Tweaking the American Dream

America Needs To Begin Dreaming Again – The American Dream and How To Restore it

In every recession or economic downturn, naturally, negativity prevails and our worries overcome our goals. The pressures of “right now” surpass the desires of our “dreams”. I, for one, am exhausted from the daily news reports about the current economic situation, the stock market, the stimulus, and worst of all – joblessness, as in this country we often define ourselves by our jobs. To believe that the American dream has become unreachable has become a logical, somewhat rational conclusion.

However, it is not true. We are a country that fought the bloodiest civil war in history, broke down the system of slavery and decades later elected the first black president, fought for the right to vote for all, and landed on the moon, among many other accomplishments. Life is circular, as are all of our situations; be it economically or even emotionally. I wanted to cite some possible ways of restoring the American Dream which seems so far deferred.

First and foremost, I want to credit the brilliant writer, Newsweek’s Fareed Zakaria, an American citizen from India, for bringing up this subject, and personalizing it. He writes, “The American dream for me, growing up in India in the 1970s, looked something like the opening credits of Dallas. The blockbuster TV series began with a kaleidoscope of big, brassy, sexy images — tracts of open land, shiny skyscrapers, fancy cars, cowboy businessmen and the very dreamy Victoria Principal. We watched bootlegged copies of the show, passed around on old Betamax cassettes. America (certainly the CBS soap-opera version of America) seemed dazzling and larger than life, especially set against the stagnant backdrop of India in the 1970s. Everyone I knew was fascinated by the U.S., whether they admitted it or not. Politicians who denounced the country by day would go home in the evenings and plot to send their kids to college in “the States.”

Of course, as the times progressed and we went to war, our heroes were assassinated, Watergate exposed a corrupt government, Zakaria understood that this American Dream is a little more complicated than meets the eye. But to his credit, not only did he never give up, he is one of the smartest, foremost writers and speakers in the media today. And so in his own way, he achieved that American Dream.

By now, you are familiar with the core issues as to why we are in the economic state of affairs we are in. What we ignore far too much is evolving globalization, and how, as Friedman cites, “The World if Flat”. In fact, the other day Tom Brokaw, an American patriot if I ever there was one, suggested that college graduates apply for jobs overseas!

While we are in fact a global world, America must grasp this, accept it, and figure out ways to excel in it; whether it is in education, trade, or foreign diplomacy, just to name a few key issues.

Let’s Dream Again

The first issue to tackle, and Zakaria makes this point as well, may be the toughest one. We need to downsize our lives. What is important to you? What happened to eating with the family at the dinner table? Now, it’s take-out or running to a restaurant for a quick, be it expensive, bite to eat.

We consume gas and buy luxury cars despite the damage this causes the environment, not to mention what it does to our global standing. It is time now, and I mean now, to make the cuts and edits in our lifestyles so that we can try to balance the deficit and the stimulus, to fix our personal and national budget, and get back on the rails to economic and spiritual recovery. Otherwise, the American Dream is nothing but that… a dream.

So, How? What Do We Do?

We invest in ourselves. Thomas Friedman and Fareed Zakaria have been arguing for years now that investing in start-ups (look at Facebook, Google, and Apple), is the way for us to grow. Let’s invest rather than consume. Let’s bet on ourselves. “Made in America” should not just be an economic goal, but it should be a stamp that represents true quality.

We need to invest in research and development in all fields. While this has to start by improving our education system, particularly in math and science, America – not China or India – should be discovering the drugs to eradicate diseases such as cancer.

This country should see itself as one big research lab where we not only come up with new medications, but new ways to live green, to get off of our addiction to foreign oil, and so many other ideas that American ingenuity has brought the world.

By investing in start-ups, we are investing in people. This is the key to getting back to “our America”.

The Government

If the Democrats and Republicans were my children, well, I would have to put them on a time-out. Enough campaigning and time to start legislating. Americans are losing faith in the very system we created – the democratic process that other countries admire. Let’s stop with the partisan politics and work to get things done.

