Yes, that too. It's a combination of a type of meritocracy, combined with an individualistic freedom from outside interference (so meritocracy isn't interpreted here as rising up a well organized hierarchy- thats anathema to many Americans). It's more like competing in sports- you test yourself, look within, find your hidden sources of personal strength, and rise above what you thought you could do.
To more conservative Americans, it is very much about people getting what they deserve, with the unspoken assumption that not everyone deserves to be successful.
I'm done trying to sound smart. "Clear" is the new smart.Huh?
'''YOU SEE THIS DOG I'M PETTING? THAT WAS COURAGE WOLF.Cute, isn't he?That's amusingly liberal (although not exactly in the sense that the word is used as a pejorative in America, obviously). Anarchic, even.
Welcome To TV Tropes | How To Write An Example | Text Formatting Rules | List Of Shows That Need Summary | TV Tropes Forum | Know The StaffSounds pretty liberal to me
But nah, I can see that. The similarity just amused me.
Welcome To TV Tropes | How To Write An Example | Text Formatting Rules | List Of Shows That Need Summary | TV Tropes Forum | Know The Staff... But I like having someone who is demonstrably worthier than me order me around. I mean being a stepping stone to an awesome leader can be its own reward. And leading and ordering people who are more competent than you seems abhorrent to me. I couldn't live with myself if cast into such a position.
And social optimizations demands such things as hierarchy and specialization: it gives the best returns!
...Why do I sound all Japanese all of a sudden? Wait a minute...
'''YOU SEE THIS DOG I'M PETTING? THAT WAS COURAGE WOLF.Cute, isn't he?Most people have had a bad experience with some fuckwit who was more interested in throwing his weight around as "the boss" than actually getting shit done.
Fight smart, not fair.Well, yes, but
- Is it the norm.
- Do they think they would do any better.
I'm not critcizing you, I am striving to understand this freaking concept
I'm more inclined to believe that it's that "everyone thinks they're special" concept more than anything else.
Fight smart, not fair.Wazzat even mean, Special? The Chosen One?
edited 13th Jan '11 7:15:02 PM by RawPower
'''YOU SEE THIS DOG I'M PETTING? THAT WAS COURAGE WOLF.Cute, isn't he?Yeah, "we're unique", "we're a shining beacon of civilization", "we're not just a different country, we're special" type of thing.
Fight smart, not fair.You'll find a billion different opinions on the "American Dream" OP. The simplest interpretation of it with the least political slant is that it constitutes having nothing or very little, and working hard being enough to eventually become prosperous, several measures above where you started.
I think in it's own way it's still quite attainable, you won't be a millionaire, but there are many ways to go from being poor to middle to upper middle class in the US.
American Exceptionalism, however, comes from the idea that we're unique compared to our western european forefathers because we came from a revolution and have a massive fixation on certain values in our culture, such as freedom of speech/religion, and the right to bear arms, as well as a massive distrust of the government and self-reliance/independence. We were in a good position to get where we did, because we were colonies on an unsettled continent(other than the Indians, who had a hard time fighting us because we had guns).
This means we had an easy time skyrocketing to where we are by settling North America, from one coast to the other.
At least one interpretation of the American Dream was codified by James T. Adams in the 1930's. His definition was relatively Capitalistic, and even included the phrase "opportunity according to ability and achievement." A crucial aspect to his definition was the whole "better tomorrow" schtick. In essence, this element of the dream was that your children would grow up/become wealthier than you. As you might guess, this definition was strongly related to the time period, and had much to do with the peak years of immigration being in the early 1900s.
Public figures have invoked the term "American dream" in countless and relatively broad circumstances. In general they tend to leave its meaning and interpretation nebulous, probably because to define it would remove some of its evocative power.
edited 13th Jan '11 11:39:46 PM by UnabashedFornicator
@OP: As an American who actually enjoys living in his country (gasp!) I'll toss my two pennies in the pot...
A lot of noise has been made about how the Dream is "not possible anymore" due to big business, big government etc. With respect to those people, I do not buy it. I've watched plenty of people create themselves out of nothing, which in many places is flat impossible.
Here its merely difficult, and requires two things; a lot of work, and tolerance for setbacks.
Sure, the dream has taken a real beating in the last few years; the housing crunch made home ownership more of a pain than a boon (personal experience here), and the demise of american manufacturing pretty much put a bullet between the eyes of the concept of "Joe Lunchpail" (again, went through this myself).
But hard work is always rewarded, as long as it comes with a measure of patience and a side order of intelligence.
OP, if you want to discuss this further, my PM box is open. Thank you, by the way, for wanting to know and going to the source.
If I were to write some of the strange things that come under my eyes they would not be believed. ~Cora M. Strayer~

"Deserving"ness: Yeah, I guess you could look at it that way.