Page 64 - Šolsko polje, XXVIII, 2017, no. 3-4: Education and the American Dream, ed. Mitja Sardoč
P. 64
šolsko polje, letnik xxviii, številka 3–4
front lawns), and that the mission of Americans as divinely ordained inno-
vators and entrepreneurs is to “explore strange new worlds, to seek out new
life and new civilizations, to boldly go where no man has gone before,” as
our good starship Captain James T. Kirk would put it. Kirk’s words echo
a futuristic doctrine of Manifest Destiny, the mid-19th century belief that
it was God’s destiny for the U.S. to expand its interests and influence and
that all of North America was allotted by God to its inhabitants (appar-
ently, the term was created by a journalist, writing in the 1840s to justify
the war with Mexico, and since the 1940s and 1950s it has been embodied
in the figure of the iconic American cowboy, John Wayne). Of course, the
U.S. has taken this doctrine very seriously; our good Captain Kirk is right
in saying that “space” is the “final frontier” as the U.S. is already weaponiz-
ing outer space as well as exploring it. While Captain Kirk (who is Cana-
dian by birth) represents the way Americans hope to be seen, it was John
Wayne who represented Americans to themselves during the heyday of
the American Dream. The notion of the American Dream, that ethos that
permeates the fibers optics of the American spirit, can be found through-
out politics, technology, religion, culture and values. It has, of course,
spread throughout the world, most probably by early American Christian
missionaries. There is nothing wrong with a dream of global progress, of
upward mobility, of financial security, of consumer goods available to all
regardless of race, class or ethnicity, etc. The problem is that today, Amer-
icans are still bombarded by television commercials showing them imag-
es of happy families in three-bedroom houses and with large kitchens, and
more and more Americans have been asking: Why are we seeing these im-
ages? They make us feel guilty that we have not achieved this standard of
living! Part of the history of the idea of the American Dream can be linked
to the days directly following the American Civil War which began in
1861 and ended in 1865. Horatio Alger, Jr. wrote a series of novels which
became the template for the classic American “from rags to riches” success
story, where any hardworking American could pull himself up by his own
bootstraps. Technology was rapidly developing and it seemed as though
anyone with a creative imagination and steadfast will and determination
could move “up the corporate ladder”, taking full advantage of technolog-
ical innovations to improve his or her station in society. This idea still in-
fects American life, especially with respect to the concept known as “mer-
itocracy” that is taught in schools of education. Despite the glacial pace of
racial and gender equality, meritocracy stipulates that in the United States
you are awarded a certain standard of living and level of happiness accord-
ing to how hard you work, and what individual efforts you make to suc-
cessfully find fortune and fame. The inverse also is prevalent, even today:
62
front lawns), and that the mission of Americans as divinely ordained inno-
vators and entrepreneurs is to “explore strange new worlds, to seek out new
life and new civilizations, to boldly go where no man has gone before,” as
our good starship Captain James T. Kirk would put it. Kirk’s words echo
a futuristic doctrine of Manifest Destiny, the mid-19th century belief that
it was God’s destiny for the U.S. to expand its interests and influence and
that all of North America was allotted by God to its inhabitants (appar-
ently, the term was created by a journalist, writing in the 1840s to justify
the war with Mexico, and since the 1940s and 1950s it has been embodied
in the figure of the iconic American cowboy, John Wayne). Of course, the
U.S. has taken this doctrine very seriously; our good Captain Kirk is right
in saying that “space” is the “final frontier” as the U.S. is already weaponiz-
ing outer space as well as exploring it. While Captain Kirk (who is Cana-
dian by birth) represents the way Americans hope to be seen, it was John
Wayne who represented Americans to themselves during the heyday of
the American Dream. The notion of the American Dream, that ethos that
permeates the fibers optics of the American spirit, can be found through-
out politics, technology, religion, culture and values. It has, of course,
spread throughout the world, most probably by early American Christian
missionaries. There is nothing wrong with a dream of global progress, of
upward mobility, of financial security, of consumer goods available to all
regardless of race, class or ethnicity, etc. The problem is that today, Amer-
icans are still bombarded by television commercials showing them imag-
es of happy families in three-bedroom houses and with large kitchens, and
more and more Americans have been asking: Why are we seeing these im-
ages? They make us feel guilty that we have not achieved this standard of
living! Part of the history of the idea of the American Dream can be linked
to the days directly following the American Civil War which began in
1861 and ended in 1865. Horatio Alger, Jr. wrote a series of novels which
became the template for the classic American “from rags to riches” success
story, where any hardworking American could pull himself up by his own
bootstraps. Technology was rapidly developing and it seemed as though
anyone with a creative imagination and steadfast will and determination
could move “up the corporate ladder”, taking full advantage of technolog-
ical innovations to improve his or her station in society. This idea still in-
fects American life, especially with respect to the concept known as “mer-
itocracy” that is taught in schools of education. Despite the glacial pace of
racial and gender equality, meritocracy stipulates that in the United States
you are awarded a certain standard of living and level of happiness accord-
ing to how hard you work, and what individual efforts you make to suc-
cessfully find fortune and fame. The inverse also is prevalent, even today:
62
