Sam's Dream Is Dead

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Sam's Dream is Dead

Before April 5th, 1992, Wal Mart was world renowned as a prestigious company with very high morals, based upon values such as hard work, fairness for employees, supporting American goods, and providing a fair price for the consumer. On April 5th, 1992, Sam Walton, founder of Wal Mart, died of cancer. Soon after that, the cancer known as American big business took hold of Wal Mart, laying Sam Walton's dream to rest along side him. Wal Mart is now a tyrannical force of cover ups, unfair labor practices, scandals, and outright lies.

Wal-mart depicts itself as a company that is dedicated to its workers and the production of American goods, strictly following Sam's dream. Recently they have shifted from this position into a company that is only concerned with the bottom line, no matter the consequence to its employees, the surrounding communities, or the quality of life of the people that consume and produce goods they sell in their massive supercenters. The suspect business practices of Wal-Mart are artfully hidden behind smiling advertisements and publicity that often conceals operations that Wal-Mart carries out behind closed doors. Wal-Mart not only hurts the surrounding communities through unhealthy and unfair competition, rather, they destroy the lives of their workers and consumers by collecting every possible cent and exploiting their workers to an absurd extent.

In a recent advertisement, Wal-Mart focuses on three important "values" which it directly contradicts through its business practices. "Savings to customers, commitment to community, and opportunities for workers" are apart of "Sam's Dream," referring to Sam Walton, founder of Wal-Mart. The ad seems to take an overt opposition to the film Wal-Mart: The High Cost of a Low Price by attempting to refute or publicly address and subsequently cover up the facts addressed in the movie. The ad also features the quote, "They say when a Wal-mart comes to town, it's like getting a pay raise" referring to the low prices and the savings of the customer as a result. Also, the Wal-Mart ads that every Wal-mart associate qualifies for healthcare benefits for only one dollar a day, while in reality, many employees are forced into social services for relief (New Pro-Wal-Mart Commercial).

Not only in the narration and words depicted on the screen, but the smiling faces and the positive environment of the workplace is Wal-Mart trying to relay a sort of content with being employed by the business.

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