How 4 generations are rewriting the American Dream today
The American Dream, like the country it inspires, is in a constant state of change.
Ask 100 people what the ideal means to them and you’ll probably get the same number of answers. Most people might agree that the American Dream involves achieving financial stability or being happy, for example, but what that looks like is more individual.
Some are optimistic that their vision of opportunity for themselves is alive and well, despite personal and even societal challenges. Others, especially the younger generations, question whether such a dream is truly achievable and, if not, how to create a new road map for personal fulfillment.
Ultimately, however, some aspects of the American Dream survived; people strive to overcome obstacles to forge their own path and define the conditions for their success.
To celebrate the country’s 250th anniversary, CNBC Make It brought together notable figures from politics, finance, and relationships across age groups to sit down and start the conversation about what it means to achieve happiness and success in this country.
Vivian Tu began her career seeking measurable victories. “What can I do to be so conventionally successful that maybe I hold a grudge against a hater or someone who doesn’t believe in me?” It says the Wall Street trader turned media personality behind the financial education brand Your Rich BFF. Now, the 32-year-old actor measures his success in being able to do meaningful work and being rewarded for the effort his parents put into him.
Gail Rudnick, 84, says she’s in the second round of realizing her biggest dreams, first starting a close-knit family and now starting a new career as a content creator and podcast co-host with her 30-year-old granddaughter, Kim Murstein.
Sylvia Kwan, 62, says the American Dream has rewritten the scripts of her life and pursued goals she never thought possible, such as becoming CEO of Ellevest, a women-centered financial planning and wealth management platform.
He also recognizes the significant challenges that keep many people, especially young Americans, from achieving their dreams. Experts say today’s youngest generations face increasing obstacles at a rate that previous generations could never cope with.
Generation Z, now ages 14 to 29, has seen their education and social growth disrupted by the Covid-19 pandemic, and those graduating from high school or college have entered a volatile workforce but face a hard-to-reach housing market and inflationary pressures.
The youngest member of our group, 26-year-old history newsletter writer and social media creator Kahlil Greene, in 2019 Elected Yale’s first Black student body president, he says he’s not hopeful about the future of the United States and worries the country is “on a downward path.”
“It feels like there are insurmountable challenges to fixing things, and although I want to try, I can’t imagine how we’re going to do it,” he says.
Robert Reich has the opposite view. “I’m optimistic because of our resilience,” the 80-year-old University of California at Berkeley professor and former U.S. labor secretary told Greene.
“I’m old enough to see this country get rid of all kinds of things.” [like] depressions and wars,” he says, and continues: “It seems to me that it is very important for us to avoid cynicism and remain hopeful. Because if we don’t, we stop trying. “If we don’t keep hope in our hearts, we will truly give up the good fight to make the country better.”
