The Importance Of The American Dream

What is your dream for america? The american dream is comprised of many things. It is made up of things that make america better. Not only that, it is made up of things that makes us americans. The main points of the american dream is hope for a better nation, Freedom, and diverse opportunities for all that come to america.

We have all heard of this intense rollercoaster ride that we are on called the American Dream. The term was coined by James Truslow Adams in 1931 defining it as “dream of a land in which life should be better and richer and fuller for every man, with opportunity for each according to his ability or achievement.” Since it’s arrival, the Dream has evolved from a pursuit towards “freedom, mutual respect, and equal opportunity” (Shiller) to later one of greed described by Shiller as being “excessively lustful about homeownership and wealth” beginning in the 1960s. Traditionally, the American Dream included features of a nuclear family, that is one with a breadwinning father, a housewife, and two kids, owning a white picket fence home, thriving without financial worries, and a happy family. There has been a shift in focus for the Dream caused by the Millennial generation and in turn they have included features that place an emphasis on equality in all aspects of their lives from family life to the workplace placing their own twist on the Dream. The American Dream has evolved over time to include equal opportunities, college education, and happy family.

The forty-first president of the United States, George W. H. Bush, once said, “The American Dream means giving it your all, trying your hardest, accomplishing something…” As the years fly by, so does the American Dream. With busy lives, many Americans tend to forget the purpose of the American Dream. Failing to make ends meet, not being able to afford the new iPhone and the lack of success that is not America’s fault. People create their successes and failures based on what they desire. Through a person creating their own definition, not quitting once things go wrong, and creating opportunities the American Dream still floods the streets of America today.

Another interesting trajectory that the concept of “The American Dream” can give a key, is the concept of social classes. Social classes that we have today are upper, middle, lower and the working class. “The American Dream” is rewarding those who are hard workers, who have qualities and skills, those people can always reach the top goals. But now days we have people who are working hard, who have skills but they barely make the ends. This shows that material success is very difficult to reach; we have 1% of rich people who have the financial resources to control the rest of people (Schaefer 216).

If an individual works hard and perseveres, they can attain the American dream due to the abundance of opportunities in America available to every citizen. The statement “anyone, regardless of where they were born or what class they were born into, can attain their own version of success,” illustrates the fundamental property of American ideals that anyone, despite their wealth, can achieve anything he/she desires (Walker). Likewise, America is “a society where upward mobility is possible for everyone,” showing that it is possible for people in America to surpass their former social status and further their success (Walker). “America's free-enterprise system makes possible the circumstances that allow individuals to go beyond meeting their basic needs to achieve self-actualization and personal fulfillment,” which proves that America’s society makes it easier for one to find prosperity (Walker). Furthermore, success can be “achieved through sacrifice, risk-taking and hard work not by chance” and people have “worked hard in a business or profession, put in long hours, and sacrificed,” to achieve their goals (Walker). One controls their own destiny, and if one yearns for the American dream, they must work hard. Some may argue that the American dream cannot be attained by those with meager income (Walker). Money may be an issue in pursuing one’s goals, as paying for

Across the economically, ethnically, and socially diverse United States, millions of unlike Americans share the same desire to overcome the vast array of obstacles the modern day era presents in the hopes of becoming the ideal member of society. Looking back at multiple generations, evidence of this drive to succeed can be found in the roots of society’s progression. This omnipresent goal that motivates the population to build sustainable lives has become known as the American Dream. In John Steinbeck’s novel Of Mice and Men and Barbara Ehrenreich’s nonfiction piece Nickel and Dimed, the protagonists define the American Dream in contrasting yet similar ways in response to the time periods in

The start of a new life is of no rarity amongst human beings of third world countries. In the case of my parents, fleeing their homeland of Vietnam was a necessity in order to start a new life away from a communist ruled country. A life that would be filled with freedom and opportunities to better their future. There is a belief amongst Vietnamese citizens that America is the haven to live in. A place full of opportunity, many dreams have turned into realities. A place where freedom is bestowed across all social classes. A place where immigrants journey towards to fulfill their American Dream. However, chasing the American Dream was never for my parents, it was for their two children.

Today, America still provides access to the American Dream since we all have rights. Some of those rights include the pursuit of happiness, right to equality, and the right to better our world. With these rights, it is possible to achieve the American Dream, it is within reach.

