I watched "The Pursuit of Happiness" today for the first time--I knew the general story, I always wanted to see it, but I never had the chance to do so until I realized my roommate had a copy of it lying in the living room.
--Throughout my college career I've had the opportunity to investigate what makes up the American Dream--over and over and over. From all sorts of angles...including Benjamin Franklin, Emerson, Thoreau, Jack London, Early Conquistadors, Christopher Columbus, The Founding Fathers, John Muir, Wallace Thurman, Fitzgerald, Lorraine Adams, Frank Herbert, Harper Lee, Bret Harte, Stowe, Twain, and so many more.
What most people gather about the American Dream is that Americans are Tough, Independent, and Determined to succeed. The image that comes to their mind is an individual setting out into the wide world, determined to succeed and make a name for themselves in a savage environment.
"The Pursuit of Happiness" affirms that motion. The main character, Chris, goes through a lot, is determined to succeed, and is independent throughout the film...
But if you look VERY closely at the stories of success--the true American Dream stories, you might question the term "independence."
In every rags to riches story; in every American historical account; in every success in America story, you will find that those who obtain the things they want from life got help. They all succeeded after someone lent them a hand, gave them a break, and helped them survive.
The pilgrims and John Smith--got help from the natives. The food necessary for colonists to survive was given to them by the locals who were already established and successful.
America became a nation only after Britain established a governing body and established order throughout the colonies. The colonies were not united until the British told them they were subjects of the king.
Benjamin Franklin would not have become a famous printer-jack-of-all-trades-philosopher if it weren't for his father, brother, Quakers, father-in-law and several others.
Chris Gardner, in "The Pursuit of Happiness," would not have survived if it weren't for the christian shelter that he was able to stay at until he sold his last bone density testing machine. He would not have survived if he wasn't taken up by the brokerage firm. Selling those machines on his own did not work after all.
I feel as though a case can be made that being an American isn't being independent and free.--Those are the stories that get told most but probably only make up 5% of Americans. To be an American is to establish yourself and then lend a hand to those who are struggling to survive. Find some level of stability and share it with others. Pulling yourself up from your bootstraps must imply that you're pulling yourself up on the arms of others who are lifting you up.
Don't forget to take my survey!
Tuesday, July 17, 2012
Saturday, July 14, 2012
Writing and Living
I've felt like writing a new article lately but I have been thinking less and less about deep enough topics these past few weeks simply because my summer semester is ending this week. Sometimes I just stumble into thoughts that I want to explore, other times I really have to try hard to think about things.
I'm not obligated to write on this blog and so everything that I do write is usually something I've put a lot of thought into. I've lived a few of the things I've written about--either by living through them by accident or choosing to live through them and test them out; so for me, writing is about like living. I write about life. I enjoy life. I keep on living. I'm excited for what the future always holds and when I write I'm either reflecting on what has already happened (the past) or what could/might/will happen (future).
Sadly, I don't think I could ever do writing for a living. Writing and I have a love-hate relationship. I love writing about things I care about; I hate writing about things that I don't want to write about--which is typically the things other people care about. You can't make money writing for yourself, that's for certain, you have to write for other's enjoyment.
Another thing that prevents me from living a writer's life is that even though I like when I'm writing and reading, the real thing that I enjoy doing is thinking and living through things. I love observing and experiencing things--the writing is just my way of expressing what I feel.
My English degree has helped me in many ways: I write more concise, I know how to think, how to judge, how to feel. I know more about humanity now because of my degree. I've learned a lot of refined skills, especially communication, but I'm still a terrible writer. --Just because I know HOW to write properly, language, writing, and communication is so fluid and flexible--especially the English language-- that in order to say things to the most effective it requires much more time and energy than to merely blurt out whatever I want to say--which is not the proper way to write.
Friday was the last day I would ever take an English class--this class wasn't required for my degree per se (it was elective credit). It was an easy class I took to fill up the last few credits of my degree. But the point is that I will never again attend a class on English in my life. I'm not sure whether to celebrate or to cry honestly. Probably I will celebrate, because I don't believe in feeling down about sad things for very long, especially when life is something to celebrate.
