As Americans, we ridicule others based on their selection of clothing. We are snobby because of how much money we make or what we hold as an occupation. We chew with our mouths full of macaroni and curse when the soda machine is out of Pepsi. We could use some manners, or maybe just a reintroduction. Confucius thought is constructed on kindness and propriety, as well as holding the morally virtuous to be the ideal person. This philosophy exceedingly expresses value in benevolence, education, and the treatment of other people, but has hidden innuendos that would knock the petals off any flower child. In this reflection paper, I will dabble with how incorporating Confucius thought and practices would help in some areas of American society, but shun the validity of others.
Money Over Everything
The definition of the American Dream fluctuates from person to person, but can ultimately lead to a broad basis: With hard work and dedication, one can achieve success. And with success, comes happiness. We strive for happiness. In this journey, most come to understand that a college education is the key to becoming knowledgeable, and knowledge is important in becoming successful. Therefore, going to college can lead to success, right? Not a difficult concept to grasp. With the staggering rates of tuition bills and the dwindle of job availability, it would seem the path to success narrows each day. Those with money to cover these costs aren't usually too worried about their debts, seeing as they could squash them like ants. In America, our education is highly valued, but the value of education is incredibly too high. Confucius was not around for colleges and technical institutions, so the subject matter of his teachings did not include di...
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In the article “America’s Most Overrated Product: The Bachelor’s Degree” by Marty Nemko, the author argues several different views on why higher education may be very overestimated. For starters, the author shares his opinion more than anything else due to him being a career counselor. The purpose of this essay is to explain to the readers that most people start off with the idea of living the American Dream. Which is practically going to college to have a better life and career. But over the time the idea of working very hard for a Bachelor’s degree has become very dimmed. Furthermore, for some people, when they think of the American Dream they think of hope for bettering themselves and also helping their families. Unlike the author, Nemko feels that even the thought of trying to pursue to get a bachelor’s degree is overrated. The audience of this passage would most likely be teenagers going into college and parents. Nemko states that “Colleges are quick to argue that a college education is more
It is the American dream to get out of high school and to start working towards your degree, right? Perusing a degree in the United States is not as dream like for some students. Many factors such as the learning environment, where you come from, and the knowledge and will power can shape how the higher education experience can go. While not all of these factors necessarily point to a rough or tough college experience, but also show that we as a nation could help our students be more educated and prepared to pursue and finish a degree. All students should be given equal opportunity and tools to become a successful member of society.
Having access to a good education is a big part of achieving the American Dream because if there is a really good job opportunity out there people are likely to get the job if they are highly educated. JD Vance talked about how his life growing up was not the best. He faced everyday challenges, however, they were not excuses that could stop him from getting an education and surely did not stop him from achieving the American Dream. In the article “The American Dream: ‘Education is the Key’” the writer states “ My parents grew up poor, put themselves through school...They were very clear that just as it was for them, education would be a critical bridge to opportunity for my brothers and me” (Golston). This comes to show that there really is not an excuse for people to say they cannot achieve the American Dream because they cannot afford to get an education. It takes hard work, dedication, and
For the purpose of this paper, the American Dream will be defined as the idea that you can achieve financial stability through hard work, which often means going to college. The term “college” refers to any undergraduate or graduate program at a secondary institution. This paper aims to examine the relationship between attending college and one’s ability to achieve the American Dream. Attending college is thought to be an important step in obtaining the American Dream, primarily because receiving a higher level of education tends to lead to a higher paying job and furthermore a financially stable future. However, this isn’t always the case due to an increase in the need for students to take out loans and increase their debt in order to afford college expenses.
