Member-only story
Our Country ’Tis of Us
Restoring the Original Meaning of the American Dream
I adapted this article from “My Country ’Tis of Me”, a piece I created for a performance in January 2017.
It feels like the right thing to share on July 4 2022.
I was recently reminded of a moment when I was standing on a cliff at Land’s End in Cornwall back in the late ’90s. The slate gray sky was barely distinguishable from the equally gray ocean. The sharp rocks jutted up dangerously in the icy water where many a pirate’s treasure still lay hidden below. Looking back over my shoulder I saw the lush green countryside where people were preparing for Beltane, celebrating the coming of Spring. In that moment, I thought about my ancestors who left everything behind for an uncertain future somewhere over the barely visible horizon.
Reclaiming the American Dream
“The American Dream” has always been about the prospect of success, but 100 years ago, the phrase meant the opposite of what it does now. The original “American Dream” was not a dream of individual wealth; it was a dream of equality, justice and democracy for the nation. The…
