The American Dream: Equal Opportunity To Fail

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The American Dreams and Failures “We need to teach the highly educated man that it is not a disgrace to fail and that he must analyze every failure to find its cause. He must learn how to fail intelligently, for failing is one of the greatest arts in the world” (Kettering 3). The American Dream is to believe that someone can be happy and successful and know that there are going to be failures, but are able to get past them because everyone has their own experiences. Although many individuals believe that America still provides access to the American Dream by having equal opportunities to achieve success through hard work and determination while gaining power and money, others contradict this thought and believe the American Dream is still …show more content…
For instance in the text it says, “Shelly Comer, 43, of Dos Palos, Calif., is a divorced mother of three who also takes care of a friend of her oldest child, Michelle. She is going into debt so that Michelle can go to college. Shelly has worked her whole life – as a receptionist, janitor, preschool teacher and activities director at a hospital. Recently, she became a registered nurse and now works the night shift in obstetrics at another hospital. Her annual income is $70,377” (Wallechinsky 56). As a result this shows that no matter who someone is, everyone has equal opportunities to achieve something great and to follow their Dreams. For instance, Shelly’s case she did everything she could to make sure her family had the things she needed. Through hard work and determination she was able to become a registered nurse and now can support her family and knows that she succeeded and overcame a struggle in her life. Many individuals believe that the American Dream is a dream of “getting ahead”, painted in gold wherever we go (Zinsser 81) and know that they can tuck in their children at night and know they are fed and clothed and safe; that we can say what we think, write what we think; that we can have an idea and start our own business without paying a price (Obama 79). For many individuals getting ahead means having the money to pay for things through a good job and know that they have security for their families, food on the table, a roof over their heads and not have to worry about falling behind in the world. While yet, many Americans follow their dreams but they are shattered through unexpected events that change their life for the worse. For example in the article “Is the American Dream Still Possible?” by David Wallechinsky
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