In an interview on Theo Vonās podcast This Past Weekend, Mamdani warned that if the American Dream is just an ideal thatās out of within reach, then people may start to give up.
The democratic socialist compared it to legendary NYC Mayor Fiorello La Guardiaās observation during the rise of fascism in Europe, saying people turned away from democracy not because they were tired of liberty, but because they were tired of being hungry.
āSo if democracy doesnāt mean the better life that it has to, itāll lose its worth. And the same thing with the American Dream: if itās something you can only see when you turn on your TV or you hear about that one guy you grew up with who made it, that doesnāt mean enough,ā Mamdani said.
What is āThe American Dreamā?
It always seems to be portrayed idealistically as a single family home in a car dependent suburb. A large driveway, and massive front lawn with a white picket fence. Something like in the image below.
Almost all these similar photos have a ātraditional family values vibeā, white family, stay at home mom, two kids of different genders. Honestly it all just screams propaganda to me.
On top of all that when you āzoom outā, that typical āAmerican Dreamā becomes a car dependent hellscape ike the one below. With no way to get around.
I donāt know, but not everyone has a wish to live in a place like this. Give me walkable transit oriented mixed use neighborhoods with āmissing middleā housing types any day.
Throw in āthird-placeā public areas where I can hang out with friends and family outside of home and work. Give me regional trains between cities, subways and trams, dedicated bus infrastructure. Give me safe cycling networks and dedicated trails. Give me city parks and fresh produce markets I can walk to.
Iām pretty sure the mayor of New York City is not talking about the suburbs when he says, āAmerican Dream.ā He means a comfortable life, evenings off work, good schools for your kids, fun vacations, and generally not feeling like youāre one accident away from financial ruin.
For sure, I suppose the point I was making is everyoneās version of the āAmerican Dreamā can be different, and people should not feel the need to be always ākeeping up with the Jonesesā in a sense.
The original American dream was independence and self sufficiency which was realized through land grants and farming. At some point, the dream got switched to owning a house that is only a collection of monthly expenses, and without any income-producing potential which farming granted. Iām not sure how many other shifts occurred along the way.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Dream
Works well if you have an excess of land that you stole by genocide and excess of wealth gained due chattel slavery
You want to live in The Netherlands.