Who Still Believes in the American Dream?
In Yazoo City, Mississippi, a cluster of kids playing in the street, stripped by the heat of shoes and shirts, greeted me like a rock star, surrounding me with requests, because I had a camera and wanted to talk.
I was traveling around the country asking people about the American dream, and when I asked them they answered without pause, a rapid-fire succession of desires for wealth and fame, obtained via the NBA, NFL, and hip-hop.
The adults, clustered yards away next to a grill, were less forthcoming, less eager, seemingly abashed to be talking about dreams.
After a few minutes of conversation, they reckoned that the American dream was a farce. This wasn’t an isolated event; most of the adults I spoke with on this trip, some 200 over 30 states, had a similar response.
