Donald Trump is the living American Dream: to make it even though the odds are stacked against you. So much money in spite of repeated bankruptcy, so many supermodel wives and girlfriends in spite of terrible hair, television star in spite of a terrible personality, and now, a growing following as he runs for President of the birthplace of The Dream. So why is everyone else so scared?
What would it really take to make America great again? Maybe the problem isn’t Trump, but the dream that the American people don’t want to wake up from. The same dream that never comes true for them, president after president.
What are we missing?
Maybe the rising popularity of Trump in the US should draw attention to a larger truth: That people are full of fear for their future, and don’t know how to feel secure about their jobs, property or lives, in spite of having done their best to work hard and make sacrifices to achieve the dreams they were promised since they traversed the planet against the odds, for a better future. Maybe this is not about Trump, but about the lost souls that Trump represents, the ones that don’t have the benefit of world view, of experience, of education, of faith in anything but money and the dreams painted for them on television. Maybe the focus shouldn’t be on a single election and the terrible future Americans will face if Trump becomes POTUS, but about how things have gotten to this point, that the American people feel like this man actually represents their best interests. Maybe it’s time to pay attention to what the American Dream is falsely promising, not only to the US, but to everyone around the world that idolises the principles that that country was built upon… notions that are increasingly unsustainable in an increasingly globalised, connected world that consumes resources at too-high a rate, where the reality that a billion dollars is not just unattainable for each person with a dream, but also is not the secret formula to happiness is finally starting to become apparent.
I’m not American. I’m from India.
But I’m concerned that this shallow, unattainable, unsustainable dream is affecting the happiness and progress of my fellow countrymen, too. And it’s crucial that such a large percentage of the human population is chasing the right dream, a dream that can actually come true for them, and make them truly happy, instead of turning them into frustrated, angry mobs of people taking what they didn’t get by force from those who “made” it. We, as a civilisation, cannot afford to take such steps backward into savage acts that are purely made out of fear and frustration. We, as a democracy, cannot let people believe in a future that won’t come true for them because 1.2 billion people cannot become billionaires within this lifetime. We, as the human race, need to start looking at the bigger picture, not now, but yesterday.
In a democracy, the elected representatives are supposed to make the best decisions for the people, but the people elect the one that best represents them. So the question is, regardless of who becomes the next president of the United States, who is taking into consideration that there is a growing population of disillusion, misinformed people with broken dreams that need something to help them believe in the future again? Let’s look at the root cause of why Trump even is part of this presidential campaign to begin with: people have been given a dream that can never really come true, when the glitz and glamour of money and media is stripped away, all that is left is a whole bunch of naked humans clinging desperately to anything that makes them feel important or valued by their society, anything that makes them feel they won’t be forsaken, because they were taught to HAVE more, not to BE more. They were taught about external value, not internal value. They were promised that if they just made enough money, all their problems would go away. They were told that if you’re on TV, you’re important and loved. They’ve been lied to, and now they have nothing left to cling to but the remains of a broken dream.
Satire at its best, using the medium as the message against itself: Brad Pitt as Tyler Durden in Fight Club (1999)
I have a Human Dream.
We need a new dream, not just the American Dream 2.0, because this is about everyone on the planet.
Let’s create the Human Dream, one that unifies the hopes and aspirations of all people around the world, and promises them all the unconditional love and acceptance they seek, the security that their fellow humans won’t reject them and abandon them, the supporting hand of anyone of any colour or faith purely on the basis that we are all human, and we all just need to know that we’ll be okay, and all of this pain and hard work was not for nothing, and we will not die cold and alone, but with fire in our hearts and the warmth of people all around us until the last moment.
Each and every one of us humans needs to be loved.
Even the rich ones and the poor ones and the sick ones and the mean ones. Even the addicted ones, even the broken ones, even the lost ones. Even the misguided ones. Even the terrorists and the rapists. Even Trump.
You are loved, just the way you are, even when you are naked and scared and have nothing. You have nothing to prove. You have nothing to fear. You have nothing to become, except more you. And we will all help you. We won’t leave you behind, we promise. We will all stay together, and take care of each other. Just be you, we love you.
When we become capable of loving each and every living being in the universe, we will finally start to reach our true potential as the conscious guardians of this gift of life. We will each become the best version of ourselves. We will each give ourselves, our talents and perspectives and energy, freely and fearlessly. We will each overcome our greatest struggles with great inner strength. We will each become a fully functioning, contributing, conscious, loving part of the great big beautiful whole. We will know our role in the world and we will play it with grace, and ease. We will consciously participate in our own evolution, and we will truly begin to shape the world we live in. We will far exceed all of our dreams of today. We will start to live the Human Dream.
Well, this is my Human Dream, anyway. Tell me yours.
You may say I’m a dreamer, but I’m not the only one. — John Lennon, Imagine (1971)
If you share my dream, please share or like this post, so more people have a chance to share our dream. Thank you.