So just what the fuck is the American Dream?

A few hundred years ago, some crazy motherfuckers in Europe found out there was wild land across the ocean. They were comfortable, they had extended families, and friends, and entire universes full of whatever a human life is comprised of, just like you do. Maybe they were unhappy as fuck, maybe they were persecuted for religious reasons, maybe they were stuck in a rut and saw no other way out, but for one reason or another, they decided that it was worth risking their life and even in many cases, the lives of their kids to rebuild their entire existence. And many of them paid that price. But they knew the risks, or at least had a pretty good idea of them, and they pulled the trigger on pursuing the American Dream.

That’s the thing about the American Dream. Whether for the rich or for the poor, it’s absolutely free, but you still pay for it. And it is the most expensive thing one can ever lay hold of. It is a complete unknown. The only thing that you know for sure about it is that there are no guarantees. The first thing that it demands of you is your entire life as you know it. Your past and the past of all the generations that have come before you.

Let’s take a look at the early settlers of our great nation.

The first payment was the departure. They had to leave behind everything with the only guarantee of anything being that they would never return. They walked away from all that they owned, their families and friends and acquaintances; their very heritage and would-be legacies were abandoned. The only things they could bring with them were what they could carry and what they knew.

The second payment was the journey. In the 17^th and 18^th Centuries, the trip took anywhere from 6 weeks to 4 months, depending on the point of departure/arrival, weather, and other variables. The chances of dying on the passage were 1 in 5 and they hadn’t even yet set foot on American soil.

The third payment was the arrival. Early settlers had a 2 in 5 chance of dying in the first three months, and the first year only 30% - 60% of them survived depending on the colony. If they could survive the first year the odds of dying from plague, famine, hostile natives, or another such horrible death dropped back down to 1 in 5 thereafter.

But this was necessary. This is where the greatness of America began. In the minds and ideas of its settlers. These ideas came from all over Europe and eventually across the globe. But if the ideas were wrong, the problem was self-correcting, because the bearer of them fucking died, and the wrong ideas died along with them. It was a purification by fire of any thought that did not contribute directly to survival, and as a matter of course, the only ideas that survived were the best ideas.

This is critical in the shaping of the United States. It is a nation of ideas. It really is. The very fabric of this nation is great ideas all woven together, and it’s baked right the fuck into its culture to seek them out, cultivate, and fuel, and empower them. Because, for the first people who came here – that’s the only way they could fucking keep breathing. The American culture is the ultimate empowerment of the only thing that a human being can create from nothing: an idea. That’s why people want to come here. Because the whole goddamn thing is set up to seek out the best ideas and make them prosper, no matter who the fuck comes up with them. That’s what the American Dream is. It’s one shot at a long shot that I can make a difference in this world. And somewhere deep in all of us – in every human – is this strange and powerful conviction that I have what it takes if I just had the chance. That’s why everyone in the world wants to come here. And we do it. We will give people that chance. Because ideas are the world’s most precious and powerful resource, and we as a nation somehow recognize that. And reward that, and encourage that. That is exactly why we are the most powerful nation in the world. Because we have somehow figured out how to create a culture that empowers the most amazing and powerful thing that we have yet discovered in this universe: the human being.

And to all of you who despise this country – maybe you don’t understand it. Maybe you haven’t thought it through. It’s not perfect, but the entire god damn thing is based on the idea that we really can lift each other up. That the conviction in each of us that we really are something special, if only we had the chance to prove it – that shit is fucking true! We as a nation actually believe that. Which is why we applaud the great things of humanity. We applaud the athlete, the scientist, the entrepreneur, artist. Because in our applause is the faith and belief that something in me is worthy of that applause as well, if only I can sharpen it up, and get one shot at a long shot to prove it to someone who will see the value in it. Well, that is what this country does best. It finds the value in people and it lifts them up. That is the American Dream. That’s why it’s free, but it’s so expensive. Because at the end of the day, it’s all on you. It has to be all on you, because it is YOU that is the future marvel of this world. No one else can help you, because you’re the only one who is you. So, for those of you who live here and despise this country – You’re betting against yourself. Because this is the only place that will take whatever you have to offer to the rest of humanity, and shine the world’s biggest spotlight on it for all to see.

And for those of you who don’t live here and are trying to destroy it. You need to sit down and think about it. Because you too have that spark in you that we all have, that thing stronger than a belief, that within you is something truly amazing that the rest of the world ought to see. And you are striving to destroy the place that was founded on discovering what that is in each and every person who sets foot on our shores. Plus we’ll fucking kill you if you try to fuck this up, because we understand the value of what we are protecting.

And for you who seek to come here that you may be empowered to be the greatest version of yourself that you can become. If you are willing to make the same great sacrifice that others have made before you, and forsake your land, your heritage, and would-be legacy, and brave the open seas, or deserts to get here… you are the kind of people that we need. Those who hunger for opportunity to not only survive, but to thrive in our land… as for me, I say “Welcome”. I hope that some other Americans recognize that those who sacrifice the most to get it are the most worthy of it, and hope that one day soon, laws can be put in place that give preference to those who have come here at such great cost, giving them a chance to become Americans, for they have more in common with our founders, and are more American to me than the ones whose visas have been lobbied for by big tech. All ideas are precious, but when the skin those ideas are wrapped in has undergone great sacrifice and proven its grit and perseverance to us all, I’d say they rate the one chance at a long shot more than many Americans do.  

It seems that most Americans themselves don’t know what the American Dream really is. The expectation seems to be that if I live here, I deserve it. In a way that is true. You do, by virtue of being an American. But the American Dream is not the house and the white picket fence, or fame, or fortune. The American Dream is the “One chance at a longshot”. There are still no guarantees but sacrifice. And if that wrankles your ire, you don’t understand what you have. You are camping on the starting line of a great adventure to which most others of this world will never have the opportunity to even imagine. The American Dream is yours to take or leave. But only an American can pull it off.  So, my fellow Americans, on this Independence Day, July 4^th, 2025, I exhort you to think about this today. To take hold of that which so many others have sacrificed everything in the pursuit of. The starting line is right there at your feet, the journey begins with your first step. You may be an American, but you’re not being one. Take the first step. Let us all be amazed by that spark within you. Be a god damn American.

©Jason Lee Morrison, July 4, 2025