Like there’s just no more talk of “the American dream” anymore. It’s never been real but we all know now exactly how much bullshit that is. It’s like the facade has been fully torn away and we’re all tied to this terrible husk of a machine that doesn’t even have the decency to pretend things will get better anymore
I think it's different for everyone. Sometimes it's a big moment (financial collapse, 9/11) or an ongoing disaster (covid).
I've met a few people where it was very intellectual. One zoomer I know learned about how hereditary wealth is in America and that most people won't be better off than their parents. She gave up on the American dream. In another case, an immigrant mother I know gave up on it while taking a political science course and realizing that black people and women in this country face huge systemic issues still. This led her to learning more and realizing the dream is a myth.
For me, it was definitely the ongoing war in terror punctuated by the '08 economic collapse.