One's dream and desires to supplant in life must be stronger and prominent than limitations set forth by society and others. Society tells oneself you cannot succeed because you are a women, you are too Asian, too Hispanic, and too African American. Everybody dreams of a world where there is equality amongst people in the work force and in daily life. In “paper Tigers,” by Wesley Yang he discusses his own experiences as an Asian American, tying them into the larger picture of Asians functioning in American society. In Rebekah Nathan’s essay “Community and Diversity” she explores the importance of community and diversity on college campus. In order for personal development and success there must be diversity, and a strong community because the …show more content…
lack of diversity and community is what is holding people back from true personal success. To begin, diversity can lead to personal development and success because discrimination will not be in the way of people’s dreams and aspirations.
In today’s society there are many diverse cultures, different types of people and mindsets. Diversity is defined as different people coming together to diffuse their cultures. Diversity brings humanity together, it teaches you different things about why people do certain things and act a different way. Diversity promotes personal growth and a healthy society because it challenges stereotyped preconceptions. Nathan states, “there is no doubt that active racism also plays a part in the lack of diversity on college campuses” (Nathan 325) Racism affects diversity it is an invisible issue. No one wants to talk about race because people are not comfortable with it, especially in public, because it is such a controversial topic. In order for their to be diversity people need to talk about the real issues limiting diversity such as race and discrimination amongst people. Diversity strengthens communities and the work place. Lack of diversity through discrimination has lead to an environment of sexism and racism that affects the workplace and daily lives thus affecting personal development and …show more content…
success. In addition, people come to America to obtain the American dream.
Unfortunately the American dream is hard to obtain for people because gender and minority discrimination is still eminent in today’s society. Discrimination leads to a lack of self-confidence thus threatening personal success. Confidence is needed to push through the walls society builds up against minorities. From the moment a women enters the work force after college, she is faced with much discrimination and unjust belief that she will not be able to do as well of a job than a man. Women are faced with the glass ceiling, which is defined as an invisible barrier that prevents someone from achieving further success. Women tend to have pink-collar jobs such as waitress, assistant, nurse, and a pre-school teacher rather than being a CEO. Asian Americans also face the same problem known as the bamboo ceiling. It leaves Asians at junior level jobs such as a doctor, lawyer, and engineer, and none in the higher reaches of leadership. Yang states, “Asain-American success is typically taken to ratify the American dream and to prove that minorities can make it in this country without handouts” (Yang 534). To many people success is the American dream. To obtain the American dream people need to ignore the discrimination and do whatever it takes get to one’s
goals. Moreover, in order for personal development and success people need to break through the limitations that are holding them back such as the bamboo ceiling. Discrimination is pre-conceived and hard to alter. One option is to be a risk taker and let the discrimination push you to do something great. Yang states, “ if the bamboo ceiling is ever going to break, it is probably going to have less to do with any form of behavior assimilation than with the emergence of risk takers whose success obviates the need for Asians to meet someone else’s behavior standard” (yang 545). Many risk takers have emerged and became successful. For example, Steven Chen who was one of the creators of YouTube, or Charles Haung created Guitar Hero. Even more examples include Tony Hseih the founder of Zoppos.com, or Hewlett-Packard the founder of hotornot.com. (Yang 545) Drive, determination, and persistence are characteristics needed for personal success. Another option is to embrace the stereotype like Eddie Haung. He battled the bamboo ceiling for years until he finally quit lawyering and decided to start a small restaurant that sells pork buns. Yang states, “rather than strive to make himself acceptable to the world, Haung has chosen to buy his way back in, on his own terms” (Yang 546). One should not be living their life holding their selves up to societies standards. For personal development and success one should have the mentality of Eddie Haung and the risk-takers. By making his culture commodifiable he became relative. (Yang 546) On the contrary, the importance of community has been forgotten because many people want to be an individual. There is an increasing individualism in American life. People feel like if they are a part of a community one will lose their sense on individualism. Nathan states, “contradictory ideas of community are reproduced, bouncing between an entity that provides love and a sense of belonging and one that limits freedom and imposes new obligations” (Nathan 318). Yes, through individualism you can grow as a person and have a better sense of who you are. By wanting to always be an individual one will become isolated. One will go through an emotional roller coaster because one cannot function with community and their personal networks. Through community one can personally develop. In Community one finds a sense of purpose, builds relationships and learn accountability, which are important for personal development and success. The truth is that community and individualism can be integrated one just has to learn how to balance both. Last, community is necessary for personal development and success. Being involved in a community allows oneself to have a support system when society is yelling at oneself that you are not good enough. Community can influence oneself to do great things because one sees everyone else being successful and it drives oneself to want to do great things as well. Personal networks are important because in the workforce one typically has to know someone to get anywhere. One cannot succeed by themselves, help is always needed. Community is also important because it can break discrimination. Community brings people together from different cultures thus allowing people to get to know each other, and thus creating diversity. Nathan states, “ as the descriptions of student life attest, diversity is one part of college culture that is intimately tied to community, another part”(Nathan 328). The same goes for the real world. Once you learn about different cultures one can then appreciate their experiences and background. When one is a part of a community like-minded people surround them.
