The American Dream, much like the country it inspires, is in a state of constant change.
Ask 100 people what the ideal means to them, and you’ll likely get just as many answers. Most might agree, for example, that the American Dream includes achieving financial stability or being happy, but what that looks like is more individual.
Some are optimistic that, despite personal and even societal challenges, their vision of opportunity for themselves is alive and well. Others, particularly members of younger generations, are questioning whether such a dream is really within reach — and if not, how to build a new roadmap to personal fulfillment.
Ultimately, however, some aspects of the American Dream have endured, with people trying to push past barriers to forge their own paths and define the terms of their success.
To recognize the country’s 250th year, CNBC Make It got notable voices in politics, finance and relationships across age ranges to sit down and spark conversation about what it means to achieve happiness and success in this country today.
Vivian Tu started her career seeking quantifiable wins. “What can I do to be soconventionally successful tomaybe spitea haterorspitesomeone whodidn’tbelieve in me?” says the Wall Street trader-turned media personality behind her financial education brand Your Rich BFF. Now, the 32-year-old measures her achievements in being able to do meaningful work and repaying the effort her parents poured into her.
Gail Rudnick, 84, says she’s on her second round of living her biggest dreams, first raising a tight-knit family, and now kickstarting a new career as a content creator and podcast co-host with her granddaughter, Kim Murstein, 30.
Sylvia Kwan, 62, says her American Dream has been rewriting the scripts of her life and going after goals she didn’t think were possible, like becoming CEO of Ellevest, the women-centered financial planning and wealth management platform.
She also recognizes the significant challenges that keep many people, especially young Americans, from achieving their dreams. Experts say today’s youngest generations are up against barriers compounding at such a rate that previous generations never dealt with.
Gen Zers, those currently aged 14 to 29, have seen their education and social growth stunted by the Covid-19 pandemic, and those who’ve graduated high school or college have entered a volatile workforce, only to find an out-of-reach housing market and inflationary pressures.
As the youngest member of our cohort, 26-year-old history newsletter writer and social media creator Kahlil Greene, who in 2019 was elected Yale’s first Black student body president, says he doesn’t feel hopeful for the future of the U.S. and worries the country is on a “downward trajectory.”
“It does feel like there’s insurmountable odds in terms of fixing things, and I just can’t imagine how we’d do it, even though I’d like to try,” he says.
Robert Reich holds the opposite view. “I’moptimistic because of our resilience,” the 80-year-old University of California, Berkeley professor and former U.S. labor secretary told Greene.
“I’mold enough to have seen this country bouncebackfrom all sorts ofthings [like]depressions and wars,” he says. “Itseems to me thatit’sveryimportantfor us to avoid cynicism and to stay hopeful. Because if wedon’t, then we stop trying. If wedon’tkeep hope in our hearts, we stop really fightingthe good fightto make the country better.”
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