"New Low" for the middle class

I listen to the radio a lot. Out here in the midwest there are two types of radio stations, country, and crap. That is assuming there is a difference between the two. There is one station that plays pretty decent music, though it is one of those that seems to have a playlist of about twenty songs, played over and over in a somewhat different order. Occasionally they throw in a new one. One of the new ones I heard over the last year, and that have made it into the regular rotation, is "New Low" by a band called Middle Class Rut. It's a good song. But it got me thinking about the middle class.
What exactly is the middle class? Does it really exist? It seems as though the only time it's even mentioned is by politicians or their cronies trying to drum up support for one campaign or another. "I'm looking out for the middle class" say countless leaders who are, in reality, looking out for themselves and trying to get into your wallets.
I am about as middle as they come. I am the middle child of a middle income family, living in the middle of the country, middle of the road politically (although I would probably be considered a fascist by many due to my ideas on the proper size and role of the federal government, which would be funny if it wasn't so sad), creeping up on middle income as I make my way through middle age. Am I average? No. If I'm not an average American, is there any such thing as an average American? I'm not sure that there is.
The chorus of the song, such as it is, goes like this "I feel right, I feel left, I feel wrong, I feel left behind. I feel up but mostly down." Describes a lot of people that would be considered middle class ar average, doesn't it? We are all trying to slog our way through our lives, paying bills, working, attempting to find a balance between what is necessary and important, and what may be considered frivolous or enjoyable. But the frivolity is necessary, if only to recharge our brains for the droll and mundane. We all spend a lot of time living in our own heads, dreaming our own dreams, imagining our lives in another frame or reality.
We are all, I think, Walter Mitty. I haven't read the story in decades, but I remember it because it seemed to describe me in some way. Mitty would escape into fantasy in order to lessen the burden of an otherwise unhappy life. I also remember it because it was the first time, but not the last, that I thought that maybe I was smarter than my teacher. She claimed that Mitty was preparing to kill himself. That all this fantasizing and dreaming was unhealthy in some way. I felt that it was entirely healthy and a natural reaction to his circumstance. He felt trapped and frightened by what his life had become, so he invented different scenarios in order to cope with it. It probably would have been healthier for him to just change his life, but he was so adapted to convention that it was impossible for him.
This is acculturation at it's most extreme. Most of us are held back by convention and cultural restraints. In many cases it is a good thing. You don't go to the grocery store in your underwear, unless, of course, you're in really, really good shape. Our culture demands that we wear pants. There are many ways that cultural convention can hold us back if we let it. We are taught by our elders to fit in at all costs. To be like everyone else, at least outwardly, so we need to turn inward to satisfy our individuality. Some of us break free of these restraints to do great things. Some of us never manage, and our imaginations are forced to help us cope with our shortcomings. I think to some degree we all do this, not only because our lives are unhappy, mine isn't, and never really was, except for the periods of time in which I made stupid decisions and caused my own sort of doom spiral, but because we are human beings.
We dream because we are human. It is part of the human condition to yearn for something more, something better, something else. That is probably why catchphrases such as "Hope and change" act as magical mantras on the minds of so many so-called average Americans. We want hope, we want change, we want more. This is what separates us from animals. The desire to create, to enjoy, to have leisure time and freedom.
We, as a nation, for the most part, don't need to worry about where our next meal is coming from. Our economic system has provided the greatest amount of wealth in the history of humanity. This wealth is spread out, in spite of what some people insist on claiming, among all of us. Not equally, that is true, maybe because we are not all equally equipped or inclined to take the necessary steps to provide for our own needs. This widespread wealth allows us the opportunity to seek out other gratifications, to improve our own situations.
So, is there such a thing as an average American, or middle class? Only in reference to campaign slogans and punchlines at elitist cocktail parties. Other than that, there are only Americans. We are all in this together. In spite of the efforts of some to make everything a war between the rich and the poor, or the middle against the extremes, there remain only Americans. We have been given the gift of freedom. That great gift comes with great responsibility. We are required to shape our own lives in the manner that we see fit, and then live with the consequences. Through it all, during good times and bad, we all look for something more, we all dream about something better or different. We are the catalysts for hope and change, not some unctious politician. We dream and then we create. In doing so we create a better life for ourselves, our families, and our nation.
The longest journey begins with the first step, and the first step to progress is a vision, a dream, a goal, something that begins in our minds and then is made into reality through hard work and perserverance. By improving our own lives, we improve the lives of those around us. Self-interest, to paraphrase Adam Smith, is the driving force behind the progress of individuals, communities, and nations. The greatest advances in society have been provided by so-called average citizens that have risen above convention and created. It all starts with a dream.