The End of the Old American Dream

Culture: Initial Thoughts on the Reality of the Disappearing American Middle Class

January 13, 2011

Sam Titze, 23, Seattle (tranzcontinental.com) - Being part of a young, educated and highly underemployed demographic has meant a certain shift in perspective and priorities.

When finishing my undergrad in 2008, I was entirely aware of the challenges I would be facing in terms of employment. I did not, however, anticipate such an ongoing uncertainty, which has persisted for more than two years. Now, in the middle of my second year of full-time volunteering and scraping together basic needs with less than $1,000 per month and food stamps, I can barely recognize the person I was prior to assuming this lifestyle.

Within the previous few months I have come to terms with the fact that I view myself as being a part of a lower class than my parents, brother and many of my friends. What I mean by this is in regards to economic status, and although it has been extremely difficult, it hasn’t carried negative implications; after all, I still have it far better than so many others. On one front, it is easy to grow overwhelmed by this submission to reality, simply because I am struggling and never anticipated this being my life when I began earning my bachelor’s degree, which was supposed to guarantee financial stability and upward mobility. Conversely, this new America encourages me to recognize that what I am experiencing is something that more and more of us recent grads are growing into, and that it will necessarily demand a cultural rebirth.

It doesn’t go unknown that this country which we were taught to love as the best in the world is becoming something unfamiliar: average. As the middle class disappears, culture seems to be blossoming. This, to me, is exciting and encouraging. For the first time in our lives, we (and the rest of the world) might see an American culture that goes beyond the all-you-can-eat buffets.

Personally, I hope things are never like they were before. It’s as if Americans are finally snapping out of a decades-long dream, in which we were invincible, untouchable, and infinitely desirable. Humanity is being restored here, simply because we have been forced into a mode of resilience.

With that in mind, I wonder how we will channel these various forms of resilience, because a lot needs fixing here and people have a lot of ideas. Maybe, since so many of us no longer have the opportunity to work for corporations, we will finally have the time to start taking care of the countless issues that have plagued our own people for so long. This just might be a blessing in an overly complex, multi-layered disguise. I look forward to sharing my slice of the pie with you.