Inflation, high gas prices, and the liberal media’s bad-mouthing of the United States be damned — most still believe the American dream is alive and well and reachable.
Timed for Independence Day, a new survey provided to Secrets found that half believe they’re on their way to achieving the American dream, and 30% said they’ve grabbed the brass ring.
What’s more, the survey from the Archbridge Institute said that people have shifted their view of the dream from a house, car, and picket fence to one that also includes freedom of choice.
Archbridge Institute President Gonzalo Schwarz told Secrets, “Our report shows that the American dream is alive and well. People think that they have more opportunities than their parents, and their children will have more opportunities as well.”
Schwarz said, “People also increasingly associate the American dream with nonmaterial endeavors like freedom of choice on how to live and having a good family life — contrary to the caricature of the American dream being more about material wealth. The majority of people are proud to be American, despite being pessimistic about the future of America. Despite our many flaws and challenges, people continue to love America and believe in its status as a land of opportunity.”
The survey, shown below, is a bit of good news, as Americans are being crushed by inflation, high gas prices, political disunity, and media reports and polling that they’re losing hope in the nation.
Most — three out of four — said that they feel proud to be American, said the survey.
But they are also down on the future. Some 58% said they are pessimistic, but not all. Archbridge found hope among minorities.
The analysis said, “Despite the encouraging news around the American Dream, opportunity, and pride in being American, when asked if they feel optimistic about the future of the country, most people say that they feel more pessimistic than optimistic. However, the results are even more interesting when investigated more closely. Whites are the most pessimistic, 65%; whereas Hispanics are just slightly more pessimistic than optimistic, 53%. Asian Americans are more evenly divided, and blacks are actually more optimistic to the tune of 64%.”
The Archbridge Institute is a group that promotes lifting barriers to those seeking a better life, and it said that building on the findings in the survey about hope for the American Dream might change that pessimistic view of the future.
The survey conclusion said, “Because people today are more pessimistic about the future of America, the need to coalesce around the ethos of the American Dream and pride in America is more important than ever. If more Americans knew about the positive news regarding the health of the American Dream and the nation’s continued status as the land of opportunity, perhaps they would feel more hopeful about the prospects for the country.”
2022 American Dream Snapsho… by Paul Bedard
Reporting from The Washington Times.
