American Dream or American Scream?

1267 Words3 Pages

America the beautiful. With its spacious skies and amber waves of grain. From one shining sea to another lies this relatively adolescent country. An “unestablished” land until very recently, the United States of America was adopted and cultured like one of Brangelina’s children. In crept the “American Dream”, laced with its fierce politics and even fiercer religious perspectives, simultaneously providing its citizens the fire and passion that drives all, if not many cultures. And, with such a rapid development of diversity in such a short amount of time, there arose a particular cohesiveness amongst families that surpassed all its rivals. Memories of sporting events, movie dates, and trips to Disneyland released charges of dopamine into the world, spreading happiness like a cure. Before claiming to be the hub of joy, however, a responsible citizen of America must first concede to the internet for the “facts”. Upon further review (I Googled “what is the happiest country”) I could have been more disappointed, but not by much. To my anguished surprise, of all the countries in the world, Denmark was listed first in a Huffington Post article in November of 2013. Geographically connected to northern Germany and extending northeastward to western Sweden, Denmark also holds title to five other island states: Fyn, Lolland, Faister, Bornholm, and Sjaelland (of which the capital, Copenhagen is landmarked). The country is wedged between the North Sea to the west and the Baltic Sea to the east, hosting a sea of channels, straights, lakes and rivers. But beyond what can be said geographically about Denmark, it is the people contained within its borders that peaks interest. What is it that makes their people the “happiest”? What doe... ... middle of paper ... ...led with disillusion and ignorance. If the United States is ever to reach the exulting status that Denmark has so successfully achieved through its members, then it must reevaluate and elevate all of its citizens no matter the age, gender or ethnic background. Works Cited Bassett, Laura. "Women Still Earned 77 Cents On Men's Dollar In 2012: Report." The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 17 Sept. 2013. Web. 25 Feb. 2014. Crum, Maddie. "The U.S. Illiteracy Rate Hasn't Changed In 10 Years." The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 06 Sept. 2013. Web. 02 Mar. 2014. "Happiest in the World." Happiest in the World. Denmark.dk, 2013. Web. 23 Feb. 2014. Geert-Hofstede. "Gender Roles." Denmark. Web. 23 Feb. 2014. Liepmann, Erica. "U.S. Falls In World Education Rankings, Rated 'Average'" The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 07 Dec. 2010. Web. 25 Feb. 2014.

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