Oh, But You Sold Us the American Dream by Eric Sparks

The other day at business luncheon, I was blessed with the company
of the Old Generation. The man wanted to explain to me why these
are the lives we choose to lead, about how America is the land of the free,
and why nothing in life can ever be free.

He said, “Oh shits, these fucking kids;
they couldn't make me any madder. They want
the world on a silver platter. They're as crazy
as the fucking Mad Hatter. When will they learn that
they have to work, that everything in life is earned.
They think the fire just burns without any wood.
Will they ever do what their told and what they should?
They take everything for granted and see,
every tree that's planted comes from a seed.
Do you see what I mean?”

I said, “No sir, not in the slightest. The rope around our neck is
feeling much tighter. You say that the kids need to work
so give us a job, just once, that doesn't need a college degree
and the hundred thousand up front.
Oh my parents told me to work hard and that life would be what I want.
But I feel stuck, out of luck, and I'm two minutes away
from not giving a fuck. Pay me eight dollars an hour
to put cans on a shelf and I'll go home with just enough money
to feed myself. Your promise broke open, the system is just broken,
and you're still lying to the kids outside who are still hoping.”

He said, “No, that's not the point. Stop smoking the joint,
get off of your ass, get your ass into class, graduate as fast
as you can, get a good job and forget the whole past.”

I said, “Sir, those memories last. There's no forgetting
the old track. These are our best times; I can't give you
four to ten years of my life in exchange for only strife and a wife.
I'd end up putting a knife through my fucking throat,
getting addicted to coke, or just wasting away until I finally croak.
The kids and I hoped for more. You broke our hearts.

He said, “It's not my fucking fault.”

“Sir, how much money is locked in your fucking vault.
You hoard it, don't spend it; it should go to us by default.
I see that you labored long hours and earned the world.
Then you told us kids to do the same, and promised us there's more to gain,
but you won't share a piece.”