<strong><em>"It's not that we will have equal  outcome. In fact, the American dream is that those who work harder and  those who merit it will have unequal outcomes, that they will gain more  of whatever the American dream is."</em></strong>
<strong>-- Sen. RAND PAUL</strong>

Actually, that isn't it at all, and I would be willing to bet that even John Calvin --from whom the idea behind this came -- would understand that. Even if he was the one who codified and stated the idea that success in life was all about working hard and that God loved those most who worked the hardest.

[caption id="attachment_1231" align="alignright" width="300" caption="It&#39;s not everyone&#39;s dream."]<a href="http://mikerappaport.net/onevoice/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/American_Dream_Just_add_money.jpg"><img class="size-medium wp-image-1231" title="American_Dream_Just_add_money" src="http://mikerappaport.net/onevoice/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/American_Dream_Just_add_money-300x213.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="213" /></a>[/caption]

The American Dream?

It's not really about "more" at all. When English philosopher John Locke -- a Calvinist himself for much of his life -- wrote of the rights of man, he said that they were life, liberty and property. Thomas Jefferson rejected that, at least in part, when he said in 1776 that men were endowed by their Creator with the rights to "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness."

Many of us have forgotten how radical that idea was, especially the part where Jefferson argued that all men were created equal. That's true even if he only meant <em>men</em> men and <em>white</em> men. It's important to remember that much of the civilized world in 1776 still believed that kings, czars and their ilk had a divine right to rule. The idea that a poor peasant could be created by God as the equal of a king was extremely radical for the time.

That's what makes our recent obesiance toward the wealthy so ironic. Sixty years ago, after the end of World War II, there was a wonderful statement that summed up Americans so well. I have used it before on this site, so please bear with me for using it again.

<em>"An Englishman walks the world as if he owns it. An American walks the world as if he didn't give a damn who owns it."</em>

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