Living off Crime shows the links between individuals whom live to commit crimes to live and those who commit them out of necessity. It state that “The United States has a highly unequal socioeconomic structure charaterised by persistently widening wealth and income gaps”. (Tunnell, 2006). Meaning that to achieve the American dream is more realistic than completing that of the Australian. It is visible that America as a whole has the same aims and dreams in mind. Achieving that of success and wealth. This also mentioning that of individuals who do not reach this dream and the things that they will attempt to do so.

The American dream has dependably been a staple of American society. At the point when individuals discuss it, they regularly allude back to the main portion of the twentieth century. Notwithstanding this, the American Dream is generally as significant to American culture today as it was in the most recent century. In this paper, we will investigate the American dream and exactly what it is.

Our country was founded on the promise that all citizens would have the rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. This concept is referred to as the American Dream. It infers that equal opportunities are offered to all, and with hard work, achieving the American Dream is possible. However, facts and data present that achieving the American Dream is not as easy as it seems, high tuition fees, and high unemployment rates prevent hardworking citizens from accomplishing their goals.

The American Dream is not a function of ability and achievement, but a dying illusion. America is not truly the land of the free, but an ignorant classist society. Gregory Clark, an economics professor at the University of California, Davis, stated that “America has no higher rate of social mobility than medieval England or pre-industrial Sweden … That’s the most difficult part of talking about social mobility - it's shattering people's dreams” (qtd. in Evans). The United States has an incredibly outdated economic system that does not allow disadvantaged citizens opportunities regardless of how hard they work. People get stuck in their social status and are not able to stray out of it, which affects their further generations. Additionally, immigrants coming to America in hopes of prosperity are likely to have even less luck than immigrants of the pass and widen the gap of social inequality. Clark continues to state, “The truth is that the American Dream was always an illusion. Blindly pursuing that dream now will only lead to a future with dire social challenges” (qtd. in Evans). America has always put on a facade of a country full of opportunity that can transform people’s lives, but it is no more socially mobile than any other part of the world. Whether U.S.-born citizen or immigrant, social status rarely changes when living in America. If one is born into poverty or face other social issues, it will be extremely difficult for them to stray from this social status.

To sum up, even though there is truth in believing that Americans are given access to the American Dream because of special programs, such as government aid, that will help with one’s economic stability, others would recommend that the access of the American Dream is lessened to those who are unemployed, but the American Dream calls for unity to happen amongst all Americans in the times of need and despair. When all Americans do their best to help each other in achieving the American Dream, the dream then becomes more accessible to the people who are trying to obtain the dream. The reality of the American Dream cannot be simply put as something definitive for all Americans, there are times in which one may not get a chance to experience the

It is every person’s goal in life to achieve the “American Dream”. All of society wants a big house, a family, and to be rich, but there are issues that prevent society from attaining those standards. Today, one of the most vital issues in every human’s life is finding a stable, well-paying job to support a family and a happy life. Social class is one of the many outside influences that can make the "American Dream" more difficult to undertake for some individuals. Due to the top one percent holding America 's wealth, the United States is placed into class systems which cause problems of welfare, unequal education, and unequal job opportunity.

While the meaning of the American Dream has evolved multiple times between 1865 and 1980, almost every person agreed on as to what the American Dream meant in their respective time periods. The definition of the American Dream in some form has always consisted of freedom, and the ability to advance economically. Also, in more recent times things such as owning a suburban home, moving into the middle-class, being able to spend on consumer goods, and having a perfect family became a part of the American Dream. However, throughout American history there has always been groups who have not had equal access to the American Dream. External factors such as legislation, racism, sexism, and the political environment, resulted in former slaves, blacks, poor Americans, women, and immigrants not having fair access to aspects of the American Dream such as complete freedom, equal opportunity, the ability to advance economically, and the ability to enjoy the luxuries of an affluent society. Between 1865 and 1900 former slaves did not have equal access to aspects of freedom such as, “Self-ownership, family stability, religious liberty, political participation, and economic autonomy.” Later on, between 1900 and 1939 lower-class Americans, women, and immigrants did not have equal opportunity to advance economically. Later on, the American economy shifted after the second World War, and Americans were moving into the middle-class, however blacks, and immigrants did not have equal access to the