Fareed Zakaria pointed out the following fact: “The term American Dream was coined during the Great Depression. The historian James Truslow Adams published The Epic of America in 1931, in an atmosphere of even greater despair than today’s. He wanted to call his book The American Dream, but his publishers objected. No one will pay $3.50 for a book about a “dream,” they said. Still, Adams used the phrase so often that it entered the lexicon. The American Dream, he said, was of “a better, richer and happier life for all our citizens of every rank, which is the greatest contribution we have made to the thought and welfare of the world. That dream or hope has been present from the start. Ever since we became an independent nation, each generation has seen an uprising of ordinary Americans to save the American Dream from the forces which appear to be overwhelming it.”

Well, I say we start dreaming again. We look at one another, we invest in one another, and we get the train running again. Complacency is the death of dreams, and too many people have become complacent. Help your friend find that job, or bail out a family member in danger of loosing their house.

Whatever you do, Fight Back! to keep the American Dream alive. [Fightback]












Words of Wisdom....."Realize we are all insignificant....And get your nose out of the air"

Autumn calls you to its bosom...do not deny its call!

Suddenly theres an autumn chill in the air and golden brown everywhere! I do love the changing seasons and autumn being one of my favorites. That first step out the door at 6am to greet an orangey sunrise illuminating a pale blue sky..no artist could make it more perfect. That sharp cold chill on your nose and steamy breath making you feel so alive. A smell of damp rotting vegitation and a smouldering bonfire from the night before stimulating your senses. Fallen leaves scatter beneath your feet marking your presence and hopping rabbits in the distance scouring for food along the sheltered hedge rows. Large black crows and larks tune up for the morning chorus that announces another new day with its own unique soundtrack. The whole landscape tones down and changes to a melancholy mood and strangely this effects us too...Its as if we batton down the hatches for the next 4 months and watch tv!


Dont crawl under a stone this winter force yourself out the door to experience this changing theatre of nature with its change of scenery in colors sounds smells and moods. Theres a strange enchanting beauty in its melancholy with trees stripped bare exposing their powerful wrinkly skinned limbs and a carpet of rich brown golden leaves crunching beneath your feet in the morning frost. The barren brown ploughed fields that gave up their rich harvest just a few months before and now lay bare to the elements. That seething chill in the air that penetrates to your very soul and makes the nerve endings on your skin feel so alert.


Suddenly along the hedge rows you stumble across a flash of color in this moody landscape..its a Holly bush with a flash of blood red and still green foliage like a rebel in the rough refusing to give into natures Autumn ravages...defiant in bold bright color. Suddenly theres a stirring amongst the trees and the Larks flee screaming from the tall trees warning of danger...your adrenaline causes you to stiffen! Probably one of natures shyest creatures are slowly creeping through the undergrowth ie a herd of Deer. Their watery fearful eyes darting in every direction as they tread forward in unknown ground. Smooth brightly colored fine fur coats that fashion houses envy glisten in the early morning sun. They pass by quietly with their young hugging their tails and you are reminded we share this Earth with beautiful creatures.


As we head for home on this brisk early morning walk we feel surprisingly exhausted but exhilarated inside. Our nose is runny and feet cold but they dont distract from a warm feeling inside. Hard to explain but its a feeling similar to when something suddenly inspires your thoughts out of the blue. Modern life shields us from our natural rhythms that are meant to be in tune with the nature around us. We cut ourselves off in cushioned environments with artificial heat and light that stifle our natural instincts. We are an animal and need to connect with our natural environment to know who we are. Do not hide away this Autumn/winter...get out there you will feel better for it! CALLEN














Words of Wisdom..... "Cut your own path....Only dead fish swim with the tide"

The price of Liberation + Freedom $7.500

It was just another every day event in downtown Afghanistan in 2010. Our brave Coalition forces were doing their brave duty for their country and helping to keep the free world free although I'm not quite sure what that means anymore? I sat in the comfort of my UK living room on a lazy Autumn afternoon watching my TV as events unfolded on just another day in some back water dusty village in Afghanistan. Some TV camera crew were following a Platoon of American Marines on their latest mission. Apparently some Afghan farmer familiar with the American routine of paying Yankee Dollars for any information regarding the Taliban told a local patrol that he saw the Taliban resting in a nearby village so....B-Platoon who were exhausted after a recent mission where they had lost a friend to an IED [improvised Explosive Device] were ordered to move in and investigate. There were the usual moans about not having enough rest time....that they'd only just got back from the previous mission..had lost a comrade etc all ignored by their commander who told them to get off their asses and make some kills as theres bad guys in that village yonder.




