If you ask most people about what the American Dream means to them, they will usually tell you that they associate it with certain things:
- white picket fences
- gated community
- nice size house in the suburbs
- owning a small business
- being able to take care of his or her family/or able to send children to college
Another commonality of this ideal, is the idea that one has a kind of self-direction, and autonomy that is highly-valued and even coveted by most.
Not surprisingly, though, few of us ever reach the happiness we say we seek - even after we begin gradually accumulating these things or achieve the status that we pursue. I am writing this even as I reflect upon having done a good deed for someone. It just so happens that the good deed required that I use money to effect its "goodness." Oh, and did I mention that I, too, seek to achieve all these levels of self-fulfillment?
I woke up in the middle of the night with a miniature panic attack (for lack of a better term to use), as I pondered briefly what I had actually done. With credit cards at balances that I did not find ideal for my purposes, and no definite prospects for additional streams of funds, I questioned the wisdom of putting myself out there, becoming so vulnerable to uncertainty by my act of kindness. Was there actual value in my creating a situation of more fiscal difficulty in order to offset someone else's? And, more importantly, was it fair for me to do this to myself?
Perhaps the problem for me has nothing to do with whether or not I am convinced of the correctness of the act of helping someone with less money than I, but rather the problem is the lack of surplus after I have given. We operate on the premise that we are blessed when we give; we reap what we sow and if we sow good works, good things will come back to us. We are more than generous to give to telethons when called upon to run to help the most recent victims of natural tragedies, rescue orphans from the awful grasps of poverty -- we even proudly support efforts to help spare the lives of countless stray cats and dogs rescued by and living in shelters. Why, because we know it is the right thing to do.
Being American is the epitome of what we believe: that is, that doing good works is the right thing to do when you see someone else in trouble, especially the children and the elderly. We open up our hearts, our wallets and GIVE because that is what keeps our society going: the generosity of strangers. Secret Santa, private donors and anonymous gift patrons, Good Samaritans - they all have different names but they all are the same in essence and serve a similar purpose. They remind us of our responsibility to take care of one another. No matter ones situation, we GIVE. In order to give, yes, you must have money. But even if you don't have money, you are riddled with debt, the mandate is the same: when you see a need, you GIVE. The only thing is in the latter situation you are expected to exercise some version of faith that your efforts will do good and consequently you will also reap the benefits of your generosity because of the biblical law of reciprocity.
Is this foolish? Some may say so, but living in a world filled with superstitions and an affinity towards gambling and chance, is it really that bad that of all the things one can believe in, a people would choose to believe in generosity of heart? Generosity of heart transcends finances; it cancels the meaning of the number of zeros in ones bank account, and instead places great value on one's intention. It reminds us all that even as Freedom is purchased at a great cost, our realization of the American Dream is not to squander our riches on ourselves. Rather it is to fulfill the dreams and aspirations of our forefathers and mothers to create a better world by helping to fill in the gaps by lending a helping hand whenever at all we are able to.
So, let's keep doing well, creating businesses to employ the masses, making great scientific discoveries to help cure the diseases of the world, protecting those who cannot protect themselves. By so doing we sustain and maintain our society and, yes, make the world a little bit better than how we found it.