America has always been a land of hope and possibilities. People coming from around the world has once carried the American Dream settling in America imagining they all would have the equal opportunity to achieve success as well as prosperity through determination and hard work. However, in times of economic crisis and situation where racial relationship was tensed portrayed on films like “Who Killed Vincent Chin” and “Rising Sun”, the ides of American Dream seems to differ among by different individuals and families.
The United States has always been viewed as a land of opportunity, where one could achieve anything they put their mind to, no matter who they are. Freedom and economic stability are the factors that make our country appealing. People are hopeful that the opportunities the country holds will help them achieve the American dream. This dream consists of achieving financial success, but time has proven that the American dream is a rare occurrence. Unfortunately, ambition, hard work, nor perseverance are enough to be successful in America. No individual is guaranteed success or destined for failure, but it is apparent that women, people of color, and those born into poverty will face greater obstacles than others,
The American Dream has always been a driving force in the lives of Americans. It has become a foundation of ideals and hopes for any American or immigrant. Specifically, one of the ideals that always exist is the dream of America free of class distinction. Every American hopes for a society where every person has the opportunity to be whomever he or she desire. Another ideal in the American dream is the drive to improve the quality of life. As one’s idea of the American Dream gets closer and closer, often times political and social ideals of America cause their American Dream to take a turn for the worst.
The essay, “Diversity: The Value of Discomfort” is an argument written by Ronald L Leibowitz in which he addresses a group of graduates about the value of diversity in college. To me, diversity means the unique backgrounds which influence people’s thoughts, ideas, and opinions. Each of the factors in an individual’s background makes them unique, and creates an important facet of our communities. However, we need to recognize and understand diversity, and simply “celebrating” it is not enough—we must embrace it in our colleges, workplaces, neighborhoods, and larger societies.
The Founding Fathers once preached that the American Dream entailed the right to “Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness,” nothing more, nothing less (Declaration of Independence). For centuries, the American Dream meant having a good job, owning a house, having a nice family, and generally enjoying life the best way possible. As history progressed however, people started working toward achieving individualistic success by any means necessary. Go back to the 1930s in New York City one fine spring morning. A boy, Moss Hart, remembers that back then “wealth, rank, or an imposing name counted for nothing. The dream of the wonderful American consisted of having a decent chance to scale the walls and achieve what they wished” (Kamp 1). Now flash-forward a century into the year 2014. Today in America, success does not reflect how muc...
Diversity is part of the American lifestyle. America is a country built on capitalistic principles, where a countries’ economy is controlled by a small number of people. People who tend to have power in the society tend to separate themselves from the rest. Looking back at different time period of American history diversity has shaped up the lives we live as Americans, whether it is because of gender, sexual orientation, race, religion, socioeconomic background, and capabilities/ disabilities, there is always diversity in society. Although, diversity is increasingly being viewed positively, and as much as people are proud of their differences. There will always be a way for human beings to diversify themselves into groups in which share similar interests.
The phrase “The American Dream” is an incredible thing. The promise of that dream has convinced hundreds of millions of people that, as a citizen of this country, you can accomplish anything if you work hard enough. Whether you want to be a doctor, athlete, or even a president, those things should all be within your reach, regardless of your class or race! America is the nation where dreams can come true. Unfortunately, for a large number of people that believe this, this is a concept that does not apply to them. Many Americans find opportunities are denied to them because of their race. Others can be found living in poverty and far from anything that would be considered desirable. Statistics show that the wealthiest 1 percent of Americans earned 9 percent of all U.S. income in 1979. Did you know that the same 1 percent earns 24 percent of all U.S. income today? That is a staggering example of the income inequality in America. The American Dream is that if you work hard and have the ability you will succeed, but that has become an impossibility for millions of disadvantaged Americans because the income inequality has been steadily increasing since the 1970s and racism and poverty are constant barriers to their success and financial security.
