The American Dream: Too Frequently a Nightmare

I think that the American Dream is a social ideal based on equality in social, political and economic rights and privileges. The constitution of this country suggests that every person who lives on American soil is free. In the United States’ Declaration of Independence our founding fathers:"…held certain truths to be self-evident, that all Men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness." I consider these words to be the foundation of the American Dream. Over time, however, the American dream has been defined with America being the Land of opportunity, Home of the free, land of the brave, wealthiest and most powerful nation in the world. Now, success is what the American Dream is all about

My parents came to this country in search of the American dream, Like them, many people are motivated by the promise of a better life, and so they come to this country, some for political or religious reasons, bust most come because of economic reasons, they are interested in making money. Many of these immigrants come to the United states risking their lives, in the hopes of living out the American Dream. After all, we live in a country which represents the large majority of the wealth and technology of the world, yet we make up about 5% of the world's population. I think we have a very strong economy, our currency is strong,for example: Almost every country outside of the United states accepts U.S currency, meanwhile, here in the U.S, we don’t accept currency from other countries, For example, you can’t buy a bagel with French currency. Many immigrants come to this country to escape the poverty of their own homeland. Immigrants that come to the U.S from communist countries such as cuba come to the United States because they want to be free people in a free society, where they would all have equal access to economic prosperity, unlike in cuba where gLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL. Many immigrants work in the U.S, and then send money back to their countries to support their family because back in their country, the U.S currency is stronger. On T.V, in the news.. everywhere, you hear about or read that many immigrants have crossed the border of the United States of America in pursuit of the dream, which every American person thinks abou...

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... financial success and social mobility. There are unquestionably many Americans who continue to abide by such tenets and in doing so are rewarded for their efforts. Yet there are also those who have come to believe that the American Dream's promise of riches is just that, a promise, and as such they feel entitled to instant financial success. Ultimately, most Americans would like to achieve the American Dream of financial independence. Yet it is the means to achieving it that are essential to the nation's ethical foundations. It seems that many Americans covet the easy road to the Dream and in the process undercut the core values that established the Dream in the first place.

Blibliography

Alice M. Rivlin: Reviving the American Dream: The Economy, the States & the Federal Government, (Washington: Brookings Institute, 1992.)

Charles R. Geisst: Visionary Capitalism: Financial Markets and the American Dream in the Twentieth Century, (New York: Praeger, 1990)

Katherine S. Newman: Declining Fortunes: The Withering of the American Dream, (New York: Basic Books, 1993)

Wallace S. Peterson: Silent Depression: The Fate of the American Dream, (New York: Norton, 1994)