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| By Bachrach/Globe archives - Original publication: boston globeImmediate source: https://www.bostonglobe.com/ideas/2015/04/16/what-man-behind-american-dream-really-meant/uni438RcM82Y3QDnkwRz5H/story.html, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=46455705 |
Confessing Cynicism and the "Madison Avenue" Dream
Okay, confession time. I’m a cynic. There, I said it. For a long time, one of my prime targets for cynical side-eye has been the “American Dream.” Because, let’s be honest, the version of the American Dream that’s been relentlessly marketed to us for decades feels… well, a bit hollow, doesn’t it? The house in the suburbs, the two cars in the driveway, the perfectly manicured lawn, the 2.5 kids (where does that half-kid even live?). It all smacks of… Madison Avenue, doesn’t it? Like some cleverly crafted ad campaign designed to sell us more stuff, convincing us that happiness comes pre-packaged in a suburban box, and that “success” is measured in square footage and horsepower. For years, I’ve just shrugged it off as vapid consumerism masquerading as national aspiration, a dusty relic of the postwar boom, utterly irrelevant to the complexities of the 21st century. But then… I did a little digging. And I stumbled upon something that made even my cynical heart do a double-take.
