The American Dream: The Existence Of The American Dream

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The American Dream is being able to live freely from discrimination, for your voice to be heard, and having equal opportunities in life. As kids we are taught that there is a certain way to live in order to be happy, in order to be successful financially; but as you get older you understand the barriers that stop you from achieving this dream. The American Dream is not attainable, because the chance at an American lifestyle is not always given equally to everyone due to race, gender, and social class. The existence of the American Dream is not accessible to everyone although, everyone is entitled to their own opinion and belief about the American Dream. However, everyone is different and face different challenges in their everyday …show more content…

She talks about the difference of wanting and the difference of needing things in your everyday life. Courtney Martin states “the biggest danger is achieving a dream you don't actually believe in”. This quote means that if you strive to achieve a dream that you don't believe in, it’s time wasted because in the end you aren’t actually happy or proud you are basically just doing something to say you didnt with no meaning behind it. This connects to challenging the “American Dream” because in order to be great you must be happy and if your striving for a dream you don't even believe in you aren’t at all happy. In the “TED Talks” video Courtney Martin gave the example of a white picket fence, which is supposed to be the way of living for an American and how they should want to live then describes her house which is very different. It's not the ideal American house but it's perfect for her and she is very satisfied. Showing that materialistic things don't always matter and the things you want aren't necessarily things that you need. Although, in contemporary life and even years back the rich are given a higher level of respect from almost anyone, rather than someone that's poor or middle class. In the short video “My everyday hustle” by Public

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