The American dream is changing because most of the youth of America realize that they don’t need billions or even millions of dollars to be happy. Of course, there are some that think becoming a millionaire is the only way to be truly happy, however most of the youth today don’t. The original American Dream can be found in The Constitution of the United States of America, it basically states the American dream is having the rights to, “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness”. This was the dream for the Americans at the start of the country, but the dream changed during roaring twenties from having freedom to getting exorbitantly rich. Now the dream is changing again from earning as much money as you possibly can, to renting out a house, …show more content…
The first two reasons are mostly luck (except for stock brokers) and one cannot expect to earn their riches in this manner. That leaves the final option for the majority. Work long and hard to get rich, because get rich quick ads and emails are just scams. Most of youth don’t want responsibility and to have to do stuff, like this essay for example. That is why the American dream is “dying”. The dream itself is not actually dying it is just drastically changing. A lot of youth want to just do the bare minimum to get by in life. According to MarketWatch, “The number of teens with summer jobs has fallen roughly 30 percentage points since the late 1970s”(Hill). Also according to this site the numbers haven’t just dropped because they are lazy and don’t want a job, but most are in summer school and cannot get a job. On the topic of summer school, “Of Chicago’s 431,000 public school students, 200,000 — or 46 percent — are enrolled in classes this summer. That is double the number of students who went to summer school in 1996, according to school district spokesman Keith Bromery”(Durand). The doubled number of students at summer school can be associated with a lot of factors like students struggling with classes, very few are trying to get ahead in classes, and of course lazy students. The lazy students that don’t want to work are a perfect example of where the American dream is going. They realize that they can get a 401K at McDonalds, so if they can scrape bye by taking orders why would they need to work hard? Of course, their logic is flawed because they will not receive enough money at places like McDonalds to pay for their life and will need other assistance, mostly from the government. However, their ideals make perfect
The American dream I believe is that of someone improving their current situation into a better one. I don’t think it is a small change though. The American dream is not just getting a car when your family didn’t have one before or getting a small promotion at work so your family can actually start saving money. Although these are part of the American dream which simply put is growing and prospering from what you had before. This being said, I believe the real American dream is starting at the bottom having nothing, usually brought to that point by oppression or devastation, and soaring above poverty to at the minimum easy living where money is not a worry in one’s life. The stereotypical story would be from poverty to high class living, but just the movement to a better life is all that really needs to happen to be an American dream story. Many people would say that this American dream is not possible and completely inaccessible, those people are probably not American or just haven’t found a stroke of luck. The American dream just isn’t about hard work and good character and values,...
Through the course of change in the world- either through prosperity, capitalism or greed- people have lost focus with the real meaning of 'the American dream'. It is no longer the gamely aspirations of living life to the fullest, providing a better life for yourself and or others; instead, a pursuit for those materialistic aspects in life.
The American Dream: Dead, Alive, or on Hold? written by Brandon King discusses what the American Dream is, how it has evolved, and how to live it to the fullest. He writes that the American Dream in the past meant to live a wealthy, materialistic life, however the American Dream today is to live in stability. The American Dream also has the potential to be viewed from multiple perspectives as everyone is different and have their own opinion as to how live the American Dream. King also addresses that inequality is the main problem according to many; the government is only making the rich minority wealthier, ignoring funds for the lowers classes. The American Dream will never die as long as planning ahead and proposing policies to sustain economic growth are tirelessly acted upon.
The American Dream according to the collaborative efforts of the Oxford Dictionary and Bing Translator is "the ideal that every US citizen should have an equal opportunity to achieve success and prosperity through hard work, determination, and initiative". The American Dream was originally made as the idea that anyone can be successful in America, that regardless of your background you can go from rags to riches almost overnight with the proper effort. It seems to me however, that the modern idea of the American Dream is different. To me, the American Dream is the idea that one can live life as they choose without any individual having the right to belittle their ideal life. That is not to say you can live the life of a criminal and no one would care, but you can choose what and who you want in your life without being supressed. In America today, you can be almost any religion you desire, love someone of any gender, and choose a career path for yourself that you want without others forcing religion, opinions, or ideas upon you. This idea to me is the modern ideal of the American Dream, but regardless of which view of the dream you believe in it thrives within America, and both ideas of the dream still pertain
First, what is the American dream? According to David Wallechinsky, “the traditional American Dream is based on the belief that hardworking citizens can improve their lives, pay their monthly bills without worry, give their children a start to an even better life, and still save enough to live comfortably after they retire” (1). “The American Dream” states, “It has always represented the possibility for individuals to succeed and live a life of wealth and comfort, made possible by both the political and economic attitudes in the USA and the individual’s own hard work” (1). Daniella Nicole adds that “in years past, chasing the American Dream meant the sky was the limit. . .” (1).
