Gee and Ursula ask, ‘What does the American Dream mean today?’

What do you think is the American dream?

“For the longest time, there has been this idea that you help your kids go to college, they go to school, they get a good job, they have a family of their own,” KIRO host Ursula Reutin said. “They help their kids, then go to college, whatever you know, et cetera, et cetera. But that is changing these days.”

With the cost of living continuing to rise and more young adults choosing to live at home, Ursula claimed that many parents of young adults are starting to rethink the very idea of what the American dream is. According to a report from Northwest Mutual, 74% of parents who still have kids at home claim they’re now including helping their kids buy a home in their financial planning.

“For me, the American dream has always and will always be the same for me. For my kids and their kids, anybody who holds the Scott last name,” KIRO host Gee Scott said. “The American Dream, if you are here on this soil, it is not the car, it’s not the dream job, it’s not all of the money, any of those things. The American Dream is the ability to become something. The American Dream is the ability to become. Some people will have all the opportunity just to be the best that we can be. The Marine Corps used to always say that. My dad used to say it to me all the time, be the best you can be.”

“It’s so true. I feel like I am living the American dream,” Ursula responded. “I remember when I was growing up in the Philippines, and I dreamed of coming to the U.S., and I didn’t know that it was going to happen. It took my parents literally almost getting a divorce, and then figuring out that they were going to come back together and we were going to start a new life in Eugene, Oregon, that opened the door for this American dream. I didn’t become an American citizen until I was in my 20s. I guess I dreamed of becoming a journalist in this country that I so desperately wanted to move to, and I was able to achieve that dream. I always dreamed of becoming a mom, my most important job, and I was able to do that. I feel like, for me, that is the American dream.”

Do the younger generations agree?

Ursula then reached out to one of her sons to see how he would define the American Dream as someone of another generation.

“He said it’s the freedom to choose and the ability to be in control of your own destiny,” Ursula added. “He said, no matter who you are, you get a shot.”

Watch the full discussion in the video above.

Listen to Gee and Ursula on “The Gee and Ursula Show” weekday mornings from 9 am to 12 pm on KIRO Newsradio.