The old American Dream was all about owning a house, a car, and creating a family. Courtney E. Martin a journalist and soon to be mother, discusses about the New American Dream in her T.E.D talk. In the talk she mentioned that people move jobs on average every 4.7 years, and in year 2020 more than half of Americans will be freelanders. Is this what we have to look forward to? Is this the New American Dream. During her T.E.D talk Mrs.Martin talks about what constitutes the 21st century good life.
“ For the first time in history, the majority of American parents don't think their kids will be better off than they were. This shouldn't be a cause for alarm, says journalist Courtney E. Martin. Rather, it's an opportunity to define a new approach to work and family that emphasizes community and creativity. "The biggest danger is not failing to achieve the American Dream," she says in a talk that will resonate far beyond the US. "The biggest danger is achieving a dream that you don't actually believe in." I believe that Mrs. Martin’s argument is stable and throughout the conference she justifies it with many facts and stories. For instances, she explains to the audience that 14.8 percent of Americans living in poverty need money, this reminded me of the survey PARADE did on over 2,200 Americans. “ In the survey, nearly 83% say that there is no money left to save after they’ve paid their bills” (Is the American Dream Still Possible? , David Wallenchinsky, Parade). Although Mrs. Martin’s argument was stable she was very dull and hard to follow at times, I didn’t like her much but I liked her idea.
Her talk obviously reminded me of the american dream in many ways, the first being the title which is why i picked this talk in the first place. But also the way she talked about family, friends and the sustainable life we can create for ourselves. The American Dream for her is to know what to do, to know that her children will be better off than her’s, she believes this is an opportunity to define a new approach to work and family that emphasizes community and creativity. This relates directly to the American Dream for herself and many others, because this is a separate dream all on its own.
Even though this T.E.D talk was directly related to what we’ve been doing in class, I didn’t like Courtney Martin’s talk due to the fact she was hard to follow and very dull. She gave good examples and related one or two things to a person level or story but it wasn’t enough to keep me interested. I found myself having to go back and re-watch over and over because I was to bored or wasn’t following. However, I did take away a few facts that have changed my perspective and I hope it changed the perspective of others who have watched this video. I no longer believe that the American Dream just has to be one thing, I believe we will be able to achieve the dream that we believe in personally.