The American Dream is so important to our country and especially for our generation to take seriously. The American Dream is the opportunity to reach the goals one sets for themselves. It is about having your dream job and life you have always fantasized about. The dream is also about having freedom and equality. The American Dream was much easier to attain a few decades ago compared to today. However, it is still possible. The economy was better fifty years ago than it is today. People are in greater debt now and the United States is in higher debt than it was fifty years ago. The American Dream is still possible despite the lack of improvement within social mobility in American society over the past years. The American dream is achievable by being able to live a middle-class lifestyle and that lifestyle is obtainable through hard work and perseverance, even in light of obstacles such as racism. “The American Dream is still achievable, however, the good news is that people at the bottom are just as likely to move up the income ladder today as they were 50 years ago” (O’Brien 1). The ability to attain the American Dream is hindered by race, the middle class, and giving up facing adversity.
Achieving the American Dream is harder for women. The American Dream is becoming harder to achieve for men and women. Companies want men because they do not need maternity leave and there are less complications. Usually, when most people think of the American Dream they think of a house with a white picket fence, two kids, a husband and wife and the husband has a career and the wife stays home. Now more women want to achieve the American Dream, but they want to have the career. It is harder for some of them because of pay, harassment and inequality.
When people hear the word 'diversity', they often think in terms of black and white. I believe the true meaning of diversity is not simply about skin color, economic background or the face value of any other characteristic, rather it is the increased knowledge and sensitivity gained from unique experiences. The strength of diversity then comes from having many points of view and trying to reconcile them by finding common truths or resolving differences amongst people. Being a person of mixed heritage, my father is black and my mother is white, has definitely affected my life and contributed to the development of qualities that enhance my ability to embrace the uniqueness of those around me. Being raised in a single parent household and the values passed on to me by my mother have also been strong influences in my life. My greatest contribution to my community is the ability to create relationships between people of diverse backgrounds and a desire to understand others' beliefs.
The American dream is the general belief that American Citizens all have an equal opportunity to succeed socially and economically, regardless of any predating circumstances. This idea has been accepted as possible by the majority of citizens in this country. This “dream” cannot be true, as there are multiple discriminations in this country, which make it impossible for everyone to have the same chance to succeed. Biases against racial minorities, women, and citizens from lower social classes are examples of just a few reasons that everyone does not have the same chance to succeed in our current economic and social system in America, resulting in unequal chances to achieve “the American Dream.”
In 1931 when the American Dream arose, Americans believed that the harder one worked, the more one would prosper (Meacham, 2012). In other words, they strongly believed that the American Dream was gaining a better, richer, happier life. Today, the American Dream is still hoping to earn a college degree, get a good job, buy a house, and start a family, but according to MetLife’s fifth annual survey, 41% of the respondents said it was about personal fulfillment, while most American’s say it is out of reach for many (White, ...
... The more research that took place during this research paper made it more evident that the realisticity of people with color being able to achieve the American Dream is very scarce. With the numbers and data that certain researchers have collected, it proved that the achievement of the American Dream among people of color was indeed less due to certain obstacles and complications that others do not overcome. From jobs to home locations, the people of African American descendants always got the “left-overs” of the Americans and statistics support this claim. Although education could be an escape from poverty, the people of color rarely have access to good schools or education systems. All of these factors are evidently confirmations that the realisticity of a colored person to achieve the American Dream in today’s society is not impossible, however very difficult.
With America actually being seen as the land of assurance, the American dream is usually associated with the freedom and opportunity of gaining prosperity, recognition, power, triumph, and contentment. On the surface, this dream appears virtually delighted, offering individuals the exceptional hope of accomplishing success despite of one’s race, religion, or family history. The American Dream is accurately what it seems to be the chance of perfect lying nearby the corner. However, the actual nature of this dream prohibit the pleasure of the victory one has earned, as the desire is always demanding one to work a slight harder and gain a slightly more.
Diversity is a notion, when applied to the majority of circumstances, can create a positive conclusion. The trick to producing a positive outcome is often how the different aspects are brought together. Consider a classic dinner combination peas and carrots, the two colors look appealing and the two flavors comes together as one making a superb side dish. Now consider oil and water, these two substance are not often considered a good combination. Although, this is not always the case; olive oil and vinegar (which is water based) when mixed, come together into a delectable salad dressing. Diversity and inclusion should also apply to humans by bringing people together who are different it can creates a whole that is enhanced by the uniqueness of each individual.