1) Life
2) Liberty
3) The Pursuit of Happiness
A couple years ago, my sister put together a family cookbook of every family member's (immediate and extended) favorite recipes. She called it TRADITIONS (cue the FIDDLER ON THE ROOF music).
The book includes recipes from grandparents, great-grandparents, in-laws, aunts, mothers, etc. Amazingly, not too many recipes from the male side of the family, but that is a different story, altogether.
Anyway... one of my favorite recipes from the family cookbook is from my grandmother, Lela Lybarger - her infamous Crumb Coffee Cake (cue the epic soundtrack).
This coffee cake is an integral (and by that, I mean, i-n-t-e-g-r-a-l!!!!) part of family get-togethers amongst the Amsden-side of the clan.
It is amazingly tasty, and it is not only full of flavor but also nostalgia. The recipe is relatively simple, but there is a progression that must be followed. A few months ago, I made one, and I added one ingredient too early, which is almost unbelievable considering how much this coffee cake has been a part of my life.
The result was disastrous. When we finally sat down to eat it, the texture was mealy, and the cake was almost inedible. (um...almost.)
However, it made me realize the importance of ordering the right ingredients at the right time.
I think that, in the original intent of the American Dream, the founders purposefully ordered the ingredients of the Dream. Life, first. Liberty, second. The Pursuit of Happiness: the final ingredient in the original American Dream.
However, in our modern society, I believe that we have made the Pursuit of Happiness as the quintessential ingredient, the primary component.
As a culture, we have, by and large made the Pursuit of Happiness our chief pursuit, namely material gain and material wealth, and the results have been disastrous.
We have made that ingredient chief amongst others in the formula for the American Dream, and it has made for a mealy, almost inedible, version of the original intent.
Just one note on how the misplaced ingredient, with regard to materialism, has negatively affected our society. According to creditcards.com, the average credit card debt per household with credit card debt is $14,750.
By and large, we have given up our Liberty to be indebted to the Pursuit of Happiness, and now we must give our Life to pay off that Pursuit. That does not make for a great recipe.
MORE TO COME...
A couple years ago, my sister put together a family cookbook of every family member's (immediate and extended) favorite recipes. She called it TRADITIONS (cue the FIDDLER ON THE ROOF music).
The book includes recipes from grandparents, great-grandparents, in-laws, aunts, mothers, etc. Amazingly, not too many recipes from the male side of the family, but that is a different story, altogether.
Anyway... one of my favorite recipes from the family cookbook is from my grandmother, Lela Lybarger - her infamous Crumb Coffee Cake (cue the epic soundtrack).
This coffee cake is an integral (and by that, I mean, i-n-t-e-g-r-a-l!!!!) part of family get-togethers amongst the Amsden-side of the clan.
It is amazingly tasty, and it is not only full of flavor but also nostalgia. The recipe is relatively simple, but there is a progression that must be followed. A few months ago, I made one, and I added one ingredient too early, which is almost unbelievable considering how much this coffee cake has been a part of my life.
The result was disastrous. When we finally sat down to eat it, the texture was mealy, and the cake was almost inedible. (um...almost.)
However, it made me realize the importance of ordering the right ingredients at the right time.
I think that, in the original intent of the American Dream, the founders purposefully ordered the ingredients of the Dream. Life, first. Liberty, second. The Pursuit of Happiness: the final ingredient in the original American Dream.
However, in our modern society, I believe that we have made the Pursuit of Happiness as the quintessential ingredient, the primary component.
As a culture, we have, by and large made the Pursuit of Happiness our chief pursuit, namely material gain and material wealth, and the results have been disastrous.
We have made that ingredient chief amongst others in the formula for the American Dream, and it has made for a mealy, almost inedible, version of the original intent.
Just one note on how the misplaced ingredient, with regard to materialism, has negatively affected our society. According to creditcards.com, the average credit card debt per household with credit card debt is $14,750.
By and large, we have given up our Liberty to be indebted to the Pursuit of Happiness, and now we must give our Life to pay off that Pursuit. That does not make for a great recipe.
MORE TO COME...
This is so true.
ReplyDeleteWell said!! How backwards our society has become...
ReplyDeleteI'm so happy you're blogging again. :)
ReplyDeleteWow- that last sentence is profound! You could write a book on that idea alone. Not that I want you to write a book ....stick to the blog.... and your screenplays;) XO!!
ReplyDeleteFor what it's worth, I believe the original expression was "life, liberty, and the pursuit of property."
ReplyDelete