What is the American Dream? The American Dream is freedom, success, opportunity, perseverance, equality, justice, and safety for all people. However, this Is not the case at all In America, which therefore states the American Dream as a myth. It Is a fantasy, that has not come true for the millions of people that are hoping to get a piece of the wealth, which America seems to only share with Its rich upper class. Mansions, expensive cars, a happy family and of course lots of money, are images that are being embedded in the minds of the less privileged in America.
These images and way of life that are being portrayed throughout America, are only giving fair and equal opportunities to the wealthy, separating and alienating ethnic races from the rest of society, and not giving everyone the same equal rights that everyone deserves. Success is what the American Dream is all about. Many people are motivated by the promise of a better life, which is why most people’s main focus in life is money, and hopes of living out the American Dream (a fantasy which only money can buy). When we imagine a successful person, we see a person, who Is working on some company ND Is busy working all the time.
This person has a nice car and beautiful apartment or house, where he does not spend much time because he Is so busy. We get this impression since we were born from movies, magazines, and news. People come to live in America to live this way of life, not really thinking about reality. Immigrants come to America, and tend to think that hard work will make them wealthy enough to live the “American Dream”. The truth is that most Americans aren’t wealthy, regardless of how hard they work, and that only those who are already wealthy can enjoy the American Dream.
Immigrants strive off false hope thinking that when they’re in America, they will be rich by working excessively, but they don’t understand that In reality only the rich get richer and the other minorities are not so fortunate. Today In America, the American economic system Is designed to meet the needs of the upper class, as It Ignores problems of ethnic minorities. When people come to America searching for the dream, “everyone” Is supposedly given a chance to succeed, however, it is extremely rare to exceed the social barrier. America is a country that seems to be only accepting of people due to their salary income.
Although this may seem pessimistic, one’s surroundings often shape their character and their incentive to succeed. If a person were to grow up in a poverty stricken area for all of their life, the only experience that person would have would most likely be low income and low education. The American Dream is an illusion. In Merriam- Webster dictionary, an illusion is defined as “a misleading or deceiving image presented to the vision as a perception of something objectively existing in such a way as to cause misinterpretation of its actual nature”. It’s Is not possible to describe the American Dream any better than that.
Immigrants will Journey far, suffer all manner of pain and suffering, if they believe that, In the end, they will be rewarded, and there Is nothing quite Like American Dream to motivate people. John Colon had once said, “That is why it comes as no surprise when people from other countries convinced that they will finally make it big in this land of riches. But they find out it is not like that”. Today, the “promises” of the American Dream will always be a disappointment. Study shown by US News, “The Great Recession had a much larger impact on the working class than it did on the upper and middle classes.
Most of the people who lost Jobs had a high school education or less. A recent report by Georgetown University’s Center on Education and the Workforce found that employment among people who didn’t attend college has been flat since the recovery began, meaning people who lost their Jobs can’t find new ones. ” This problem continues to this day and it is never ending. However, if these people who had lost their Jobs were wealthy, and had a strong economic background, this would not be the case at al what so ever. The American Dream isn’t only disappointing people, but it is also destroying people and heir families.
These people come to live in a land that “promises”, equality and freedom, and they get denied based on their income and ethnic class. This is not the reputation I like to say that America has, however it has come to that point, and it needs to be said. People who loose their Jobs, and struggle to find new ones, are not only hurting for themselves, but their families as well. Most lower class families today, have only one consistent income check coming their way. Picture a family of 5, with only the father working, and the mother staying home to take care of her hillier.
Now imagine their only source of income loosing his Job and not being able to find another Job for 3 years. It’s heartbreaking because lower class people are looked down upon in our society today. If an uppercases family were to loose their jobs, they could get back on their feet in week. Our society today is so materialistic that it is sick. America is obsessed with the idea of being “perfect”, that we don’t appreciate what we already have, and we are always wanting more. Some may not think America discriminates people, however they are wrong. America s constantly discriminating and putting people down based on their ethnic background.
Immigrants are not given equal opportunities at all what so ever. America is so Judgmental and doesn’t give anyone of a chance if they don’t “fit in”. The idea of the American Dream has brought many people to America, and due to this there has been a lot of Judgment, and unfair opportunities. Now, as crazy as this sounds, doesn’t it remind you a little bit like high school? In high school everyone is based on what they where, what they look like, and if they are rich or not. The same thing portrays in America today. The true meaning of acceptance in America is how successful you are.
That is what our country has come to. America has drastically changed in the past 50 years, and not in a positive way. It almost seems as if, upward mobility in America is almost impossible unless you are wealthy. Today in America, if you are born in poverty, you will have a more difficult time, trying to be successful when you are older. However, some can argue this because according to John Hilton, ” 74% of NAB players, grew up with a very low income”. I wish that were the case with the rest of society, however, it is not. America is to difficult and expensive to get started in life.
Our society has change so much. Over 70 years ago it cost nearly one $200,000. Yes, some people are lucky enough to afford this, however most lower class people are not. This hurts them later on in life, when it comes to get Jobs, and what not. Today it is much harder to get a steady paycheck without a college degree. That it what people look for these days, and if you don’t have one, you are most likely to be stick with Just a low minimum wage paying Job. It’s time to retire the American Dream, or at least give it a long vacation. We must drop it from our national conversation.
The American Dream has become so expansive in its meaning, that in reality it has hurt millions of people in ways that people have not come to realize yet. It has completely changed our society and the true meaning of happiness. The mass media has completely corrupted the way that people look at America, and it has set way to high of an expectation. Clearly, the American Dream is not attainable for everyone. The American Dream has molded America into a country that it should not be. America is now a country that is based n gender, race, socioeconomic status, birthright, and geography.
Sadly America does not give the underprivileged a chance to be successful. I completely blame the mass media for brains washing all these millions of people of what they think that a “perfect” life should be. A “perfect” life is a world where no one is Judged on the color of their skin. No one is Judged on their economic background. But, most importantly, the true meaning of the American Dream should be, that everyone is given equality no matter where they came from, how much money they make, or what their ethnicity is. We all need to be equal.
