I Just Want a Jacuzzi

The American dream is hard to pin down to a T because it is such a constantly changing thing. I would describe the American dream as the white picket fence, and the "atomic family". In the view of the general public, maybe not so much. But I truly think the American dream is what Fitzgerald described in TGG, the ability to never worry about how much you have or what you're spending. A life of squalor for the gain of looking good. I think it could be argued that it ties closely with American values of freedom and self-determination because of how much freedom a seemingly unlimited amount of money provides a person. Over time, the American dream has changed greatly as we can see both from our own experience, our parent's experiences, and literature and history. I would also say from my maternal grandfather being "fresh off the boat" so to say, I got a very different view of what he thought the American dream was and how that was shown to me. I know that has influenced my perspective throughout my life and what I see as wealth compared to others. 

I will always define wealth as stability and comfort. I don't need to have a big house with a nice car with all the trimmings for wealthy. Now, does any of that hurt? Of course not. But in the best sense of the word me being wealthy means me being less stressed. It would mean I didn't put too much thought into purchases and where my money was going. Or at the least I wouldn't check the price twice. I don't think that's a common attitude in today's society because more often than not people want the big materialistic life. I don't like the idea of somebody going out into the world just to make money and impress people, I think that it defeats the whole purpose of living your life to better other's lives.

The American attitude towards wealth and poverty is a really heavily debated, even argued, issue. The rich don't understand the poor, and the poor don't understand the rich. America is a country divided these days, and to worry about money is very common. We can see this in a political sense. We have one of America's richest men as President, and a "socialist" was one of his competitors. I would say the best view is that the gap keeps expanding, and there seems to be little to nothing that we can do about it. In my own personal view, I know I am beyond lucky to have been born into the family that I was with the opportunities that I have. I also personally am not the biggest fan of the lavishly wealthy. People who got what they have without earning it don't deserve it. The old idea of  "pulling yourself up by the bootstraps" is a good summation of what I believe, and is something Gatsby embodied. A poor Midwestern farm boy becoming an East Coast millionaire is not something we see everyday and is mostly just an ideal situation. I know there are people out there who are unable to get out of poverty because they're stuck in a cycle and I think that they should absolutely be helped. I also strongly believe in the give a man a fish vs teach a man to fish idea, giving something to somebody just because is no good reason at all. If we were able to give better education to our lower classes we would be able to make a huge shift in the lives of everyone.