Essay on American Dream

Submitted By lolitsparth
Words: 913
Pages: 4
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Parth M Patel
HUM 101
November 9th
American Dream

The American Dream is a life that should be better and richer and fuller for everyone, with opportunity for each according to ability or achievement and regardless of the social class or circumstances of birthplace. The American Dream simply indicates the ability, through participation in the society and economy, for everyone to achieve prosperity. This means the opportunity for one’s children to grow up and receive good education and career without struggle. Also the opportunity to make individual choices without the prior restrictions that limited people according to their class, religion, race, or ethnicity. Many people redefined the definition to include things like freedom, fulfillment and meaningful relationships. Someone who manages to achieve his or her American Dream is often said to be living the dream. But the society is structured that US prevents such goals for everyone. When people began to have all sorts of hopes and aspirations for what was a new and largely unexplored continent to immigrants, many dreams focused on owning land and establishing a prosperous business that would at least fulfill their happiness. According to Herbert, The American Dream has turned into a nightmare and fears for the country’s future. As years pass by, the dream is becoming more and more of a challenge for the economy to raise, the public school system to wise up, and for the amount of jobs in society to increase. The people will also keep suffering as long as the nation is under current policies. Plus over the past few years our economy has been through a rough recession. He says “We’re in denial about the extent of the rot in the system, and the effort that would be required to turn things around. It will likely take man years, perhaps a decade or more, to get employment back to a level at which one could fairly say the economy is thriving” (Herbert, 564). I agree with him because the efforts by the state and local governments made like raising taxes, cutting work forces, and eliminating health benefits has not aided the recovery of our economy enough. But there is always faith that as time passes that the economy will be rebuilt. And I will be able to graduate college, find a job, have a family, and live my version of the American Dream. On the other hand, Thomas does not put direct blame about America’s failing dream on government. He believes that we as a society have become too dependent on the leaders in our government. Thomas explains that political leaders are leading us directly down a path of hopelessness, described as believing that politicians can improve your personal life that will never lead to your success. He states that the hope in achieving the American Dream is that it can happen because it has worked in the past and those who live with high morals and follow good conduct rules in society like, “The rules area known to previous generations: studying and staying in school; achieving at least an undergraduate degree;…;living with one’s means; demonstrating personal honesty and professional integrity, which comes from character developed in one’s youth, usually with a sense of right and wrong once imposed by parents and affirmed by culture.”(Thomas, 570) can end up achieving their hopes of the American Dream. I believe that it will take time for this country to get back to a state in which our
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