Awakening the American Dream

One door closes, leaving a world of opportunity

By Harold Miller
hal@cny55.com

You can sense it in the mood of the people — the conversations that take place at the dining room tables, boardrooms, offices and restaurants.

America is regaining its mojo after a decade of being squashed down by those who preach, “the leveling of the playing field,” a force that has never worked and never will work.

Those who tell us that we are still the greatest country in the world electrify us.

America should take pride in a successful past, but more important, our strong traditions, institutions, industries and work ethic provide the foundation for future achievement.

No longer will our politicians travel the globe with hat in hand, apologizing to our allies and enemies about our capitalistic, democratic and empirical ways.

No longer will we be defensible about being the leader and the wealthiest country on this planet.

This is where every other country wants to be.

It all has to do with renewed freedom — freedom of speech, religion, and opportunity — and mostly freedom from government intervention in business with punitive taxation and choking regulations.

America is the greatest force for freedom that the world has ever known.

In spite of our decade of dalliance with socialism, 84 percent of the working population earns more than their parents did. Admittedly, there is room for improvement for the middle class and among those in poverty whose children do not escape that condition.

However, unemployed workers and single-parent families cause most of the poverty today. Our economy is already improving and will provide jobs for anyone who wishes to work.

America is still the world’s greatest force of technology. Silicon Valley is still the innovation capital of the world. If you want to know the answer to any question, learn about any new technology or medical procedure, find your way to anyplace on the globe, or just find a local specialist in anything — it’s right up there in the cloud. Just Google it.

America is the seat of entrepreneurship. Almost every major development from electricity to computers to wireless networks began here. Beyond that, our people have the freedom to dream and freedom to make their dreams happen.

Now that we can see the shackles of bureaucracy being loosened, you will witness the revival of the American Dream. You can measure the success of our country by the number of people who want to get in versus the number who want to get out. According to State Department data, a 2010 survey conducted by the European Commission asked residents of the European Union: “In which other countries would you like to work.” The winner by a wide margin was the United States with 21 percent of the people saying they would like to work here.

America gets the cream of the world’s workers who are willing to break the bonds that hold them in yesterday’s societies, and are willing to withstand temporary hardships so that their children can live a better life.

That’s what the American Dream is all about.