The American Dream is still alive and kicking.
The Dream is not mere materialism: gratuitous displays of bling, a nice car, a multi-million dollar mansion...These things might make you happy, and you may aspire to have them, but the one with the most toys still dies in the end.
The Dream is freedom: from religious persecution, from political persecution, to speak out, to assemble, to bear arms...
It is opportunity: to get an education, to get a job, to make life better for yourself (and your descendants, should you choose to have them).
It is also hard work. We do not know it as the American Handout. It will not land in your lap. Dreams are not achieved by wishing, waiting, or whining. This Dream is for those who are willing to roll up their sleeves and do for themselves. It demands responsibility and independence.
At the end of the day, you may be tired, you may be poor, but you will have the Dream to give you hope. You will think, "I can do better than this," so you will get up, and carry on working, and you will make your own life. That is the Dream.
If pulling yourself up by your own bootstraps doesn't give you a sense of achievement and accomplishment, then why are you in America anyway?