Work hard and stay committed and eventually all of your dreams will come true. This promise is known as part of the American Dream. It is said that with a little bit of hard work and dedication one can end up on the top of the social classes. After all, this is the land of endless opportunity. However, reality is striking most Americans on their way to the top. People are now starting to realize that this land of endless opportunity does have a lot of limitations and setbacks. The majority of these setbacks come from the uneven wealth distribution in America. Americans spend their entire life searching for this “American Dream” promised to them; however, the harsh reality is, all this dream really does is give hope to the hopeless.
Wealth distribution in America is so uneven that most Americans clueless to how much money each class acquires. Nearly half of America is splitting an extremely small amount of money. Sadly, in today’s society, the bottom 40% of people, approximately 120 million Americans, have .03% of the wealth (Domhoff). Yet, for some reason we still cling to the idea of this American Dream that anyone can make it. The people, stuck in the bottom 40%, who want to make it all the way to the top, will pay so much attention to the fairy tale dream stories of rags to riches. Reasoning for believing in these stories is the idea that since someone else made it there has to be a way of them making it as well. In actuality all these stories really do is give hope to the hopeless when they no longer have anything to strive for in life.
The hopeless can gain hope through those uncommon cases where hard work and dedication did pay off. This hard work pays off for the top 20% of people, and if one somehow manages to work his o...
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Consequently, the reality of working hard and staying committed does not always indicate making it all the way to the top. This “dream” of making it all the way to the top is anything but reasonable for most Americans. The main reason for this unattainable outcome arises from the uneven wealth distribution in America. Americans spend their entire life searching for this “American Dream” promised to them; however, the harsh reality is, all this dream really does is give hope to the hopeless when they are trying to work their way up the social classes.
Works Cited
Lorenzi, Peter. "The American Dream And The Middle-Aged." Society 51.1 (2014): 2-7. Academic Search Premier. Web. 22 Mar. 2014.
Domhoff, William G. "Who Rules America: Wealth, Income, and Power." Who Rules America: Wealth, Income, and Power. N.p., Sept. 2005. Web. 23 Mar. 2014.
The American Dream has always been a driving force in the lives of Americans. It has become a foundation of ideals and hopes for any American or immigrant. Specifically, one of the ideals that always exist is the dream of America free of class distinction. Every American hopes for a society where every person has the opportunity to be whomever he or she desire. Another ideal in the American dream is the drive to improve the quality of life. As one’s idea of the American Dream gets closer and closer, often times political and social ideals of America cause their American Dream to take a turn for the worst.
The philosophy of the American Dream has been with Americans for centurie; James Truslow Adams says that, regardless of social class, "life should be better and richer and fuller for everyone, with opportunity for each according to ability or achievement” (Adams). Although this vision has never fully encompassed the entirety of America, it has been generally a positive ambition that all Americans should look past their circumstances and rely on only themselves to succeed at life. However, American capitalism and Marxist ideas have contradicted the traditional dream. Materialism is a simple concept, but its definition has been skewed over time. At ...
We were raised considering the jobs we could do in the future and the universities we may attend; we heard that hard work and dedication was the only essential to fly in this world. Everyone was aware of the standard of living that was expected and few hesitated to buy into the legendary dream. The American Dream itself is what we all grew up desiring. Suburban homes, multiple cars, hefty paychecks and fantasy vacations are its elements. The American Dream is exclusive and unsatisfying at its core.
The pool of opportunity has grown smaller from what it once was, and it seems that opportunity parallels the wealth in capitalist America—a small number of individuals are successful in their endeavors, and the rest must settle for less with disappointment and disillusionment. While hard work and perseverance may push individuals to new heights, the power of optimism and positive thinking can only take a person so far. The great American dream and frontier is only available to those with certain circumstances, and those circumstances are becoming less available to the new generation coming into the
Hargreaves, Steve. "The myth of the American Dream." CNNMoney. CNN, 9 Dec. 2013. Web. 29 April, 2014.
... shining, his golden opportunity…the right to live, to work, to be himself, and to become whatever thing his manhood and his vision can combine to make him…”(qtd.in The American Dream). A person who “manages” to achieve his or her version of the American Dream is often said to be “living the dream”. However this concept has been subjected to great criticism because some people that the social structure of the U.S. prevents such an idealistic goal for everyone. May critics often allude to various examples of inequality rooted in class, race, ethnicity, and religion, which suggests that the American Dream is not attainable to everyone. The principles of the American Dream are too idealistic. Everyone has dreams and goals, but the American Dream is one that is infinite and endless. It is very difficult to live the dream when so much of it is obscured by the government.
