Paraphrasing Mark Twain, reports of the death of The American Dream™ are greatly exaggerated.
Despite the doom and gloom we're hearing on the nightly news (and isn't it odd how it's always the other guy's doom and gloom?) there are still plenty of people, a vast majority of people, who are still doing ok.
Some, even better than ok.
My oldest daughter is engaged to a young man who came here from Mexico with nothing but the shirt on his back, and through a strange set of circumstance too long and embarrassing to go into here, he soon didn't even have that. Broke, homeless, a non English speaker, and here illegally, lacking even shirt sleeves to roll up, he went to work.
He took whatever jobs he could get, saved his money, and worked his butt off. Two, three jobs at a time, he worked his way across the country until he arrived in Alabama, where he joined others of his family. He continued to work hard, clocking in a total of 65-75 hour weeks, all the time saving money. Eventually, he bought a truck. Then he bought a mobile home and instead of moving in, he stayed in a cramped double wide with his family and rented out the mobile home. He traded in his truck for a nicer one. Then he bought another mobile home, and moved into it with my daughter.
All of this time, he worked his tail end off, trying to build something he couldn't have had back in Mexico, a solid life.
And because he worked hard, and smart, and had the support of his family around him, he is succeeding. Just don't call him "lucky." Luck had nothing to do with it. Endless hours of hard work coupled with initiative, patience, common sense, and iron self control brought his to where he is.
Every time I hear somebody complaining about how it is impossible to get ahead in this country, that "the man" is keeping them down, that "the rich" are taking everything away from everybody else, what I really hear is the crying of a spoiled baby who never got over mommy taking the tit away and wanting the gov't to replace it. The American Dream was never about having success delivered to you without effort. It was never about a guarantee of success. It wasn't even about that house with a white picket fence and two cars in the garage.
The American Dream was always about the opportunity to improve your life through your own efforts. And friends and neighbors, we can only appreciate something if we've had to work for it. If it's a gift, it has no value. To put it in terms the young folks can understand, when Paula tells you that you did great on American Idol, it means almost nothing. She tells everyone that. But if Simon tells you that you're a star, buddy, you believe it. Why? Because you had to earn it. Simon doesn't care about your "feelings." He's not worried about your self esteem. All he cares about is whether you knock his socks off with your performance.
His praise has value because you have to earn it.
The value of achievement is the bedrock of the American Dream. And it is that sense of value that is under constant attack, cheapened and dissolved by every federal giveaway program instituted over the last 5 decades. Those of us raised under the pervasive nanny state that is Washington DC no longer value achievement as highly because most of us have never had to work for it. We've had it handed to us, either by the gov't, or by our parents. And we want more. Now it's universal health care that we want. We want the federal givernment (no, that's not a typo) to take care of us, instead of being willing and able to take care of ourselves.
That's why so many American's are failing to live the dream. That's why so many say the dream is dead. It's not because it's no longer possible; it's because most of us have forgotten that it takes hard work to achieve it. How many of us think that we could do what this young man has done? How many of us think that we could move to a foreign land, carrying nothing but the clothes on our back, and work our way up to prosperity? How many of us are willing to work long hard hours day after day, denying our impulsive purchases in order to save for the future?
It's not 'the man' or 'the wealthy' that are keeping us down.
It's ourselves and the choices we make.
Work hard; make good choices; exercise self discipline, and act with initiative.
Just ask Gustavo. Or his brothers.
Posted by Rich at March 20, 2008 3:24 PM | TrackBackImpressive. It would be even more impressive if he had worked as hard at getting here legally as he did in making all that money. Your daughter must really love him though if she is willing to risk going to prison for him for aiding and abetting his crimes.
Posted by: on March 21, 2008 1:53 PMWow. The only thing you get out of that is his illegal status?
Can there be any more dramatic proof of the truth of what I wrote?
Posted by: rich on March 21, 2008 3:20 PMI read your post with mixed feelings, to be sure. I totally agree with your assessment that the American work ethic has gone by the wayside. I also relate to your future son in law on some levels. I grew up in housing projects. I know what it's like to wonder where my rent payment is going to come from. I once lost my job, my car, and my home in the same month. And yet, I always worked hard for everything, and it paid off big time. It saddens me that Americans lack that kind of work ethic today.
