America was built on greed. All the way back to when Jamestown was founded in 1606 on The First Charter of Virginia there were 3,805 words and 98 of them were about God, whereas “97 percent of the Charter concerns the taking of “all the lands woods soils grounds havens ports rivers mines and minerals marshes water and fishing commodities” as well as orders to “dig mine and search for all the matter of mines and gold silver and copper." Jamestown was built on greed with God sprinkled here and there to mask the reality. Profit is all people of power are looking for. Just look at the company "Vise-Grip" which was originally from DeWitt, Nebraska. The company stayed in DeWitt for 84 years until it was sold to the Newell Corporation in 2002. By 2008 Newell decided to close doors and let go of over 300 people to outsource the product because the cost of making it in China was less than in America. Now, let's look at the effect that has on America, besides the few men that own the Newell Corporations will get more money. Over 300 American families are now out of work in a very small town in Nebraska. The grocery store closed, the newspaper closed, and many other businesses were tight. The main source of income for most of the town was gone. All the government has to do is make corporations stay on American soil. I challenge you to go into a Wal-Mart or Target and grab 10 things at random, over half or say made in China.
In America today I believe having passion or heart and things you do is an even bigger key to success then hard work. I'd like to call it mindset vs. hard work. With the amount and quality of jobs there are out there now, It’s hard for anyone to get by. "Median household income has remain stagnant for more than a decade; when the figures are adjusted for inflammation Americans are making less now than they were with Bill Clinton in the White House." We all know the cost of living in America hasn't remained stagnant for over a decade, so why should the wages? You can work hard your entire life and still have no happiness. Mindset to me is most important. Helping others and being grateful for what you have is the only way to get through these tough times. Even if all you have to be grateful about is being alive, be grateful because many people didn't make it past today. People can spend their whole life trying to achieve happiness by getting the most money but if you have the ability to stop and smell most of the roses on the way, that's how you achieve true inner happiness.
The American Dream to me would be freedom of opinion without judgment. Religion should not be a part of law and even though I am a Christian I can stand back and give others choices to make that