--Another problem I have with writing is that it's hard to be open about my thoughts and beliefs and sometimes if I start writing about a certain topic, people can assume that I'm thinking about that topic a lot and them make their own assumptions about my psyche--which is why I don't write about love, religion, or politics very often. It's because I don't want people to assume that I'm in love, that I miss someone, that I have someone special, that I'm constantly thinking about that person and contemplating the future with them--or that I question many religions, or have my own opinions separate from religions, or that I completely disagree with the way certain people live their lives or the things they do; I'm not Mark Twain, but I don't want people to feel animosity towards me the way they do him. I also don't like to present too many of my political beliefs because our democracy is founded on the belief that people are all different, that they have their own opinions, and that their the majority rules not because it is the most vocal, but because it is the most consented. Plus, I hate when people try to argue with me and change my opinions in politics if I don't want to be persuaded and I just want to vote--let people have their own opinions.
My psyche is my psyche. Until I know your psyche personally and I know I can trust you, you won't see mine.
With that said, I'd appreciate if my family and friends (you who read this blog) would answer the following questionnaire I developed to get a feel for my audience. It can help me find a starting point for some articles:
I'm not obligated to write on this blog and so everything that I do write is usually something I've put a lot of thought into. I've lived a few of the things I've written about--either by living through them by accident or choosing to live through them and test them out; so for me, writing is about like living. I write about life. I enjoy life. I keep on living. I'm excited for what the future always holds and when I write I'm either reflecting on what has already happened (the past) or what could/might/will happen (future).
Sadly, I don't think I could ever do writing for a living. Writing and I have a love-hate relationship. I love writing about things I care about; I hate writing about things that I don't want to write about--which is typically the things other people care about. You can't make money writing for yourself, that's for certain, you have to write for other's enjoyment.
Another thing that prevents me from living a writer's life is that even though I like when I'm writing and reading, the real thing that I enjoy doing is thinking and living through things. I love observing and experiencing things--the writing is just my way of expressing what I feel.
My English degree has helped me in many ways: I write more concise, I know how to think, how to judge, how to feel. I know more about humanity now because of my degree. I've learned a lot of refined skills, especially communication, but I'm still a terrible writer. --Just because I know HOW to write properly, language, writing, and communication is so fluid and flexible--especially the English language-- that in order to say things to the most effective it requires much more time and energy than to merely blurt out whatever I want to say--which is not the proper way to write.
Friday was the last day I would ever take an English class--this class wasn't required for my degree per se (it was elective credit). It was an easy class I took to fill up the last few credits of my degree. But the point is that I will never again attend a class on English in my life. I'm not sure whether to celebrate or to cry honestly. Probably I will celebrate, because I don't believe in feeling down about sad things for very long, especially when life is something to celebrate.
--Another problem I have with writing is that it's hard to be open about my thoughts and beliefs and sometimes if I start writing about a certain topic, people can assume that I'm thinking about that topic a lot and them make their own assumptions about my psyche--which is why I don't write about love, religion, or politics very often. It's because I don't want people to assume that I'm in love, that I miss someone, that I have someone special, that I'm constantly thinking about that person and contemplating the future with them--or that I question many religions, or have my own opinions separate from religions, or that I completely disagree with the way certain people live their lives or the things they do; I'm not Mark Twain, but I don't want people to feel animosity towards me the way they do him. I also don't like to present too many of my political beliefs because our democracy is founded on the belief that people are all different, that they have their own opinions, and that their the majority rules not because it is the most vocal, but because it is the most consented. Plus, I hate when people try to argue with me and change my opinions in politics if I don't want to be persuaded and I just want to vote--let people have their own opinions.
My psyche is my psyche. Until I know your psyche personally and I know I can trust you, you won't see mine.
With that said, I'd appreciate if my family and friends (you who read this blog) would answer the following questionnaire I developed to get a feel for my audience. It can help me find a starting point for some articles:
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