American Dream

To think that the standard of living will get better for each successive generation may indeed be the American Dream, but that is because too many Americans are dreaming. It is time to wake up. As more and more of us build our lives competing for less and less, we need to realize that if we live as well as our parents we will be lucky. The perpetuation of the myth of the American Dream is much like the old pyramid scam. It looks promising on paper and enables one to dream of being rich but the pyramid rapidly begins to crumble under the weight of expectation, leaving those on the bottom with little or nothing. It seems too good to be true and it is.

Many of our parents lived too well and are forcing successive generations at the bottom of the pyramid to carry their weight. Unfortunately, these thoughts win neither votes nor elections and so we continue to elect leaders who give us promises of a better tomorrow without seriously addressing the problems of the past.

BOB PEDERSON

West Los Angeles