Table of Contents
Not everybody knows how I killed old
Phillip Mathers, smashing his jaw in with
my spade; but first it is better to speak of
my friendship with John Divney because it
was he who first knocked old Mathers down
by giving him a great blow in the neck with
a special bicycle pump which he manufactured
himself out of a hollow iron bar.
FLANN OBRIEN
INTRODUCTION
When I was a child, my active imagination told me that the American Dream was to become a doctor who drove a garbage truck (I liked the way you could hang on to the sides of the vehicle while it was in operation). Ask a room full of any other seven-year-olds, and theyd each have a completely different take on the question. Just imagine if all those childrens American Dreams had been fulfilled; we could have a world made up entirely of ballerinas, superheroes, and rappers.
What is the American Dream? Every proud citizen has their own unique, different idea on what it might entail. The definition is broader than Rosie ODonnells hips. Does the American Dream truly exist? Or is the whole myth a shame? Can the American Dream be achieved, or is it a pimp-slapped whore?
We live in a country of immigrantsdreamers, pragmatists, and everyone else in betweenwho have come to the United States in search of a better life. This conceptual American Dream ideal dates as far back as the sixteenth century, when Englishmen were persuaded to move to the colonies, thinking navely that the land of plenty, opportunity, destiny, and of personal and religious freedom awaited them. We now find ourselves in a country filled with twenty-four-hour waffle houses, gun-toting astronauts, topless doughnut shops, and carniesall beautiful in their own individualistic way.
The American Dream is an idea so simple and yet so complex that its difficult to define. The concept changes depending on ethnic heritage, economic, social, or political background. One component seems fairly consistent: the obsessive quest for money. Americans living in a society dedicated to capitalism are intently focused on the almighty dollar. To an older generation its the old rags-to-riches tale, wealth sought after in the traditional way: through thrift and backbreaking hard work. For the scratch-card generation, its been replaced by a get-rich-quick notion: achieving it without having to lift a finger, while eating a tub of pudding on your couch and watching Dr. Phil with the sound cranked upbecoming fatter and richer than your neighbor. Remember, the grass is always greener on the other side of the American Dream fence!
Americans have the right to be alive, free, and to pursue fulfillment in whatever way suits them, so long as that pursuit does not interfere with the freedom of their neighbor. In the words of powdered-wig-wearing Thomas Jefferson, every man and woman has a constitutional right to the pursuit of happiness. But how does one encapsulate this concept in such a diverse nation? Think about how vastly different this pursuit of happiness is to a southern Bible-banger as compared to a Californian wife-swapping swinger.
Thats why Im going to set out on a cross-country quest for the American Dream. Yes, in order to better understand the elusive definition behind these words, Ill infiltrate and live the lives of vastly different people: Ill experience their perception of the American Dream by walking in their shoes. By posing as a legitimate member of each subculturethrough cunning preparation and disguisesIll see the world through their eyes. By acting as one of them, attempting to understand their ideology and American Dream, I plan to learn firsthand how the term is broadly perceived. Is the American attainable by everyoneno matter what their backgroundor is it, as one turn-of-the-century immigrant put it, I arrived in America thinking the streets were paved with gold. I learned three things: (1) The streets were not paved with gold; (2) The streets were not paved at all; and (3) I was expected to pave them!
As a jumping-off point for each excursion, threaded through the book will be an array of testimonials from actual people within that subculture, telling in their own words what the American Dream means to them. All facets of the culture will be examined, from liberal to conservative, rich to poor, religious fanatics to sexual deviants, as well as those whove come freshly over our borders. Oh, yeah, also celebrity impersonatorsthe more diverse the cross section, the better.
Yes, its a dangerous job, but Im up for the challenge. Think of me just like Indiana Jones, but without the bullwhip and leather jacket or direction from Steven Spielberg. Or impending danger from Nazis. On second thought, think of me nothing like Indiana Jones, though I will attempt to discover the highs and lows of the American Dream. Lets go!
CHAPTER ONE
IMMIGRANT AMERICAN DREAM
THE AMERICAN DREAM: IN THEIR OWN WORDS
Jose Mota Cisneros, formerly of
Apozol, Zacatecas, now a U.S. citizen
What are my thoughts on the American Dream?
When I was a little kid, I didnt really think about those sorts of things. I came to the United States because there was no way to make a living in Mexiconot even to feed ourselves. So that was the main reason: opportunity.
I came across the border three times. The first was in 1971 when I was fourteen. There were about four guys my age. We went first to Tijuana and found a coyote, who are everywhere. Theyre out on the streets. They approach you. Theyre looking for you. They charged three hundred dollars.
We walked all day and all night. He had no idea where we were. It was scary. It was dark. I was never comfortable. We went over hills, overnight, all night and all the next day. The whole twenty-four hours, nothing but walking. We got picked up in a van filled with twelve people, and they asked us where we wanted to go, and they took us all the way to Hamilton, California, where my big brother was. The walk was really hard but it was safe and easy.
I ended up staying for three years, until I was seventeen.
I worked picking and cleaning beets. Then I started working on a ranch in an almond field. That was easier work, but still long days. I found out that opportunity in the United States was less than I thought there was. I made no money, the kind of work I was doing was awful, and it was for such low pay. I did nothing but work day and night. Then I felt that that the American Dream was impossible, because without a green card, theres really not much opportunity other than survival.
When I went back to Mexico, I still couldnt even afford food doing any kind of work I could. Thats how bad it was!
Then I came back a second time when I was nineteen. The coyotes charged me four hundred dollars. I was going with a group of guys, but this time we were robbed with knives at our stomachs. I get really sad to remember this because I want to forget these details.
They robbed us for everything we had: all of our money, food, and such. And that was after we walked all day and night. You dont pay a coyote until he gets to your destination. No one wants to carry that much money around, because you could get robbed. We had no money, no food. That was the worst nightmare.
We ended up in a trailer in San Diego packed completely with people to drive us further north. People had their asses in my belly and were passing out around me. When the truck was moving we were fine. But then we started suffocating was because the driver saw immigration at a checkpoint on Highway 5, and so the truck turned around. They left us in a parking lot, in the back of the trailer, and it became very hot. We couldnt breathe. My friend had a knife and started cutting through the back of the truck. We took turns breathing through the hole. Finally the person with the truck took us to his home and opened the door there, so we could breathe. You cant even imagine how hard it was.
