This notion has been backed by this country’s core values since its conception. Dreams turn into realities through the hard work and time spent in making them come true, American’s have always been known to have this mentality and mindset, which leads us to become successful as individuals, communities, and as a nation. “A national dream need not, indeed may not be clear-cut and exact. For Americans to the wide and general dream has a name. It is called “the American Way of Life.” No one can define it or point to any one person or group who lives it, but it is very real nevertheless, perhaps more real than that equally remote dream the Russians call Communism”.
The American Dream is dead and there is nothing anyone can do about it. There is not one single thing that helps people in America get back on their feet when they are struggling. The American Dream is dead for all who come here for a fresh start; people have to constantly work and struggle to keep a roof over their families head and food on the table. This is an argument by many, yet some factors that must be considered are the thinking of a person who wants to strive and their work ethic. The American Dream is only a possibility for those who are willing to work for what they want and not take good opportunities for granted.
To live comfortably is a wish that many people have growing up in America. We see people on television who have and have not worked harder than others to achieve this way of life. These people are able to pay their bills for the nice house saved up for, are able to provide for a decent sized family, and still have extra money in their pocket for themselves. The American Dream seems so accomplishable when looking at the people who have already achieved this, but looking up to these people, we do not realize that this dream is not a few steps ahead of us sitting on a pedestal; this dream is almost out of touch. But what is the reason that everyone cannot achieve this dream as easily as others?
The sky is limited to what you can build, and what can happen to you and your family" expressed Sanford I. Weill. With low levels of belief in the value of hard work and high levels of stress among poor respondents in the U.S. as a starting point, it compares optimism about the future across poor respondents of difference races. The poor minorities were much more optimistic about the future than other people. There are high costs to being poor in America, where winners win big losers fall hard. Indeed, the dream, with its focus on individual initiative in a meritocracy, has resulted in far less public support than there is in other countries for safety nets, vocational training, and community support for those with disadvantage or bad
Working Poor “When the poor or newly poor are asked to define poverty, however, they talk not only about what’s in the wallet but what’s in the mind or the heart” (Shipler 10). The United States of America is a place which has an enormous population filled with foreigners and immigrants. Many enter America to get a better job, a fresh start, and to live the American Dream. In the 21st century, the gap between the rich and the poor has greatly widened even though America’s economy is skyrocketing as the years go by. Poverty has been a major issue due to various occasions but people who are in the middle and high classes do not know the hardships these poor workers go through just so that they could have a chance to own valuables.
On the other hand, some people say that achieving their American dream from hard work and dedication is still impossible. This point of view makes sense because, in the 20th century America, life as an individual was a struggle, with or without a clear goal to strive for in mind. Many people lived paycheck to paycheck, hoping for a liberation from their monotonous lifestyle. In that era, the American dream was hardly possible due to the strict confines of the system; a mere pipe dream was all the people had. John Steinbeck portrayed the same state of harshness in Of Mice and Men.
The American Dream is the ideal way to live in the United States. It sets a high expectation on life in America. Additionally, it compels foreigners to move to the United States because they strive for the perfect life that everyone seems to have there. But what exactly defines this “ideal” way to live? Some argue that the American Dream has shifted from the pursuit of freedom to be an individual to the pursuit of wealth and success.
They now see that the American dream was not there for them and they are forced to work jobs that don’t pay well. Sometimes it’s circumstantial, and the hardest workers fall off and they never get a chance to regain their progress but the dream is not for
Since the dawn of time American citizens have run into roadblocks and hurdles in their pursuit for the American dream, unfortunately, many of them had to grapple with the truth that these obstacles simply can’t be overcome. These impossible obstacles include social inequality, economic troubles, and the separation between the social classes. Some people claim that the American dream is out there and that it excludes no one, this is true, unless of course your a female, African American, poor, homeless, or unemployed. I would like to conclude this paper with a quote by Bruce Springsteen “The American Dream has run out of gas. The car has stopped.
Reaching the American Dream Everyone wishes to be successful, everyone strives for happiness. No matter what it is that you want in life, your goal is to reach the American Dream, the overall goal of everyone in the United States. The American Dream has many different definitions, it means something different to every single person. For example some of us might see the American dream as having a stable job and a family to provide for, others might see it as being able to have anything you want in life, the skies being the limit. Throughout the years the meaning of what the American Dream is has been changed and modified through their personal beliefs and goals in life.