Pushing the Dream for Generations
Ideas on pursuing our individual dreams, not the dreams of others. Learning to hear our inner voice to guide us toward them while filtering out the noise of modern society’s dream pushers.
Hi,
I saw this billboard last week 👇
Pushing the Dream on the Next Generation
Here’s how I interpret it -
1 - I got my “dream job”.
I “made it” according to the standards society is setting. Now I can start to enjoy the fruits of my hard work, in a way that most people will agree I deserve.
Oh, but wait…I have this college debt. I went to an obscenely expensive school because that’s what I’m supposed to do and have to do to get my “dream job”. Taking out massive loans to do it is OK, since this is consistent with society’s expectations.
So now…
2 - I have to refinance those loans.
Since I “made it” in my career, the next step is to go deeper into debt by taking out an even bigger loan to buy a home. I’ll refinance my existing debt to take out more debt to do this, paying some fees for the “privilege”. This is OK too, because it’s normal and expected. Nobody will criticize or second guess me for doing it. They’ll actually criticize or second guess me if I DON’T do it.
Pushing the Dream for Generations
This is the dream pushers at work. They’re doing what they do best. What they do best is pushing the story that’s been ingrained in generations of us. They’re banking, literally, on the fact we won’t question this sequence.
You can see in the ad how assumed this sequence is. The Dream pushers wouldn’t spend the money to rent such expensive ad space if they didn’t think this message was universal and unquestionable.
In this case, the Dream pushers are pushing the financial services industry. Then they push you toward the pay-to-be-educated higher education system. They then act as the bridge into the real-estate machine.
Each step along the way, they and the industries they push you into profit from you. You go deeper into debt.
But it’s OK because that debt keeps you in compliance with society’s expectations. You’ll be happy too and stay that way.
You stay “so busy” making sure you can pay the debt you don’t question the sequence. We’re too busy to take a step back and even consider the path we’re barreling down.
But are we?
Spending some rare time in midtown Manhattan last week brought this question back to my consciousness. Most of the people I saw trudging along among the office buildings didn’t strike me as happy. Many of them looked like I did when I was chasing “the Dream” instead of my dream.
My hope is JRWI encourages more of us to chase our dreams, rather than the Dream. Please let me know how JRWI can support you in doing this.
Semi-Random Thoughts
The blog migration’s complete 🎉You can see it here.
I’d love to hear what you like and more importantly, one thing you’d like to see changed. Your feedback is greatly appreciated 🙏
I’ve also changed Music of the Week to Current Playlist. I hope you enjoy the expanded selections I’ll be posting.
Since I’m not listening to many podcasts these days, I’m going to remove that section. Instead, I’ll add any podcasts that feel share-worthy to the Current Playlist.
Photo of the Week
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Current Reading List
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Current Playlist
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