Observations on the American Dream

As a child of the middle class with a stay-at-home mother and full-time working father, I always felt I was living the American dream. Our new home with two-car garage and large shaded yard was what everyone dreamed of having. There was a color TV in the family room and a healthy family each night at the dinner table. To me, this was the picture of the American dream in the 1960's.
Today, my students look in disbelief when I tell them how exciting it was to get that first color TV. "How did you survive without a cell-phone and computer?" is what they want to know. Their Amreican dream consists of a hard-ship license at age 14 so they can drive the new Toyota their parents bought just for them. An iPod is a given and their homes have at least two computers and some type of game system.
For many, the American dream is all about money. The dream means more cars, bigger homes, exotic vacations, and lots of "stuff". All this takes larger bank accounts and often more work hours. It is hard for me to believe that a dream would consist of longer hours because that would mean less time to enjoy that dream.
I still feel that I am living the American dream. Maybe I should call it "my" American dream. The dream has shifted as I've grown older, and hopefully wiser. My dream still consists of a place to call my home and a vehicle to take me places. I am sure my dream will always have a material aspect, but there are two things that loom large in the dream today. One is freedom and the other is time. The freedom that comes with living in this country, freedom to express ideas and to live and work as I please. The time to work and play and to enjoy my freedom. For me, in 2008, this describes my American dream.