The American Dream: The Inventions Of The American Dream

The lightbulb, the airplane, the microwave—these are all brilliant inventions that are commonplace and necessary to maintain high standards of living, reflecting the hard work and ingenuity of American citizens in the past. Many hail these inventions as a testament to the American Dream, which is the idea that with hard work, anyone can become his best self, and in doing so, he will be rewarded with comfort and sustenance, citing the inventors and other great American creators who achieved success against the bleakest of origins. However, this optimistic facet of American culture has never been available to everyone—consider the inventions not made by enslaved African Americans; oppressed, uneducated women; and mentally ill or mentally-impaired people—and it never will be. The American Dream is not feasibly attainable for those born into poverty, nor is it equally reachable across all demographics. First, a child born into poverty will never achieve as much as a child born into wealth, despite working equally as diligently. Even in a classroom with identical materials and the same teacher, an impoverished child will perform worse as compared to their peers due to her basic needs not being met. According to psychologist Abraham Maslow, a human being’s physiological needs, such as hunger and thirst, and security needs, such as safety and companionship, must be met before she can graduate to a level of being that permits growth (Huitt). Thus, if a family cannot afford to