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I also made friends with Natalie from CJ, who had some strong opinions on American Idealism. She wrote an essay essentially criticizing the American Dream. It's an optimistic, rosy take on success and life in general. The thing of intrigue to me is how so many people actually subscribe to it and spend their entire lives chasing that dream under the false notion that equal opportunities abound for all who are willing to seize them and work hard.
I don't even believe that equal opportunity exists.
In a society that celebrates meritocracy, there's a danger of the elite becoming elitist. We already see that happening today, two distinct circles forming: the educated upper income group and the uneducated low income group. It's a vicious cycle for children growing up in families with uneducated parents, without help and academic guidance from home. And as the creme de la creme of the student population is yearly singled out and nurtured under greenhouse conditions, as the bright children of scholars are themselves offered scholarships, the gap between the well-educated and less well educated widens. It gets increasingly difficult for less privileged children to break out of the poverty cycle and into the upper-middle, educated circle.
In a sense then, I feel meritocracy aggravates the problem of unequal opportunity rather than solves it.
Reality is cruel. The American Dream is a myth. Hard work does not necessarily guarantee success in life, and not everyone is given the privilege of Choice.