American dream concepts and historical significance

American Dream entails that anyone coming to the United States would have unlimited and equal opportunities to accumulate and provide his or her family with wealth, or at least comfortable living conditions. For others the dream entails an improvement of whatever factors pushed them away from their home country. For some freedom from oppression of any sort is the most important issue. This fantasy of liberty and opportunity is what has attracted and will continue to attract untold amounts of immigrants to American shores, to be welcomed by the Statue of Liberty. Sadly however, the reality is far different from what is envisioned when immigrants first come to the United States.

Indeed, even for citizens originating from the United States, the American Dream is an increasingly distant and unreachable fantasy. When for example considering Robert Pear's reference to the increasing rate of poverty in the United States (in Rothenberg, 2004, p. 286), this becomes clear. According to the author, the American economy is becoming increasingly strained, and this is evident from the poor living conditions that are beginning to affect even middle-class homes. Prosperity has always been an image that formed part of the American Dream in the mind of the immigrant and the foreigner emerging from poor economic conditions in their home countries. This image is however breaking down together with the rest of the Dream.

Another aspect of the American Dream is the god-like status of a near faultless president, together with a system of politics that ensures all the freedoms and rights entailed in the Dream. Once again the reality is different. According to Pear (in Rothenberg, 2004, p. 287), neither President Bush nor the former President, Mr. Clinton, paid sufficient attention to the economy of the country to ensure that the economy remains sound. It appears then that these leaders merely close their eyes to the grim realities of the situation and perpetuate their own version of the American Dream by refusing to face reality.

The Matewan story is evident of how people are betrayed by their leaders and employers. It does also however show how people of different levels of race and class can unite to become equal partners against injustice. For the oppressed workers in the film the American Dream lay not outside in other sources, but within their own hearts and minds. It is only when they realized and acted upon this that they were able to overcome the injustice done by the mining company and others in power. In this way it is possible for the American Dream to survive, and to be accessible to everyone. A considerable effort is however necessary to achieve this effect.

The reality in terms of material wealth is however that the gap between rich and poor is not only increasing, but also evident of how the American Dream in terms of prosperity is only accessible to some. According to Julianne Malveaux for example, there is a significant difference in income level between black and white people (in Rothenberg, 2004, p. 291). She cites the wealth index to show how wide the chasm is between the familial wealth of black and white families. Malveaux also points out that the median wealth of nonwhite families showed a tendency to fall during the late 1990's, while the white median family wealth rose, widening the difference. Because of this, many nonwhite families do not have access to home ownership, which is one of the most significant elements of wealth in the United States. According to these statistics then, the American Dream is much more accessible to white, middle-class citizens than to nonwhite Americans.

The social paradigm, according to Malveaux, further contributes to the inaccessibility of the American Dream to the poor and disadvantaged. During the 1990s, the economic boom created the impression that material wealth was available to everybody merely willing to take the opportunity. Thus the paradigm of helping persons who are less fortunate was replaced by an optimistic sense that poverty should not exist, and that its existence was to blame on the poor themselves. In this way the American Dream became even less accessible to poor persons, who in the past may have expected help from the more fortunate sectors of society. Instead they were forced to see the rich grow increasingly richer without any chance for access to prosperity. Unemployment and disparate income rates exacerbate the problem. Those employed in the most worthy of caring professions are often at the lowest end of the poverty scale, according to Malveaux (in Rothenberg, 2004, p. 293). She also blames the blind eye of policy makers for creating and maintaining this policy by means of elements such as welfare and minimum wage policies. In terms of employment, there is also still much discrimination against both women and black people.

Malveaux further blames both the government and society for the inaccessibility of the dream to some when citing the events of 9/11 (in Rothenberg, 2004, p. 294). The government places unequal value on a life when compensation is offered for the loss of income created by the tragic events in 2001. Persons with higher incomes are compensated with greater funds than those (of color for example) with lower incomes. This reinforces the idea that some lives are more important than others.

In terms of the social paradigm, the nationwide shock and horror at the events of 9/11 show the racial bias prevalent in society. Great losses of life have been experienced in history. Nonetheless, none of the atrocities resulting in the deaths of millions of poor or nonwhite people inspired the wholesale mourning for the upper-class workers who died in 2001. Many turn a blind eye to this issue, perpetuating the myth that the American Dream actually exists. President Bush's continued reference to "our way of living" and the threats posed to this way of living is evident of this. Furthermore, the way in which the Muslim community in the United States has been marginalized is evidence of the unequal paradigm still persisting in the country.

The American Dream in all its idealistic vigor is a possibility. It is possible for all persons to have equal access to the benefits of the dream. This is shown in the Matewan film. People from a wide diversity of classes and races join together in a common goal: to overcome injustice. The question is however whether the American Dream currently exists in the country, and whether this dream is constructive or destructive.

As the situation currently presents itself, I do think that the concept of the American Dream is more harmful than helpful. An immigrant may for example enter the country under the impression that he or she will truly have the equal opportunities presented by the myth. When it becomes clear that the myth is just that - far from reality - it is too late to turn back.