For decades, Americans have been living their lives chasing the American Dream, and immigrants have traveled here hoping to achieve it as well. The dream is traditionally viewed as ‘get married, have children, work hard at your job and live in a suburban house with a white picket fence;’ however, some may argue that the famous American Dream has died.

Nonsense. The American Dream is still alive and well; it has just evolved throughout the years since the Second World War.

Many who still seek the dream don’t chase after the white picket fence but after a way of life that makes them feel most fulfilled: fame, fortune, adventure, glory, and yes even the traditional, happy family life that has been chased for decades. They believe an attainable dream is simply just an opportunity.

Yet many Americans view the infamous dream as unattainable. According to a poll conducted in 2018 by YouGov America, 28% of Americans believe that the American Dream is entirely unattainable for most people living in the US, and of that 28%, 18% believe that it is unattainable for them personally.

Could this spark of disbelief lead to a lack of motivation for progress in American society? Possibly. Even though in the long run, 28% is a minority of the population, this way of thinking could spread like wildfire in the coming years, and then where would we be? Americans would have no motivation to work hard to better themselves and their country; they wouldn’t have a desire to protect their homeland and preserve their freedom. They would have no desire to settle down and start a family.

Without the dreamers, the United States would come to a screeching halt in progress and innovation, and would practically forfeit our place as one of the top powers on the world stage. We would weaken and eventually crumble.

On the other hand, those who still dare to dream are the backbone of our society. They are the ones with the innovative ideas and the motivation to make change for the better. This is because they don’t dream of the white picket fence, but so much more than that. They dream to create, discover, and solve. Just as our way of life has changed since the end of WW2, so has the American Dream.

While the traditional white picket fence is still a great and valid dream, many don’t seek that as much as they do to be successful and live a happy life, and that is because society has changed its outlook on where certain people groups belong in society. A woman can do anything a man can do, there is racial equality, and a child has the ability to change the world just as much as any adult. We have come a long way since the original dream.

Though we may not all view it the same, and we may not all believe in its relevance, the American Dream will forever be engraved into American culture because it has sparked the greatest movements and inventions in our history. Just as we all have, the dream has grown and changed with time and will continue to for many generations to come. The times they are a changin’, and they will continue to. The question is: how will we, and our dreams, change with it?