If you have to ask why, you are far beyond hope of ever grasping it. Even throwing 5000 words at the concept is a waste of time.
I disagree with you on this, publius911. I make it a point to read many of your posts, as your insight on this type of thing is valuable, but on this I have a different interpretation than you do.
The phrase “The American Dream” does have meaning, and a significant one. While I can agree 100% that “Hope and Change” is a trite political platitude (Hope for what? What is the Change?) I believe the phrase “The American Dream” has acquired a rich depth of meaning
There have been generations of people who came to America (before it became the land of “handouts” for immigrants) who DID have a dream. (back when immigrants actually assimilated into the American society)
They dreamed of getting work. They dreamed of working hard and buying material things like food, clothes, a house/apartment, or a car. There were a lot of people driven to come here, because they heard it could be done. It could be done, was done, and is still done.
To stigmatize the statement “The American Dream” because some POS leftist created it, is to cede that battlefield to liberals. I do admit that most of the people now who come to this country both legally and illegally, hew to to the leftist concept of equal outcomes, and that is a very bad thing.
But I do think it meant something quite apart from what the originator intended it to. Just my opinion.