Quote: (01-07-2013 10:40 AM)Vicious Wrote:
Counterpoint.
Do you believe in the American dream? Is it alive today? Because many people will tell you on here that it is merely smokes and mirrors to keep the American people as happy consumers.
With that said. I've had the luxury of living and working both in Scandinavia and the US. As with most things there are merits and flaws with both nation's systems. You're stepping into the same pitfall that many other Americans are when outside The States and crediting an entire populace with one peronality/character set. I'm Scandinavian and don't recognize me or many of my peers in your description.
I can tell you right away that if what you describe about yourself is true then you are far more motivated than the average American. For example, at my company's site in the US they have 3 people doing the job that I manage alone over here. I don't knlw about their work ethic but I can't imagine what they do with all their work hours.
At the same time you are in College where everybody is trying so hard to be unique that they all wind up being exactly the same.
Stagnation and mediocrity... Is that what you see? Because if we looked at a higher level and compared QoL/literacy/knowledge/crime rates etc between the nation's mentioned then I know what country will end up truly looking stagnant and mediocre. Not dick wagging here, but rather trying to illustrate that what you're trying to grasp is not about being Scandinavian or American or whatever.
Maybe it's the power of the red pill?
Or maybe it's simply you?
I believe in the American Dream because I see it all the time. I see it with migrant laborers. Anthony Bourdain said it best, perhaps, "No-one understands the American Dream better than a non-American."
I've got guys working for me who are used to making $15 a day, and that's a GOOD job, in their home country, be it Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, or the Phillipines. I pay them $9-$13 an hour. It's no fortune, but these cats all live 3, 4, 5 guys per apartment, sock it all away and send half of it home. Occasionally, every once in a while, one of them charges through the ranks and makes something of himself. It's rare, but it happens. There are chefs in this city that started out as dishwashers, and over the course of 10+ years, worked up to prep cook, line cook, sous chef, and finally executive chef making $70K+ a year with benefits. That's the American dream right there, and it doesn't exist in most other countries.
You can talk about how migrant labor undermines our economic system by taking away jobs from national citizens, but I'll tell you this: in the 12-13 years I've been working in kitchens, out of the hundreds of kitchen employees I've worked with, I've seen TWO white dishwashers, and both these knuckleheads were one step out of prison. I don't get white kids knocking on my door for a job very often, and when I do, they're expecting a wage that no company could afford to pay them.
You can argue that low class jobs like these only exist to serve the rich. And, you'd be right, but it's always been that way in modern human civilization. The fact remains: despite the current fucked up economic situation we're in, immigrants can still come here and live a much, MUCH higher quality of life than in their home country. That reflects the nature of this country historically (Irish, Italians, Chinese) and currently.
There are Mexicans that come here to work as housekeepers, and three years later they're selling tacos from a street truck that they own. They OWN THEIR OWN BUSINESS, which, even if they did back home, would barely earn enough to keep a roof over their head. That, to me, is the American Dream. It's a rare scenario that a minority acheive, and it's only for those with an insane amount of determination and drive, but it still happens.