Happiness And The American Dream Essay

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The role of Happiness in the American Dream Many people like to argue about what the American dream is. In its simplest definition the American dream is life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, but perhaps the most important question we should be asking is “ What role does happiness play in the American Dream?”
In the opinion of many Americans happiness only plays a mediocre role, if any, in the American dream. This is because the way we live today is much different and we have been forced into believing that happiness has only one definition. Every person can agree that the values we as Americans have today just aren't the same as they were 50 years ago. Now some argue that the values today are better, but that is for a different discussion. …show more content…
We are told that this one definition has no variations, so therefore it should make everyone happy. However this is not the case. Everyone should be able to determine their own definition of happiness. Instead we are forced into a perfect little box, but sometimes we don't fit in that box. The accepted view of the happiness and the American Dream is, as the heterosexual marriage, two and a half kids, a dog or cat, and the white picket fence. Yet some people see the white picket fence, not as a symbol of a happy life, but as bars on a prison cell. No one should have to go through life trying to fit this perfect image of happiness, but this is the illusion that our society creates. This is what they say is happiness when in reality it is just a mask to cover up the truth. The truth is happiness is not the most important role in the American dream. In fact it might not have any role at all. We can not continue to live in fear off challenging what is normal. We must begin to set our own definitions of happiness and the American Dream. If we don't then we are on the path to becoming a nation of robots instead of the nation of pride we once
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