Van Jones, who I have always admired, has an organization that I think is unfortunately named "Rebuild the Dream." And the language of this movement as it were, is around "saving," "rebuilding," and "protecting" the American Dream. 

So what is this "Dream" that should be saved, rebuilt, protected? I think for different people it means different things. For some it means the ability to reinvent oneself, and find a way to success or wealth. For others, and I imagine Van is in this category, it means that people get jobs with living wages, everyone can afford a nice house, and a nice car, and some sort of financial security. That is admirable, but it's not enough.

The truth of the American Dream, I think, has always been much darker than it's proponents admit, or perhaps even imagined. 

The American Dream started, of course with Manifest Destiny. The idea that this continent was the American continent. That we were destined to stretch from the East to the Pacific Ocean. And we all know who suffered in that. Between the Native Americans whose land was stolen, and the African slaves, indentured servants and exploited workers from around the world, without whose labor would have made this impossible, many people suffered in service to this first part of the American Dream.

After World War II, long after the Destiny had been fulfilled, the next phase of this American Dream was built on the decomposed remains of plants that lived millions of years ago. There were fossil fuels, and plenty of them, and we built our ideal of the future based upon the assumptions that not only would this resource be with us always, but it also would have no deleterious effect on our environment. We now know that neither of these assumptions is true. 

And there never really was a moment when the  American Dream actually was possible for most Americans. From 1945 through around 1968, this American Dream was available primarily to white men. Women were expected to stay home and take care of the house and kids. It was much more difficult for people of color, because of law or custom, to access this dream:  from owning homes in many areas, getting well-paying jobs, or getting a good education. 

Then, just as both women and people of color started to get fuller access, the American Dream started to fade, starting with Ronald Reagon, in 1980. Union membership, and the collective bargaining power that went with that, began to drop. Real wages stagnated, and it took two earners to retain the same standard of living that had been possible for one, previously. 

And now, the American Dream is being a rat on a treadmill. Most people work more than full time, most in jobs they don't find especially meaningful, spending hours of time every day in a steel box on the road just so they can live somewhere that's quieter, and "safer." When we are depressed (as if this kind of life wouldn't make anyone depressed) or anxious (as if the state of the world wouldn't make anyone anxious) we are given some pills to make us feel better. People are trapped in jobs becuase they can't get health insurance otherwise. They can't follow their dreams because their house payment is too large.

And this, too, is falling apart. Are any of these this American Dream are we supposed to really be trying to rebuild? 

It's time to reimagine the American Dream, not rebuild it. Reimagine our country as a place that truly accepts, celebrates and gives equal access to all of its residents, no matter the race, orgin, ability, faith tradition, sexuality, gender, family type or relationship status. Reimagine sustainable communities, and sustainable food production and distribution. Reimagine transportation that doesn't depend on fossil fuels. Reimagine work, where people can do what is truly meaningful to them instead of creating wealth for others, and work less because we really don't need half of the stuff we produce. Reminagine education, where people have a truly broad education, and aren't just being eductated so they can be a cog in some wheel. Reimagine how we live - living more collectively, more interdependently.  

Saving, protecting or rebuilding the old American Dream in a world without cheap fossil fuels, and without continuing to wreak havoc on our environment is impossible. Sadly, our choice is between reimagining, or giving it all up entirely.