I don’t even know what people think “the American dream” means anymore.
When I was a kid, it meant a house and two cars and a family of four, which, yes, is unachievable by even most of the people who actually want that, but that doesn’t seem to be what people mean anymore.
And really, since that isn’t achievable by so many, we are in much bigger trouble than that 53% thinks. Unless by ‘possible,’ they mean ‘a small number of people can still afford a house.’
The poll seems to define the American dream as “the idea that anyone can get ahead through hard work and determination,” which is one of the vaguer things I’ve read today.
Trying not to take it literally (there’s no way “anyone” can get ahead…) and responding to the general spirit of the idea:
Anecdotally speaking, I’m very fortunate to have a well-paid, air-conditioned job and own my own house not in the middle of nowhere. Even though I like to imagine much of that was due to hard work in school and not bombing interviews, I reckon it must be at least 90% due to what skin color I am, where I was born, how my family dynamic was growing up, how much money my parents made, and if I had an “in” at a potential job (i.e. a connection or friend there). And that 90% out-of-my-ass statistic is probably conservative. It’s an ugly truth that I think not many people want to admit to themselves, especially those in my demographic. I know whatever options I have will be more easily attained by someone in my situation, versus others out there. It’s a no-brainer.
That said, everything that makes up my relatively fortunate individual life still does not feel like it adds up to any sort of dream, simply because I live in the context of those around me, those in my community, and those who could not possibly get close to “the American dream” no matter how much they try. I cannot isolate my life from others in some sort of bubble. It feels to me as if the American dream should act as a kind of AND logic gate; until everyone can realize the American dream, no one can.
So, with the way things work here, I’d say it’s impossible and never was possible at any point in time. The American dream is not based in any kind of reality and is just a tool used by the ruling class to keep our heads down.
This should be a lesson for every state to enact marriage equality laws. If you think they’re not coming for Obergefell, then you aren’t paying attention.
Oh, sorry, yeah, I thought you were just asking about how those things with in general, not whether such a weapon could make someone confused. Yeah we don’t have anything that works that way.
Sure lasers don’t have recoil, but I see no reason a laser gun can’t have recoil.
Anything from flywheel energy storage, a lasing medium compressed by pistons, massive magnetic fields created by high currents, who knows what’s inside that thing.
A handheld laser gun has to generate a beam of such unrealistic intensity that I’d be surprised if the power stage didn’t buck in some manner.
$3.4M is too low of an estimate. If you assume someone works from age 18 to 65, that’s 47 years of employment at an average of $72,300-ish per year. Now assume time for college, plus people make less early on in their careers. You’re looking at a $100k income.
$100k is probably enough to support a mortgage, two kids, insurance, essentials, bills, and retirement savings in some LCOL areas, but not in many places. In many parts of the US, that might cover a modest house and monthly bills, but there won’t be much left over; forget retirement.
My old brain still looks at a 6-figure income as “you’re rich.” In 2024, you’re not even close.
Remember the last election our current president ran on a campaign promise to raise the minimum wage and then later during his presidency threatened the rail workers with their livelihoods when they were striking worker’s rights?
BOTH parties have actively kept the citizens down amazing no third party has support
almost like the US cannot fathom a world without geriatric leaders putting the people in their proper places
What sort of clown position is that? Your wage is one single number that defines how you live. That's the most important thing to every working adult esp if you have to take care of other people.
Are you even a liberal or just a brain dead political shill?
"But there’s a reason. There’s a reason. There’s a reason for this, there’s a reason education sucks, and it’s the same reason that it will never, ever, ever be fixed. It’s never gonna get any better. Don’t look for it. Be happy with what you got.
Because the owners of this country don’t want that. I’m talking about the real owners now, the real owners, the big wealthy business interests that control things and make all the important decisions. Forget the politicians. The politicians are put there to give you the idea that you have freedom of choice. You don’t. You have no choice. You have owners. They own you. They own everything. They own all the important land. They own and control the corporations. They’ve long since bought and paid for the senate, the congress, the state houses, the city halls, they got the judges in their back pockets and they own all the big media companies so they control just about all of the news and information you get to hear. They got you by the balls. They spend billions of dollars every year lobbying, lobbying, to get what they want. Well, we know what they want. They want more for themselves and less for everybody else, but I’ll tell you what they don’t want: They don’t want a population of citizens capable of critical thinking. They don’t want well informed, well educated people capable of critical thinking. They’re not interested in that. That doesn’t help them. Thats against their interests. Thats right. They don’t want people who are smart enough to sit around a kitchen table to figure out how badly they’re getting fucked by a system that threw them overboard 30 fucking years ago. They don’t want that. You know what they want? They want obedient workers.
