The 20th century was devoted to selling the "American dream"

[Skidmore]

to the masses. That capitalism was the way to freedom, that everyone should own their home and property and as much stuff as could be crammed on it as possible. Now that the people have bought the dream, business and government want to opt out. The American worker is left hanging--still being constantly fed a steady diet of products to consume and the expectation that someday he/she may strike it rich and reach the pinnacle. American Idol--good choice for a program entirely based on that premise. People forget that idols are only objects. Screaming to the bottom at breakneck speed and the cons that sold the bill of goods are laughing all the way to the bank. I saw an ad on teevee last night by some financial company (UBS?) who proudly touted that it had two locations, there and next to you, because it is global.

[beam me up scottie]

1. I agree.

The best thing I ever did was kill my tv.

I live on the internet now, but it's time well spent.

I don't have to filter everything I take in because I control the input.

When I happen to catch a commercial, political ad or infomercial, it just blows my mind.

Did I used to listen to that?

Do people really believe this crap?

Yep and yep.

[laruemtt]

3. me too, beam me up. i can only take

about two minutes of tv before my head starts hurting from the lies, spin and just plain stupidity. :eyes:

[beam me up scottie]

4. I mean,

I knew it was bad long before I got rid of it, but now...it's like a scene from some kind of bizarre sci fi movie.


* !


I just remembered why.

One of my favorite movies was John Carpenter's "They Live".

From a pic in an old sig line of mine

[itzamirakul]

2. The hurtful thing about the American Dream to me was just how fast it

was able to be broken apart into little shards of glass and blown into the wind.

As someone who has lived through the greater part of the 20th century, I saw the average family rise from extreme poverty to a fairly comfortable middle-class standard of living. When I began teaching school in 1964, I earned $4,100 a year and my spouse on the police force earned $8,000. We bought a 3-bedroom house for $21,000 on the G.I. Bill, having served in the armed forces as a draftee. Today, that same house is selling for nearly $200,000!

Now, in order to be considered middle-class, a family needs an income of more than $100,000 annually. If you and your family are existing on $50,000 or less, you are at a true poverty level.

Recent rulings by the Supreme Court on "immenent domain" also serve to eradicate the American Dream. If what you work for and pay dearly for can just be taken from you willy-nilly because the "government needs it" and you are paid either nothing or a mere pittance for your property, then so much for anything called "the American Dream."

[Hubert Flottz]

5. UBS is a bunch of old school Nazi Lovers like the Bush gang...

They are the new owners of ENRON. Bush and UBS/Warburg goes way back, to the early part of the American dream century. Together the two families have plotted the American Nightmare you see unfolding in this new century. They were the trolls hiding under Mr. Clinton's Bridge to the 21st century. They want ALL your money!