They have a fear of the American Dream ending, but still believe it to be the same as always, a vision of a better, deeper, richer life, regardless of class. Better hopes of living, of rise in economic scale and less toll and anxieties of everyday life.
"What we dread unless civilization breaks down entirely, it is not lack of food from drought or pests, but what I have elsewhere called the American Dream."
Americans believed that they could be happy if they had cars, expensive gadgets and devices. But what they think will make them happy will truly not.