<i>It's our sense of mission and purpose in the world. It's something that nobody else has.</i><p>Whether that's true now is debatable in my opinion.  I think the American dream has been perverted into a lust for enhanced mediocrity.  People where I live seem to want to get a job with good benefits, a decent house, and a nice TV, so they can just get through their lives by watching sports and reality shows.  Everyone wants to be the best middle-class, Prozac-popping average Joe they can be.