A Dream with Deceit

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A Dream with Deceit

In a world of uncertainty and disappointment, many people welcome the promise of happiness by any definition. In response to this, society offers the "American Dream," a guarantee of success through hard work and perseverance, as a path to contentment. Corporate America cunningly markets the "American Dream" to the public, and as a result the allure of wealth and status dictates the lives of many Americans. The elite and large corporations intentionally feed the idea of an "American Dream" to the general public because they depend on its widespread acceptance to maintain their undisputed power. The media has become a powerful tool for corporations to spread the ideals of the "American Dream" throughout the population. Television and newspapers, two specific channels of the media, have a vast influence over the people that the "American Dream" targets. The power that the media has over the general population is strong, influencing society's ideals and view of the "American Dream" through methods equivalent to brainwashing. Society continues to uphold a destructive "American Dream," giving people a false perception of success and ignoring the reality of limited opportunity that exists today.

Society has imposed the "American Dream" on individuals for as long as the United States has been in existence. People are manipulated into believing that hard work and perseverance will lead to their ultimate success in life. The government, the media, and corporations alike create and exploit the "American Dream" as a system of mass control. Greed propels the dream by adding to the power it hold over individuals. Society is told that everyone should be striving for success, which is defined a...

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...bert Cullen, and Bonnie Lisle, Boston: Bedford / St. Martins, 2001. 305-310.

Dalton, Harlon L. "Horatio Alger." Rereading America. Eds. Gary Colombo, Robert Cullen, and Bonnie Lisle, Boston: Bedford / St. Martins, 2001. 311-317.

Fallows, James. "The Invisible Poor." Rereading America. Eds. Gary Colombo, Robert Cullen, and Bonnie Lisle, Boston: Bedford / St. Martins, 2001. 356-369.

"Money and Success: The Myth of Individual Opportunity." Rereading America. Eds. Gary Colombo, Robert Cullen, and Bonnie Lisle, Boston: Bedford / St. Martins, 2001.295-297.

Mantsios, Gregory. "Myths and Realities." Rereading America. Eds. Gary Colombo, Robert Cullen, and Bonnie Lisle, Boston: Bedford / St. Martins, 2001. 318-333.

Terkel, Studs. "Stephen Cruz." Rereading America. Eds. Gary Colombo, Robert Cullen, and Bonnie Lisle, Boston: Bedford / St. Martins, 2001. 335-339.

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