What is the American myth? Essentially, the American myth is that anyone at any point in time can be anything they want. This myth is built both on our freedom as a society, espousing democratic notions of social mobility and an ability to both question and pursue whatever piques our interest. Is this myth solid enough in its foundations to be both palpable and real? I believe it is. However, I recently heard from a friend that he believes this myth is flat out wrong. He has stated that you can't be anything you want to be and end up fully satisfied. Yet, that is not the American myth, but a quantified version of it. If the myth is quantified as such, then perhaps it is wrong; to an extent. I believe that if someone truly aspires to attain certain goals and achieves them, then they will achieve a certain sense of satisfaction. This satisfaction will most likely arise from the fact that they set a goal, did the work to get there, and achieved that goal. Who wouldn't feel satisfaction after completing a process like that. For anyone who picks a career, follows the necessary training to enter into that field (whether college or otherwise), and completes that training, there is an inherent satisfaction that comes with it. That satisfaction may not last, but there will be satisfaction on some level for attaining ones goals. To me, the American myth is alive and thriving; and no it is not wrong in its basic form. That being said however, one can elaborate upon the myth, add quantitative factors to it, and thus create a myth that can be wrong or at least wrong for some people.
In all fairness, I feel that I should explain a little more about what my friend was talking about in deeming the American myth to be wrong. He feels that as we all have different strengths, ones that form who we are and what we do, then we can not be anything we want to be and be fully satisfied and happy. With that I agree. I can not set a goal of being a doctor, go through the school to get there, graduate, and be happy for the rest of my life. It is just not who I am and my strengths don't lend themselves towards me being a doctor. In that aspect of quantifying the American myth, I agree. Yet I can quantify it differently and make the American myth work for me. Lets say the American myth goes as follows; anyone can be whatever they want to be within their given strengths and be fully satisfied. If I quantify the myth as such, than it is absolutely correct and applies to everyone. For I believe that within a person's strengths, there are a number of different avenues that can be traveled down, careers or goals that one can set, that will lead to complete happiness and satisfaction. Having certain strengths doesn't restrict us to one specific career or avenue, they merely guide us towards a certain career or goal that would be most beneficial to us. I would even go so far as to say that our strengths are not cemented throughout our lives. We may have certain strengths that stay with us over a life time, but I firmly believe that as we change and grow older, some strengths wax, some wane, and some are replaced altogether. To say that we are one set of strengths and they they define us through a lifetime is to say that we will never change, never alter our interests, and never be influenced by forces outside of our control. As humans, we are a species of change. There may be certain attributes or strengths that form the core of who we are and as such stay with us through our lifetime, but there are a whole slew of other factors which impact us, push and pull us, and effect change within us even without our knowledge. But enough about who we are and our identity, we were talking about strengths and the American myth.
I one sense, I don't think that we should quantify the American myth, unless of course we are seeking to use it to our own ends. For hundreds of years, the American myth of being whoever we want to be has attracted thousands upon thousands of people to this country with a dream. This is a dream of freedom, of the ability to attain their goals without fear of reprisal. This myth, simple as it is, has endured because people see it in its basic sense and are attracted to it. I feel that if people are true to who they are, they recognize that they can not become quite anything they want to be and be happy. People don't automatically go against their nature and become a surgeon when they are better suited to be a yoga instructor, it just doesn't happen. Okay, so it might happen from time to time when people aren't in tune with their own strengths, but I feel that more often than not, people follow their inner calling and set their sights on goals and careers that will bring happiness. Now I may be giving people more credit than they deserve, but at times I tend to be optimistic and look at humanity with a "glass half full" mentality. Tomorrow I may have a different view of people, but such is my ever changing view, influenced by other's actions, words, and thoughts. Let us not quantify the American myth, but instead celebrate it as a true sign of our country's freedom, of our ability to become who we want to become. Let us not get down and dirty with semantics, but instead leave the myth as it is, and let it be held as sacrosanct by people from any walk of life. To me, the American myth is alive and thriving.
No comments:
Post a Comment