When the General Court of the Massachusetts Bay Colony founded the first college in America, Harvard, in 1636, it marked the beginning of college as the backbone to the American Dream (“About Harvard” ). Around the world, America is coveted for the “American Dream” in which someone can go from deep poverty, to unbelievable wealth, all by getting an education which allows a person to obtain any job and reach any economic level. The article “Peter Thiel Thinks You should skip college, and He’ll Even Pay For Your Trouble; The famous disrupted says overpriced universities hold back innovation, and what's to rewrite education to his liking” by Tom Clynes argues people should not attend college because it is a hindrance to innovation, while the article
At the center of Japanese and Chinese politics and gender roles lies the teachings of Confucius. The five relationships (五倫） of Confucius permeated the lives of all within the Heian and Tang societies.4 However, the focus here will be on the lives of the courtesans. The Genji Monogatari provides us with an unrivalled look into the inner-workings of Confucianism and court life in the Heian period. Song Geng, in his discourse on power and masculinity in Ch...
The American Dream is known to be a hope for a better, richer, happier life for all citizens of every class. For almost all Americans, this entails earning a college degree, gaining a good job, buying a house, and starting a family. Although this seems wonderful, a large amount of the American population believes that the Dream has changed immensely because of increased prices in today’s society, the price of tuition being highly unaffordable, as well as the unemployment rate skyrocketing and weaker job growth. While some American citizens believe it has changed, others believe that the American Dream has not changed, but point out it is harder to obtain.
The American Dream. The ideal that every US citizen should have an equal opportunity to achieve success and prosperity through hard work, determination, and initiative. This ideology that anybody, regardless of race, gender, or social status, is able to work up the ladder and achieve success. However, the process to receive and live in this prosperity in today’s world has been greatly flawed. A key element to having a true chance of the American Dream is getting an education that goes beyond a high school degree. Yet, even this seemingly simple step in the process is difficult to achieve for many for countless reasons, however, college tuition is the prime cause for this setback. Even though there are people who believe that a college admission is fair to all, I firmly disagree, as countless people cannot pay for higher education, and, therefore, are not given an equal chance to live a moment of the American Dream.
What has happened to Confucianism. For a long time, Confucian was accepted as the idea that a healthy society depended on a solid traditional family. Confucius himself, for example, called for people to put principle above selfish desires. People supported hierarchy. The rulers moral example would inspire the people to live good lives. But one begins to detect a new theme emerging in society especially amongst the Chinese reformers: the theme of individualism oppose to familialism. Today, would the Confucian family be more and more aware of abuse to women and children? The rituals and traditions can be seen as both positive and negative. The ways in which women suffered affirm that some rituals were abusive. There are multiple signs indeed that something has gone badly wrong with the Chinese family traditions that led to family instability.
One of the reasons that the American Dream is still alive is that there are so many opportunities everyday. Most public schools provide students the necessities they need to succeed, so it is up to them whether or not one decides to use those necessities to achieve a goal. Most students in high school have an idea or dream of what they want their future to be like after high school. College is an example of an American Dream, where as student loans, scholarships, graduation coaches, and the ability to re-take the ACT are many opportunities to help one reach that goal. Some may choose to study abroad, which can be obtained affordably with getting a job or one c...
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Nivison, David S. The Ways of Confucianism: Investigations in Chinese Philosophy. Ed. Bryan W. Van Norden. Chicago and La Salle, IL: Open Court, 1996.
The American dream is a dream of being successful at performing well tasks everyday in life, putting effort, and hard work. Getting a higher education can seriously help you in the future prove to the world that they can do it. “The American Dream is one of success, home ownership, college education for one's children, and has a secure job to provide these and other goals (brainyquote).” This explains that you can become success in the American Dream if you prove and provide these goals. Everyone has the right to be success what they want and be educated in life to achieve their
Here you are at a stand still wondering what you want to be when you grow up, leaving a question in your head “ Is this worth my time, my future”. In the early history of America it was one's goal to live a life with no worry, to have financial stability, and unity amongst their peers. This was their American Dream! Education did not come easy to many Americans, some who wished they had that opportunities, so why is that different in today's society? Education is
A college education can broaden one’s career horizons and help them achieve stable employment. Through education one can expand their intellectual capacity along with financial scope. “ The median person with a bachelor 's degree earns about $48,000 per year, compared with $27,000 for a high school graduate, according to the U.S. Census Bureau” (Haltom 14). A college education should allow one to thrive both internally and externally, whilst progressing society along with them into the ever-changing world. These statistics represent the aspired