Astronaut Victor Glover on his recent trip past the moon had a physical perspective on the Earth that very few have ever been afforded. This led him to the metaphysical reflection that all humans need to realize we all are on the one spaceship we call Earth.
That we are all in this together is obviously a wise observation worth reflecting on, but it remains significant that the astronaut making it is an American. The voices we heard from farthest space bear American accents. In other words, Americans in the 21st century continue to lead the entire world in human accomplishment.
And one name for the fuel burned to power these achievements is the American Dream.
Lamentably, in 2026, nearly half of Americans believe the American Dream is dead. With America having been the leader of the free world in essentially all living memories, the gloom is surprising and the cure mysterious.
Both a source of pessimism and a path for the remedy lie in the country’s mythology. I mean mythology with a capital “M”—in other words, not silly, fictional stories told to amuse, but the narratives that a people use to imbue their values to the next generation. Simply put, our national storytellers have let us down.
Really, we should not be surprised by the failure. We have replaced the church with school and the family with media. For decades now, the academy has been almost solely interested in telling stories of grievance and criticism. Likewise, Hollywood and the media spin yarns of cynicism, nihilism, victimhood, and entitlement. We don’t put our heroes on pedestals anymore; we only pull them down.
When our storytellers and mythmakers feed us a steady diet of relentless negativity, our love of country and our gratitude shrivels and dies. What we need now more than ever is to hear the stories that make us appreciate and recognize the blessings that have been showered upon us. Stories that remind us to be faithful stewards of the gifts that have been bestowed. Tell us those stories, and then faith in the American Dream will revive. And, the best thing about that American mythology is that the mythology is true, the dream real.
Of course, even when we are telling the right stories, we have to be careful. We like to watch the championship game, not the first practice. We grow up in our parents’ midlife home, not their starter apartment. We remember graduation days, not the all-nighters. In other words, we too often expect to start at the finish line and forget that success always requires effort and sacrifice. We must remember the importance of the journey, not just a destination.
In America, your right to pursue happiness is what is secured, not financial success. It is an opportunity, not a result. The Emma Lazarus poem etched into the base of the Statute of Liberty does not read “give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to be rich.” It calls out to those “yearning to breathe free.” The American Dream is to live a life where you are free to act, free to succeed, and yes, free even to fail.
Historian Wilfred McClay captures the point in the name of his magnificent textbook on American History: Land of Hope: An Invitation to the Great American Story.
As JFK celebrated when he called us to go to the moon for the first time, Americans do things not because they are easy but because they are hard. That is the mythology that inspires. That is what makes us build that mythological “shining city upon a hill.”
As we embark on another semiquincentennial, let us not sell out our birthright for promises of materialistic porridge. Instead, we need to continue to teach and celebrate the American Dream not as a guarantee of prosperity but instead as a secured right of opportunity for all Americans to pursue happiness by embracing challenge—by embracing what is hard.
The American Dream is alive and well in 2026, but it must be understood correctly as a story of personal endeavor, not a money-back guarantee.
47% of Americans think the American Dream is coming to an end. With the rising costs of living, AI threatening to take jobs, and the self-entitled attitudes prevalent in our world today, many feel that this 250 year experiment has officially ended in failure. Few are hopeful that the future can be better for their children – in fact, some are even choosing not to have children.
This film dives into the stories of 3 real Americans who are grappling with the question: Is there hope for the future of this country? Is the dream still possible? Through their lives we will see what it looks like to live out the American Dream, and what each member of our nation needs to do to ensure it lives on for future generations.