Jason Cheshire
ENC1101_Online
Essay Two
Kim Laffont
January 30, 2015
The Americans Dream America is the strongest nation in the world because of the strong backs that hold it up. I believe that without an overwhelming sense of patriotism and pride America would have never been strong enough to make it through the many hardships we have had like two World Wars, the Great Depression, many conflicts and the billions of dollars in foreign aid we sponsor. It is my belief that America will stand strong for future also because of the above mentioned reasons also. Who does not know the phrase “Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness?” If you do not know you live under a rock. Pursuit of happiness does not mean it is given to you, you have to earn it, and something earned tastes much sweeter. The term “American dream” was not coined until 1931 by James Truslow Adams, says Jischke (p75), but what about the one hundred and fifty plus years before that we freed ourselves from British rule and built a nation where people from all over the world want to live to have the same opportunities. In “The American Dream” by Jischke he says that “the American dream is not the attainment of riches. It is not fame. The American dream is opportunity. And when coupled with desire and hard work, opportunity can fulfill all out greatest dreams.”(p76) What a great way to say this. As a hardworking, tax paying citizen of this great country I could not agree more, but I am bias. I have lived in the Midwest, northeast and now in the southeast. I have seen poverty first hand and I have mingled with the wealthy. As Cox and Alm say in “By Our Own Bootstraps” that “Opportunity defines our heritage.” He goes on to the say that America was not designed to be an egalitarian society (p79). In a nutshell if you want something work for it. Our children learn a tremendous amount of what they will do in life from their parents or caregivers, not by what is said, but by actions. “Do as I say not as I do!” Have you said that, I know I have said it maybe even joking but half serious. People will complain about the separation between classes but there is no way to separate that without destroying our country. “Opportunity, not equality of income, is what made the U.S. economy grow and prosper.’ Says Cox and Alm (p81 ). This does not mean that there is a guarantee but a possibility to be prosperous. Possibilities are what make it great. It is quite apparent that this “American Dream’ will thrive, especially when you look at the only thing that really matters, “Offering the best life to the most people.” and the bulk of peoples wealth comes from “intangible wealth: effective government, secure property rights, a functioning judiciary.’ says Dalmia. To have a strong government is paramount to the people, not money or tangible wealth. We as a country are young by worldly standards but we are the institute that everywhere else looks to as a model for education and technology. Dalmia goes on to say that a Harvard researcher Vivek Wadhwa that America graduates the same number of engineers as India and China but the American are “vastly superior”(p85). Americans seem to be harder on themselves that anyone else, a sort of self-criticism that has them always questioning if they chose the best path to their wellbeing. China also has a one-child policy that will