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.
However, the perception of American Dream has changed into materialism lifestyle due to the emergence of new money everywhere. I see American Dream in this era as a product of cultural environment which has a concept of glamorous and luxurious living that brainwashed the society. The goal of the American Dream here is to live life to the fullest by partying and climbing up the social
To me the American Dream comes right back to being stable in a financial aspect. I hate to think in a mind set that everything Is about money but that’s how I view The American Dream. Since I was a little girl I have always had the American Dream drawn up in my mind. This was far before I knew how I would have the means to support it such as a college degree and the job after graduation. Both things that I am still seeking but closer and closer to achieving every day. My America Dream has always looked like a large white house, newly build on a corner lot. The garage will be on the side of the house and a long drive-way which will include my black Land
The American Dream, recognized as being the earning of a college degree, the owning of one 's own home, taking vacations and experiencing upward social mobility, is a very important belief that helped create the success that America is today. Many people believe that anyone who works hard and has determination can achieve this American Dream. In this day and age, experiencing the American Dream is believed to no longer be as available to Americans as it once was. The economy and corporate America have had a strong impact on the availability to reach this state of success. Everyone wants to live the American Dream, whether they know it or not. I have never met a person who did not want to become successful. Even I had a strong belief that the
The American dream is something very tricky, but when you become truly happy, that is when you know you have achieved your American Dream. All of these examples listed above provide a reason to believe that the American Dream is still going strong today. Every person has a dream or goal they want to achieve and I believe that is what keeps America strong and going. The dreamers keep us alive because they keep new ideas and concepts flowing throughout the country. The dreamers spark new dreams and it is never ending, which keeps the American Dream and the concept of having a dream or end goal alive. “Dreams don’t always have to exist while the sun is down and your eyes are shut” (Alex Gaskarth).
But to the majority of people the American Dream is still attainable, it just isn’t the American dream one is taught to pursue at an early age. If a person follows a career that they believe in and work hard with patience, at first they won’t be living the dream but that person will eventually achieve their true American dream. People shouldn’t follow a career that they feel they should follow because they will earn the most money in, it should be because that is really there dream. Many people stay unhappy in these positions and end up saying what they should have done different there isn’t anything wrong with this but it shows people that achieving their dream will not only make them happy but it offers memories and a life time feeling of
The second factor that would have to be dealt with in changing the "American Dream" is the stickiness factor. Let’s use Bill Gates as the example again. If he went on TV proclaiming that he was a billionaire, no one would listen. Even if they did listen, they would not remember. If Gates went on TV and said he was only going to work part time and he was going to give most of his money to charity, people would listen.
"I think the American Dream says that anything can happen if you work hard enough at it and are persistent, and have some ability. The sky is the limit to what you can build, and what can happen to you and your family" expressed Sanford I. Weill. The American Dream is still alive and obtainable. Many people have a definition of what the American Dream that is obtainable in their minds. People all have unique individual lives.
People think that since someone has to be or look really rich that it is impossible to achieve. When those people try and prove that the dream has died, all the people sitting on the side of the road are brought up or the fact that some apparently have to be a pro athlete or a world renown surgeon to make enough money to achieve the American Dream. Not everyone in America will be a world renown surgeon or a pro athlete. Some people also support the act that the dream is dead by saying that part of the American Dream was to make it so many people can achieve the dream and that is not possible since it is dead. Also it is even a less of a chance to make a living in the U.S. for everyone, especially people coming from other countries who had a hard life in the countries that most of the people are coming from.
When the term ‘American Dream’ was first mentioned in 1931 by James Truslow Adams, he described it as “that dream of a land in which life should be better and richer and fuller for everyone, with opportunity for each according to ability or achievement.” (Clark). When Adams mentioned the term, it had much more of an idealistic meaning, rather than the materialistic meaning it has in modern society. At the time of it’s mention, the dream meant that prosperity was available to everyone. In the beginning, the American Dream simply promised a country in which people had the chance to work their way up through their own labor and hard work (Kiger). Throughout history, the basis of the dream has always been the same for each individual person. It