It was a blistering hot afternoon and the mood amongst the Platoon was sombre as they slowly paced forward across the dusty field at the north of the village. They knew the drill after countless other missions in this never ending game of cat + mouse with the enemy. Trouble was they can never distinguish the Taliban from the innocent locals because they all wore the same Tribal garb of flowing sack like gowns and cloth head dress. The guys in the Platoon all called them Ragheads and had little respect for their traditions. All they could think of was witnessing the bloody human remains of fellow Marines blown up by IED's over the past 6 months of tour duty. it made the most compassionate of men hardened and insensitive to human suffering. such ugly unthinkable scenes caused a trauma and weariness in war torn men and they knew it paid to be ready for immediate action..oh yes they were trigger happy because it kept you alive in this place.



They crept up to the perimeter of the village and ahead of them were a small group of children playing which was the norm. a few Afghan men having noticed the approaching soldiers scurried away in fear although this could so easily be mis-interpreted as suspicious to the untrained eye. a while later others rushed inside buildings slamming the door and covering windows. There was only one thing in the Marines minds as they broke cover and rushed forward in a group shouting out orders with guns at the ready and that is the report says there are Taliban here! Doors were kicked in and amongst the sudden chaos a few stun grenades were thrown into dwellings causing screams and shouts amongst the terrified locals. Shots were fired and no one really knew if it was from your fellow Marines or the enemy....tension..fear..mayhem..all the ingredients of this situation. It was almost a normal reaction that one Marine heard firing and thought it was coming from a nearby dwelling so fired a propelled grenade from his assault rifle through the window. A huge bang and it was all suddenly quiet.




Fifteen minutes later and it was alover. All buildings were declared cleared and safe. the locals had been rounded up in the centre of the compound and were being interrogated. some were sitting on the ground placid with their hands tied by plastic ties while mothers were crying and children shaking in fear. A few Afghan men were shouting in agitated tones and waving their arms around but as far as the Marines were concerned it was a successful mission with no casualties taken. The village elders managed to speak in broken English that they had been mistaken..that there were no Talban here at all..that they had mistakenly killed innocent people.



Then it all came to light...The two buildings where grenades had been fired into one of them contained a mother and her two children..they had been frightened and were afraid to come out of the building. The distraught father of that family was lead forward by an Elder and could barely stand up in his sobbing grief. The Marine Lieutenant was shown inside one of the buildings to find the scattered bloody bodies of two small children..one a little girl of around 10 in her ragged dress and a boy of 5 or so..in the corner lay the mother with her stomach ripped open and flies were already feasting on her warm blood in that damning heat. The Lieutenant barely showed any emotion as he scanned the scene...he'd seen it all before so many times and it was a consequence of war.




He ordered the medic to give the father some sedative to calm him down. through the village elder he tried to console him and explain as best he could that sadly mistakes happen in this war environment and his men were there to protect them and not harm them. The father looked up with a cold expression and dead eyes filled with tears...it was his wife..his son..his daughter. His life was destroyed in an instant and why?


It is standard procedure with the Marines that if such incidents occur then the commander of any Platoon are authorized to pay instant compensation to any innocent surviving victims of comflict and they carry an amount of money for this very purpose. The standard amount per life is $2,500 each....so the Marine private carefully counted out $7,500 and handed it to the almost lifeless father while explaining through the village elder that this was monetary compensation in order to help him get over his loss. shorty after this the Company departed from the village and headed back to base for some much needed rest time..they were relieved they had survived another day in this hot hell hole and upheld the flag of Freedom for these backward people. CALLEN














Words of Wisdom......"Great minds have always encountered violent opposition from.....mediocre minds"