The American Dream

7-13-15

How does one go about being a productive member of society? Is it judged by the amount amount of income you generate? Is it the amount of Facebook friends you have? Will it be shown by the amount of people that show up for your funeral? In my opinion, we have a lot of people that have their priorities way off when it comes to what makes them part of society. I believe that your productivity is judged by the amount of good you do minus the bad. If there is more good than bad at the end then you have attempted to do your part because, let's face it, none of us will live a perfect life where every decision we make will be the right one. It seems as if productivity, is now also, synonymous with the money you make. Success in country is often in line with our warped view of the "American Dream" and the more money you make the more successful you are as an individual. I believe whole hearted that this mentality is one that needs to be abolished. Take Donald Trump for instance, I have heard many people claim what a great president he would make since he put his name in the hat for the Republican nomination. Many make this assumption because of his perceived success as a businessman. They say, "Well this individual has a lot of money that must mean his business skills are top notch". Unfortunately, this isn't the case. Trump was born into money and the majority of businesses he opened were failures. He was able to overcome these failures by having a large financial backing that allowed him to be riskier than the common entrepreneur. Most businessmen don't have this type of capital to start with and therefore can not survive one failed business because that would mean the end of financial stability. But because citizens see a man with a lot of money they assume that he posses the virtues that are required to be successful. Don't mind the racism that is just Trump's assertiveness. He's just saying the taboo things that must be said and that's whats gotten to where he is today. If Trump wasn't born into the family he was there's no way that he would have been so successful if this arrogance is how he normally conducts himself. Too many Americans are confused about what makes you an accomplished person. Maybe if we all started judging people by their characters than the size of their wallets we would be in a much better position socially.