George Carlin's Expectations Of The American Dream

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“I have spent my life judging the distance between American reality and the American dream.” According to Bruce Springsteen, American reality and the American dream in the minds of the people around the world are two opposite ends of the extremes. Expectations of the American dream are often extremely unrealistic. According to Azar Nafisi, “this dream is tainted by reality,” and if people aren't careful enough they will end up regretting the choices they made. The dream is no longer supplied with the image, the idea, and its fascinations. The American dream is not realistic which cannot be truly attainable by everyone because of the people we are. Therefore, it is no surprise when people from other countries struggle to make a living here. …show more content…

On the surface, this dream seems very truthful and tangible. This dream gives people this expectation for hope and achievement, despite their background, race, or religion. But underneath, the value of the American dream has decreased majorly. The hope of coming here and starting a new life has little logic behind it. Based on many statistics and experiences in America there are many explanations as for why the American Dream is just a fantasy. Immigrants from other countries leave their education, families, connections, and homeland to start a new unpredictable life in America, in hopes of reaching a dream that doesn't exist. George Carlin, a comedian said, “The owners in this country know the truth, it is called the American Dream because you have to be asleep to believe it.” This quote explains that the American dream can only be achieved when actually “dreaming”. In reality, the American dream is exaggerated by society; therefore, the dream becomes unfulfilled and expectations for a better life don’t extend …show more content…

In some cases immigrants that do come to America are able to reach this dream with low expectations and hard work. But the chances of this are very slim considering the ratio to the amount of people living in America and the job openings. In most instances, people expect to reach the dream instantly. Many of the people living in America are an average middle class family. As years go by, there becomes more inequality between the middle class. The Great Gatsby Curve illustrates the ups and downs of this class distinction. The curve also shows that people with inferior backgrounds have less of a chance to improve their living quality. The American dream for the middle class has become unreachable because of all the money that is taken away from taxes. Taxes are taken from middle class homes for different things that aren’t even used. For instance my parents pay for the golf course but don’t even have a membership or use the facility. Another example is the swimming pool in our community isn’t used the whole year other that the summer time but my parents still have to pay the taxes for it plus pay for every time we use it. These examples may not be major but it still opens a gap between the poor and rich causing the middle class to

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