Obedient workers. People who are just smart enough to run the machines and do the paperwork, and just dumb enough to passively accept all these increasingly shittier jobs with the lower pay, the longer hours, the reduced benefits, the end of overtime and the vanishing pension that disappears the minute you go to collect it, and now they’re coming for your Social Security money. They want your retirement money. They want it back so they can give it to their criminal friends on Wall Street, and you know something? They’ll get it. They’ll get it all from you, sooner or later, 'cause they own this fucking place. It’s a big club, and you ain’t in it. You and I are not in the big club. And by the way, it’s the same big club they use to beat you over the head with all day long when they tell you what to believe. All day long beating you over the head in their media telling you what to believe, what to think and what to buy. The table is tilted folks. The game is rigged, and nobody seems to notice, nobody seems to care. Good honest hard-working people – white collar, blue collar, it doesn’t matter what color shirt you have on – good honest hard-working people continue – these are people of modest means – continue to elect these rich cocksuckers who don’t give a fuck about them. They don’t give a fuck about you. They don’t give a fuck about you. They don’t care about you at all – at all – at all.
And nobody seems to notice, nobody seems to care. That’s what the owners count on; the fact that Americans will probably remain willfully ignorant of the big red, white and blue dick that’s being jammed up their assholes everyday. Because the owners of this country know the truth: it’s called the American Dream, because you have to be asleep to believe it.”
This account is based on interviews with current and former White House aides, political advisers, administration officials, foreign diplomats, domestic allies and financial donors who saw Mr. Biden in the last few weeks, sometimes just briefly, sometimes for more extended periods. In most cases, they spoke on condition of anonymity because of the delicacy of the matter.
And it’s a weird article, because about half the article is also (named) people saying the exact opposite during the same timeframe. So at best people close to him can’t even agree. Headline seems like bait.
Obviously you didn’t read the article because it’s in there.
Biden isn’t the only candidate who didn’t fare well following his performance — 49% of registered voters also believe Donald Trump doesn’t have the mental and cognitive health to be president.
Yes, Biden is aiding and abetting genocide, but that wasn’t part of the article. But literally 7/10 voters say Biden has lost the mental capacity to serve as president. It’s the reality whether you accept it or not.
Saying that Biden needs to be replaced is not the same as saying don’t vote for whoever is the Democratic candidate. I’ve been screaming into the void telling people to vote on Lemmy and even I think he needs to be switched out. The post debate polling is that damning.
If the dems shove it down our throats I’m still voting for him, but there’s still a narrow window to get a better candidate and we should take it.
There is a reddit comment that I condensed that summed it up well.
Blue MAGA is a term used by progressives and leftists to define liberals who tends to punch left with “vote blue no matter who” rhetoric, especially when dismissing criticism of the Democratic party and candidates, who generally conform to all the negative neoliberal stereotypes while demanding that they still get support because the other guys are worse.
Obviously, those people and others feel the same about “Genocide Joe” and that the lables still apply in the current election, where the same discourse from liberals is happening again.
Blind loyalists to blue guy instead of orange guy, devoid of evidence or reason to support their position… Mostly because they’re too skittish to promote the obviously better course of action. Big time bandwagoneers.
I can get into deeper detail as I’ve done elsewhere in my recent comment history, but this DNC member of 30 years nails it. Watch the second half in particular, but the whole clip is relevant: youtu.be/DtmZjFBMU90
This is the most important video out there right now.
Edit: I love how you down-voted before you could’ve ever possibly viewed the clip. Truly, exceptional open mind you’ve got.
I hate to say this, but the only way to save US democracy is for Biden to use this new “absolute immunity” to arrest or assassinate the SCOTUS and DJT and other enemies of pluralistic democracy.
I doubt that DJT and his allies would hesitate to do the same to their perceived “enemies”
He already wanted the National Guard to shoot BLM protesters. That seems like a pretty immune act in this ruling. Get some 18 year old conservative shithead guardsman pulled in from bumfuck county to the godless city to pull the trigger and start the shooting and he’s all good.
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