Stakes is High: Life After the American Dream

Smith uses this section to contextualize the collection. First, he uses his own personal story to remind the reader that hard work is not its own reward, as the American Dream often implies. Then, he acknowledges that he is not “the first person to ever poke holes in the idea that is the American Dream” (175). Smith reiterates that the premise of the American Dream is based on the lie that by nature it leads to a better life, asking the reader, “Is the potential of the American Dream worth enduring the brutality of the American Life?” (176). Smith then equates Donald Trump himself with the American Dream, referring again to his presidency as an inevitability.

Smith then admits that we all have taken part in the American Dream in some way or another, but that realizing its mythical nature prevents us from falling into the trap of its delusion. Ultimately, though, we all have a responsibility to respond. As Smith puts it, “Everyone has a role to play; it’s a matter of whether or not you step into it “(181). For Smith, his part is writing what he believes to be true, hoping that his words are useful and impactful in some way.

In the closing paragraphs of the book, Smith reveals that he wrote this book during a profound depression, tied to his fears for the future about global climate disaster and the relentless persistence of “the entrenched forces of white supremacist heteropatriarchal capitalism” (184). Somehow, through his depression, Smith found a way to write the book. He ends by articulating the purpose of the book: “a desperate plea for community” (186). While he acknowledges that change in America will take time and that he does not claim to have all the necessary practical solutions, he invites the reader to consider that change is, at the very least, possible.