by Rabbi Nancy Kasten
In his recent book, 99% Perspiration: A New Working History of the American Way of Life, Adam Chandler points out the fundamental fallacy of the American Dream. He illustrates his thesis using the example of Thomas Edison. American mythology portrays Edison as the quintessential example of someone who succeeds simply by virtue of his own hard work. But that myth ignores the fact that the availability of the components of his inventions, and the path to their implementation, depended on more than his individual drive. A network of interdependent discoveries and the creativity behind them made it possible for some of his inventions to succeed. Edison is rightfully credited with inventing the lightbulb. But he would not have been able to achieve that success absent the hard work of others who were ignored and forgotten.
As people of faith, we rely on myths to lend meaning and purpose to our lives. But this particular myth, the idea that all Americans should be able to “lift themselves up by their bootstraps” to support themselves and their families, has run its course. The cultural myth of self-reliance can be turned into expectations that strip individuals of a sense of self-worth. When success is determined by the amount of your paycheck, and not on your character or the nobility of the work that you do, purpose and meaning take a back seat or even disappear. Chandler’s book reminds readers that any achievement by any individual always relies on access to past and present resources, and the success of that achievement depends on a present and future context where it is granted value. Success is always a group project.
James Truslow Adams, the man who coined the phrase The American Dream in 1931, did not divorce it from reliance on others. Rather, he defined it as “that dream of a land in which life should be better and richer and fuller for everyone, with opportunity for each according to ability or achievement. … [It] is not a dream of motor cars and high wages merely, but is a dream of social order in which each man and each woman shall be able to attain to the fullest stature of which they are innately capable, and be recognized by others for what they are, regardless of the fortuitous circumstances of birth or position.”
It is difficult to dream of such a society without a government that protects the public good along with private interests. In 2025, U.S. policies are being shaped on the federal, state and local level by elected officials who, for their own political gain, speciously define any and all investment in the public good as “socialism.” This makes it harder to dream of the social order that Adams described almost a century ago. But if our country is to thrive in the future, we will have to invest in the collective resources needed to motivate and sustain individual aspirations. Each human being is innately capable of different things, so all of us need to depend on the resources provided by others to fully realize our potential. A dream that envisions an America of opportunity and inclusion for all must reclaim and express the public good in terms that meet the challenges and complexities of our contemporary society.
Many of us are beginning this new year in a state of shock, or even panic. It’s as if we woke up from a dream to a world we do not recognize. From Los Angeles to Washington, from kitchen table to college campus, winds have changed; lives and homes destroyed, figuratively and literally. In every case we are seeing that our wellbeing is inescapably tied to that of our neighbors.
Painful as these times may be, crafting an American dream where everyone pulls together instead of competing with one another can yield a more inviting future. It is precisely in moments of uncertainty and despair that people are open to new dreams. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s dream was linked to values of human dignity, respect, reconciliation and justice. His supporters built a coalition committed to those values, and developed a strategy to turn the dream into a reality that reflected them.
At this very moment, precisely when our faith and our spirits are being tested, we can participate in the process of finding a new dream for America. Faith calls us to calm our wringing hands and activate our imaginations. Now is a time to open our eyes, our hearts, and our minds to possibilities, networks, and relationships we never considered before. When we do, we will surely discover light and enlightenment to guide our path into a better future for all of God’s creation.