Argumentative Essay: In Search Of The American Dream

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In Search of the American Dream “Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free…For generations”, this message on the Statue of Liberty has greeted immigrants as they arrived in this country in search of the American dream. What, exactly, is the American dream? It is different things for different people. For people living in impoverished nations where they have to work endlessly simply to scrape by with a meager existence, America might represent a nation where anything is possible; a country where the streets are lined with gold (Lallas 164). For people living under brutal governments which curtail their liberties and give them few rights, America might represent a place where every citizen has equal rights, …show more content…

Certainly Americans have greater abilities to earn a decent living than citizens of many other countries, and enjoy a greater array of freedoms (Lallas 170). However, is success in America guaranteed to everyone, as some seem to believe? Of course not. America has its share of unemployed, underemployed, homeless, and destitute persons; people who are unable to find work despite spending thousands of dollars on education, people who are discriminated against because of the color of their skin or the God they choose to worship (Lallas 168). America has its share of senseless crime and violence; its inhumanity against certain groups of people, and its corruption among government officials (Lallas 168). It is not the magical fairly land which some seem to believe, and yet it still draws people to its shores year after year, decade after decade, in search of something better. Something which they seem to believe can only be found here; not anywhere …show more content…

Certainly, if one is born into a wealthy white family. Otherwise, probably not. Do I believe that it is possible to have a better quality of life in America than in probably any other country? Yes, I absolutely do. Do I believe that there is room for improvement in America? Again, yes, I do. However, is there a nation about which the same cannot be said? There are no perfect countries, just as there are no perfect people. People create the nations in which they live, and so long as people are flawed, so too will be the countries which they create and inhabit. America, at least, was founded on a strong belief system based on equal rights, the ability to work towards what one wants, and justice. It has not yet perfected this system, but at least it is working towards it, and understands that it is important. That is more than can be said for many other nations. So, long live the American dream…the realistic version, not the idealized version. WORKS CITED Hauhart, Robert C. and Jeff Birkenstein. ‘"Globals" and the American Dream: A Survey of Student Aspirations in an American Studies Course.” Perspectives on Global Development & Technology 12.1/2 (2013): p. 355-374. Print. Lallas, Demetri. “'From the People, by the People, to the People': The American Dream(s) Debut.” Journal of American Culture 37.2 (Jun 2014): p. 162-171. Print. Meacham, Jon. “Keeping the Dream Alive.” Time

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