Transcript

I grew up in California. I was born upper middle class. I studied Computer Science. I think the American Dream is the notion that if you work hard and apply yourself, you can not just succeed, but succeed magnificently. I’m gay. I’m married to a gender queer person. Loneliness is endemic among gay men… a reaction to society being somewhere between unwelcoming and hostile. Being bipolar, it has introduced a very big element of challenge, particularly professionally. I see my peers doing work, and I look at them and say, “God Damn! I’m doing this with both hands tied behind my back compared to you.”

I don’t know if I’ll be able to get out of bed in the morning… I don’t know if I am going to fly off the handle and stay awake for 4 days and fly to Southeast Asia. It’s been a constant struggle. So what’s next from here for me is more about manifesting things into the world than it is about getting things for myself. Acquiring the resources that you want is part of the dream, but eventually that acquisition becomes empty. When you have the nice house, the nice house is just where you wake up in the morning. It’s no longer aspirational”

S is…

  • 40 Years-Old
  • Male, Cisgender
  • White
  • Upper Middle Class
  • Gay

Author’s Note

S explores what his American Dream based on his categories. S looks at the American Dream as something that every American can achieve if they work hard enough for it. I think this was in perfect relation to Cullen’s line, “And like other American Dreams, the power of this one lay in a sense of collective ownership: anyone can get ahead.” However, while we define ourselves as a melting pot and the land of the free, many Americans still experience racism and oppression.

In the Black American Timeline, I think S hones in on that point that on some level, each person has the individual power to obtain their American Dream if set their mind to it and put in the work. But on another level, we must be aware that not every American has the same opportunities to achieve their Dream based on their categories. It would seem that achieving the American Dream has something to do with the cross section of these two categories? What do you think?