SAIL DISC 01 - "Ours Was the Shining Future,"A Book About the American Dream

Course Description

The concept of the American dream is the subject of a book by the Pulitzer writer David Leonhardt of The New York Times. The dream basically is that each generation will have a better future than the previous one. The dream actually became a reality after WW II and lasted until the mid-70's. During that era, the U. S. had the largest middle class & the wealthiest economy in history. The book deals with other important issues like immigration, crime & racism, but for this course description, the discussion will mainly focus on how the nation went from economic inequality to the Golden Era, followed by the current Great Stagnation, where the dream is not occurring. The author, with substantial research, explains how the pendulum swung against the Golden Era & discusses possibilities about a return to the dream.

Jerry Frankel, M.D. retired after almost 40 years of medical practice as a urologist.   He has taught pre-Covid and during Covid, courses on health care reform and intermediate bridge.  Now post Covid, he is instructing a course on a book about the American Dream.  He claims to be a Jack of all trades and master of none!