Like their parents before them they desire to take this dream and shape it in alignment with their realities. Being no different than the ways of their parents, it is an evolving dream that is at the end of the day alive and well, looking for a more perfect definition holding onto the leaps of imagination with its excitement of possibilities.
This excitement embraces that far beyond a land bound by sea to sea, seeing personal fulfillment as more than material success. Despite believing homeownership and starting a family were easier for those who came before them, Ethan and Patricia possess the dream to grow materially and spiritually.
Their skepticism about the political and economic landscape of their country of today does not dim the optimism they have for their future, a vision not of the glamourous lifestyle in the ads but a world of caring for each other.
Ethan and Patricia are not alone. Among millions they live pursuing their dreams realizing the American Dream is a lot more than a house with a white fence and a car in the garage. The American Dream is a vision for success, but a success being redefined.
The Ethans and Patricias of our country are not waiting for permission. They are creating their own lives through side hustles, remote work and entrepreneurship, the prize virtue of America.
Henry David Thoreau wrote, “If you built castles in the air, your work need not be lost; that is where they should be. Now put the foundations under them.” Eleanor Roosevelt said, “The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.”
These words speak to and describe the Ethans and Patricias of this world. They are plentiful. They are our best resources.
The Ethans and Patricias are to be seen as seeds containing greatness looking for a way to bring nourishment to these seeds. And essential to this nourishment is freedom with meaningful and sufficient work.
Instead, the Ethans and Patricias of this country are of the 60 million people receiving Medicaid, 42 million families receiving food subsidies, 30 million children receiving free school lunches, 5 million families receiving housing assistance.
Ethan and Patricia, and millions like them, young, hard- working, educated, caring and devoted parents, believing in God, respecting the heritages of their mothers and fathers, deserve better.