The Myth of the American Dream: Reflections on Affluence, Autonomy, Safety, and Power

by D.L. Mayfield

White evangelicals like myself are uniquely unprepared to engage in issues from an institutional or systemic perspective.

Affluence, autonomy, safety, and power. Four concrete values that bled into each other and seeped into my bones, affecting the decisions I made every day, from the tiniest to the monumental.

The myth of the American Dream comes in many forms, but its most basic iteration goes like this: anyone can make something of themselves if only they try hard enough.

It should not be surprising that these laws were never fully followed, but Jubilee remains a sign to the rest of the world that God’s ideal economy is one where righteousness shall flourish, which involves limiting the disparity between the wealthy and the poor, where creation is valued. God’s ideal economy banks on the idea that you shall know your neighbor who is suffering and that you shall be compelled to do something about it.