Joes in the late 90’s. They had a small but loyal following. This band was not about making money, or playing in front of massive crowds at Madison Square Garden, they were simply in it for the love of music, and for the appreciation they got from their fans. As the bands following started growing in the early 2000’s the venues began to get bigger and bigger, and with more people listening word of mouth was traveling very quickly. My first show was New Years Eve in 2005, and by this point the band was no longer a cover band, but a full established band with their own music, and an even larger but still very dedicated fan base. This show was completely sold out at theatre that held about 8,000 people. Now 8,000 may not seem like a lot to a person going to see Billy Joel, or the Red Hot Chili Peppers in concert, but to a small band this was the world. After the end of the last song the keyboard player got on the mic and said “I just want all of you guys to know that tonight is career justifiable to me”. Now looking back on that statement I feel like it was at that moment that he felt he had achieved his American Dream. They took a chance in a very tough business, risking their entire lives by putting their concentration on their musical talents rather than in the classroom and it paid off. Something that each band member had been working towards for their whole lives paid off, they had achieved a dream that probably started when they were as young as 10 years old when John “Barber” Gutwilig picked up his first guitar. Although there are many other people, and or bands that have achieved much greater things in music and in life, I felt as though this band, who has inspired so many people including myself, is a text book example of someone living up to their “American Dream”.