Living the Dream

When asked how he's doing, one of our employees typically responds, “Oh, you know, living the dream.”

We have had a pretty high turn-over rate in our work force the last few years, and one of the most common reasons I'm given for leaving is this: “I've always wanted to try something else.” They say the pay is okay and we treat them fine, but they have always dreamed of doing this new job.

My dictionary has a number of entries under dream. The ones that seem the most fitting would be either “an object seen in a dreamlike state: vision” or “a goal or purpose strongly desired.” I think to understand this, one needs to also study American culture a little.

I'm sure we're all familiar with the term “The American Dream.” Some people think it is alive and well; others think it is unattainable for most; and some think it is just that—a dream. But what is it really?

I have been surprised how poorly defined the term “The American Dream” actually is. The term gets used a lot, but it tends to mean whatever a person wants it to mean. The spirit of the term is rooted in the fiercely independent nature of the settlers who tamed the American frontier. A lot of those who came to North America did so to escape the hierarchical or aristocratic societies of Europe. Those who ended up in control of what would become the United States were determined to protect their independent, individualistic natures with separation from Europe and new laws to enshrine their ideals. They wrote in the Declaration of Independence: “We hold these truths to be self evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”

Early in our country's history, “The Dream” consisted largely of moving west to the frontier, working hard to tame the wilderness and leaving something better for the next generation. The discovery of gold in California in 1849 added a new dimension to “The Dream” in the imagination of society-- instant success. The older version required dedication over many years; now the idea of hitting it big with a fortuitous decision or good luck became a more prevailing version of “The Dream.” For millions of people now, “The Dream” has less to do with material possessions and is more concerned with social and political aspirations. The feminist movement, the civil rights movement, and the LGBTQ movement are all examples of this.

I remember as a young lad listening to Dad discuss this subject with his friends. One of them, a Baptist minister, frequently bemoaned how the changing of American values kept people from being content. He said when he was small “The Dream” meant to have food on the table, your house paid for, and a car in the driveway. Now, he said, houses were a lot bigger, everyone had two cars in the driveway, plus they wanted a boat to take to the lake every weekend.

No treatise on “The American Dream” would be complete without the mention of Martin Luther King, Jr.'s “I have a Dream” speech. It is hailed as one of the greatest speeches in history. It gave voice to the African American's struggle to become equal to whites, politically and economically.

Pundits debate endlessly whose rights are most important. If the right to life is inalienable, what do you tell a woman that thinks her right to liberty and the pursuit of happiness is more important than the life of her unborn baby? How should a young man who thinks it is his right to liberty to drive whatever speed he wants be reconciled with the elderly gentleman who feels his right to the pursuit of happiness is endangered on a Sunday afternoon drive?

Pursuing one’s own dreams is as old as humanity itself. A nation encouraging all its citizens to individually pursue whatever makes them feel good started with the founding of the United States. In the big picture of history this is still a fairly new experiment. Has any of this significantly affected our Anabaptist communities? It shouldn't have. In studying this, a single word keeps coming to mind: selfishness. We are all taught from a very young age that selfishness is wrong. We have strong teaching about giving up our will for the good of the church so none of this secularism should be a problem in our communities. Right?

But I wonder. Within fifty miles of us there are between twenty and thirty Anabaptist-background churches that do not share communion with each other. I don't have a good way to figure out how many factions exist nationally, but I would guess there are at least double that number. Why? What is behind all of these microcosms of Christianity?

Less than a hundred years ago there were only two main Anabaptist churches in the United States: the Amish church and the Mennonite church. I don't know Mennonite history very well but according to some, an Amish minister was welcome almost anywhere in the United States up until the middle of the twentieth century. That is hard to imagine today. The Budget recently had a list of Amish communities across the United States. I was completely surprised by the sheer number of new communities that have sprung up in the last fifteen years. I realized a large percentage of my acquaintances, including myself, have been part of at least three different denominations in the past thirty years. What is the driving force behind this? Of course there are a multitude of reasons for the number of new communities, but I believe there is an elephant in the room that receives almost no recognition.

Probably one of the most common reasons given for a denominational switch is that we are doing it for the sake of the next generation, to give our children a better environment to grow up in. Is it only a coincidence that this argument parallels certain aspects of “The American Dream”? In 1774, the Governor of Virginia noted that Americans “forever imagine the lands further off are still better than those upon which they are already settled,” then sarcastically added, “if they attained Paradise, they would move on if they heard of a better place farther west.” With a few tweaks, it seems to me that this statement would be very fitting to the current situation in our Anabaptist circles today.

To me a dream would typically represent an ideal that hasn't been realized yet, something I would hope to attain in the future. As I studied this phenomenon I wondered if Jesus ever indicated a dreamy ideal for his followers on earth. We have a tremendous amount of straight-forward teaching, but what about a utopian ideal that hasn't been realized yet?

John 17:20-23 seems to fit the bill. “Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word; that they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me. And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one: I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me.” (emphasis mine.)

“That they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that thou hast sent me.” I do not know of a more noble dream to aim for than this.