How I Quit Chasing the American Dream

American Dream, rejecting materialism, living simply, sell everything you own, find yourself, American man

D. T. Brown didn’t quit owning things. He quit materialism.

Stop Saying Gatsby’s Green Light Is the American Dream

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An open letter to film reviewers, critics, and students

Owning Whiteness

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Rather than defend against the charge, Justin Cascio attempts to define and possess his Whiteness.

My American Dream [Op-Ed]

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Alex Yarde wonders if his generation will be the last to benefit from the American Dream

Why We Don’t Need a Second ‘War on Poverty’ (At Least Not Now)

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Professor Elizabeth Rigby on the “non-poverty” poverty issues to which President Obama will likely devote his second term.

Get A Job! The Myth of Labor

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Our images of manhood and success are too often tied to a “working man” image that doesn’t exist in the real world any more.

From the Bottom of the 47 Percent

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Sean Davis came from the poorest of the poor, from the white-trash, from food stamps and toys made from boxes of government cheese—and he has a message for America.

The Amnesia of 9/11

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We came together as a country eleven years ago. Can we do it again in 2012?

Generation Y Is Not Impatient

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Young people did not invent their definitions of success; they reflect the values of their parents.

What’s a Man To Do? New Work for 2012 and Beyond

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Find the new good life.

An Ode to Joy

photo by Robert D. Brooks and Sean McGrath

Matthew Piepenburg tries to see beyond mere financial success to grasp the nature of the American dream.

Don Draper Is America

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Don Draper is a dead man.

Admitting Inadequacies Is Manly

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Cameron Conaway recounts watching his students reason through Death of a Salesman, the American Dream, and admitting one’s weaknesses.

My Dad and the Cows

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That night, with my burned hands, I was inconsolable. My Dad could think of nothing else to comfort me but to take me to the pickup and drive out back to see the cows.

Top 10 Good Men of 2010: The Billionaires Who Pledged Their Fortunes

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The Giving Pledge is being honored not just for the money raised, but for its potential to breathe new life into the world of philanthropy.

Enough of the Stuff

In response to the uncertainties of the economy, more Americans are embracing a not-so-American way of life: minimalism.