Now, I should add that I live in Texas these days and I see lots of people like your future son in law. But I also see a lot who are entirely the opposite, who are here with no intention of working more than they have to, and take as much from the state as they can manage. It is the latter type that disturb me.
And I am a strong believer in the rule of law.
So what does all of that mean? It means that I wish your future son in law had come here legally. I don't know why he didn't, and I am sure he has a compelling reason. So I guess maybe I agree with his end but not with his means. Which is all to say that I am just one person in the blogosphere with a not so strong opinion, and that doesn't mean a hill of beans as far as you or your family is concerned.
Anyway, congratulations to you and yours, and thanks for the story.
Posted by: Dave on March 22, 2008 12:30 AM"Impressive. It would be even more impressive if he had worked as hard at getting here legally as he did in making all that money."
Are you saying the US will be willing to give him visas to come to here legally in a reasonable amount of time? Or make him wait for 10 yrs or more... And since he does not speak english the VISA officer will be kind enough to stamp his "passport?" And since you spoke with so much authority about getting her legally can you point out which program and or which forms this young man should have filled out and waited for his turn??
Look the point is; No 1 wants to come here illegally! If we had a sound and a reasonable system where it is easier to obtain a workable visa or work-permit, or an option to work here and if you have invested certain amount of time and payed taxes and lived crime-free you ought to have a chance to self-sponsor to obtain a greencard and then after 5 yrs an option to apply for citizenship. The current system doesn't have such provisions in place. The laws are so construed and complex and narrow it creates a mess which we see today. This is the reason why we need to overhaul the system with a global outlook instead of a Nativist Outlook. This is common sense and this is how it should be.
Posted by: Montanpat on March 24, 2008 11:33 AMAre you saying the US will be willing to give him visas to come to here legally in a reasonable amount of time? Or make him wait for 10 yrs or more... And since he does not speak english the VISA officer will be kind enough to stamp his "passport?
He could use the waiting period for his visa to learn English.
"And since you spoke with so much authority about getting her legally can you point out which program and or which forms this young man should have filled out and waited for his turn??"
That's up to him to find out. No one in Mexico, Germany, Australia, wherever, is going to hold my hand and show me what I'd need to do to immigrate to those countries. It'd be up to me to find out. If these illgals put out as much effort in getting a visa as they do in sneaking across the border they'd have no trouble at all in getting a visa.
"Look the point is; No 1 wants to come here illegally! If we had a sound and a reasonable system where it is easier to obtain a workable visa or work-permit,"
Thousands of people every year get visas to come here so it obviously is'nt too hard to do for anyone who's willing to put forth the effort.
"or an option to work here and if you have invested certain amount of time and payed taxes and lived crime-free you ought to have a chance to self-sponsor to obtain a greencard and then after 5 yrs an option to apply for citizenship."
You can do this; with a visa.
"The current system doesn't have such provisions in place. The laws are so construed and complex and narrow it creates a mess which we see today."
The USA's immigration laws have changed very little in almost a century and no one seems to have any problem with them except the illegals and those who sympathize with them.
"This is the reason why we need to overhaul the system with a global outlook instead of a Nativist Outlook. This is common sense and this is how it should be."
Better yet, we need to model our immigration system to mirror Mexico's.
http://www.citizensforaconstitutionalrepublic.com/waller5-8-06.html
It dos'nt matter how hard they're willing to work to make something of themselves if they're criminals. And since people like this guy you're talking about broke our immigration laws that's exactly what they are, criminals. And they deserve nothing except a prison sentence and/or a boot out of the USA.
Posted by: Cactus Jack on March 24, 2008 3:32 PMHey Rich..great to hear about your soon to be son-in-law. Congrats on the new addition to your family!
I'm a legal immigrant to the U.S. and think that whats happened to him is just wonderful. As to Gustavo taking a legal route..there isn't one. I am a skilled worker with a college degree. I had 3 or 4 different legal avenues to come here, Gustavo for all intents and purposes had none. He worked his ass off instead.
Posted by: Manish on March 24, 2008 11:55 PMYou summarized in a few paragraphs what's going wrong in our country today. I'm guilty myself! It may not be the popular opinion but I'm in full agreement!