In today's society, the American dream is hindered by issues involving gender discrimination, racial discrimination, and weak economic mobility. The influence of money has broadened in our society, creating an elite group of winners, and leaving the rest as losers. Our government has been intoxicated under the influence of those holding a paper with a handful of zeros scrawled on it.
The American Dream is known to be a hope for a better, richer, happier life for all citizens of every class. For almost all Americans, this entails earning a college degree, gaining a good job, buying a house, and starting a family. Although this seems wonderful, a large amount of the American population believes that the Dream has changed immensely because of increased prices in today’s society, the price of tuition being highly unaffordable, as well as the unemployment rate skyrocketing and weaker job growth. While some American citizens believe it has changed, others believe that the American Dream has not changed, but point out it is harder to obtain.
The American dream is a slowly fading dream that seems to be escaping all the lower classes of American society. The American dream still exists if we examine it correctly. The dilemma with the American dream is that it has become so much harder to fulfill. Social inequality, along with a lack of social mobility, have negated the ability to accomplish this. As time has passed, the gap between the rich and poor has become larger and larger.
America is one of the wealthiest nations on earth with having a high inequality than other industrialized country. Inequality exists in income, wealth, power and education. Persons who are legally and socially poor in the United states tend to stay in a cycle through life, not always by choice but because they are given fewer opportunities, education and tools to achieve success. Poverty class has a much larger income gap than the upper class, the American Dream is lessens through opportunity and is shown through statistics.
People who work hard enough become successful and build a good life for themselves and their family. Millions of Americans and others who admire America have believed this for generations. However, is this still true? Brandon King debates his interpretation of the American Dream in his published work, “The American Dream: Dead, Alive, or on Hold?” During his essay, the speaker highlights how important the American Dream is to the economy and providing a distance from inequality. The speaker emphasizes his belief that the American Dream is still alive within America and that people must work hard to achieve it. When discussing the American Dream, King will agree that the idea is alive and thriving in the minds of Americans; yet, I argue that the idea is on hold within American society due to lack of upward social independence and economic mobility.
The American Dream is so important to our country and especially for our generation to take seriously. The American Dream is the opportunity to reach the goals one sets for themselves. It is about having your dream job and life you have always fantasized about. The dream is also about having freedom and equality. The American Dream was much easier to attain a few decades ago compared to today. However, it is still possible. The economy was better fifty years ago than it is today. People are in greater debt now and the United States is in higher debt than it was fifty years ago. The American Dream is still possible despite the lack of improvement within social mobility in American society over the past years. The American dream is achievable by being able to live a middle-class lifestyle and that lifestyle is obtainable through hard work and perseverance, even in light of obstacles such as racism. “The American Dream is still achievable, however, the good news is that people at the bottom are just as likely to move up the income ladder today as they were 50 years ago” (O’Brien 1). The ability to attain the American Dream is hindered by race, the middle class, and giving up facing adversity.
The “American Dream” consists of all U.S citizens having the opportunity to obtain success and prosperity through hard work and determination, but, in a capitalistic economy such as the United States the “American Dream” is merely impossible. Low wages are masked as starting points, taught to eventually pay off in the form of small raises or promotions. Competition to obtain unequally shared resources, is used to define an individual’s extent of initiative. In reality, these are all concepts used by the wealthy to deter the poor working class from obtaining upward mobility. Middle class America, the key factor in helping the wealthy stay wealthy, have adapted to these beliefs and concepts, created to keep them far behind. Conflict theorist
With America actually being seen as the land of assurance, the American dream is usually associated with the freedom and opportunity of gaining prosperity, recognition, power, triumph, and contentment. On the surface, this dream appears virtually delighted, offering individuals the exceptional hope of accomplishing success despite of one’s race, religion, or family history. The American Dream is accurately what it seems to be the chance of perfect lying nearby the corner. However, the actual nature of this dream prohibit the pleasure of the victory one has earned, as the desire is always demanding one to work a slight harder and gain a slightly more.
Throughout American history, there have been a number of people who have exemplified and supported Adam’s idea of the American Dream (Meacham np). One of these was Benjamin Franklin with his “way to wealth.” Another was Franklin D. Roosevelt, the great symbol of hope to the American people during rough years. Calling the nation toward a more positive mindset, Roosevelt declared, “The great fact to remember is that the trend of civilization itself is forever upward, that a line drawn through the middle of the peaks and the valleys of the centuries always has an upward trend.” (Meacham np) Roosevelt was right, though people fail, it doesn’t mean their chances of succeeding are over. They can still achieve the American Dream if they stay positive about it and really work toward it.