American dream. No more?

I remember when Kumar made his inspirational speech about the American Dream in "Harod&Kumar go to the White Castle", it was like this:

"Our parents came to this country, escaped from prosecution, poverty and hunger. Hunger, Harold. They were very very hungry. They wanted to live in a land that treats them equal, a land filled with hamburger stands. And not just one type of hamburger, okay? Hundreds of types of different sizes, toppings and condiments. That land was America! America, Harold! America! Now this is about achieving what our parents set out for. This is about the pursuit of happiness. This night . . . is about the American Dream!"

...And then they jumped off a cliff on a para-glider to a hamburger shop.

That was one of the most inspirational definition of American Dream I have heard in my life. Now, I am here, inside the country with the largest economy in the world, a country that was built on blood and sweat of millions of people from every corners of the world. People came here with different ideas, perspectives and motivations. They had, somehow, worked together and build a society of wealth, healthy and peace that many other nations would hope to achieve. They did that because that what they wanted to, what they hoped for, and what they could not do where they came from. That was the reason why we have this United State of America today. That is also the reason why millions of Mexican tries to risk their life crossing the border every year, as well as Asians, Europeans, Africans and many others and me. Although I did that legally.

Back home, Internet and Medias told us that America is a heaven compare to our country. They have freedom, food, healthcare, low criminal rate, education and everything else is better than what we had. We were the people who did not want to end up spending our entire life in a place that is not the best. We aimed for better. I studied hard, others worked hard, and now we are here. I am quite happy about it though.

Then one of my friend, who spent 6 years here studying, told me that she is moving to Australia. "Why Australia? Why not American Dream?", I said. "Because there is no American Dream. It was a lie." She told me.

 Turned out, she is now well fed, has "escaped from poverty and prosecution" for a long time, lived in an idea society in the eyes of her countrymen for a while, and now she wants more than just that. She wants challenges, opportunities, self-awareness. Here in America, most people are treated equally, have a safe life and share the same wealth of the nation. Everything are settled, normalized, standardized. You grow up, get education like everyone else, work hard for 40 years like everyone else, retire and die in some nursing home like everyone else. That is certainly an upgrade compare to our home country, where you grow up, get education like everyone else, work hard for 40 years like everyone else, retire and die, but all in a lower standard.

Nothing changed. We are just moved from a lower standard to a higher standard, and when we are getting used to it, we demand something more. Like in the Maslow's hierarchy of needs, we are now well fed, we will need to find our self-awareness, achievements. The American Dream is not a dream anymore when you got here, it became a burden when all your countrymen look at you in awe. They think they can find their true happiness if they get to America while in fact, it is just another place to live, not a dream.

True happiness is the road you walk toward your dream, not the dream itself.