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¶ … American Dream" Deadline: May 3rd, 2013 Intro: "In United States, major ideology American Dream, suggests equality opportunity exists positions social class structure a reflection deserve.
The American Dream is generally regarded as a set of privileges that an individual living in the U.S. would have access to freedoms providing him or her with the chance to become prosperous and to be happy in general. The basic idea of the American Dream started as a result of people acknowledging that as long as an individual was free, he or she could achieve his or her goals as long as he or she is willing to work in order for them in a relatively short period of time. Even with the fact that the U.S. is presently one of the most developed countries and that American cities have access to a wide range of privileges, the American Dream has become less accessible during recent years.
The American Dream has gradually come to be one of the most divisive ideas ever to have existed, taking into account its complex nature and the fact that most people have trouble providing a strict definition when concerning it. A simple Google search concerning the American Dream generates results that are focused more on anecdotes rather than on cases in which the American Dream was accomplished or in which people promote a strategies through which one can achieve the dream.
As society progresses it seems that more and more Americans are unlikely to ever achieve the American dream. "Critics see...
They want people to get away from selfish individualism and materialism, and to return to community spirit and social responsibility" (The American Dream then and now). The fact that there is an immense gap between the rich and the poor in the U.S. further contributes to this belief. Class division plays an important role in keeping many from achieving the American Dream.
2. Social class is an essential factor in determining particular individuals' opportunity to achieve the American Dream. While being born in a privileged environment provides a person with the chance to have little to no problems achieving the dream, being born in a blue-collar environment is probable to make it especially difficult for an individual to be prosperous. Individuals belonging to the lower classes tend to believe that the American Dream does not actually exist and that they are generally meant to stand by and watch as the upper classes do whatever they please.
There is a significant gap between ideals and reality and the American Dream has been, is, and is always going to be an ideal. It would be impossible for it to be widely accessible, as this would entail a society that would generally accept the idea of equality and individuals that would not guide themselves in accordance with capitalist principles. Selfishness is a key concept in the contemporary society and it is impossible for certain individuals to refrain from being…
Works cited:
Cullen, Jim, "The American dream: a short history of an idea that shaped the nation," (Oxford University Press, 2004)
Grogger, Jeffrey, and Trejo, Stephen, "Falling Behind or Moving Up? The Intergenerational Progress of Mexican-Americans," Retrieved April 23, 2013, from the PPIC Website: http://www.ppic.org/content/pubs/report/r_502JGR.pdf
"American dream dying: the changing economic lot of the least advantaged," (Rowman & Littlefield, 2010)
"The American Dream then and now," Retrieved April 23, 2013, from the Arcor Website: http://home.arcor.de/vhailor/413_FF_Fact_file_3_NRW.pdf
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