Article Summaries of American Dream

¶ … American dreams can sometimes be just a pipe dream as many new articles showcase the bad side of dreaming. In one article, "Poll: Whites and Republicans Rank as Angriest Americans" by Rafferty, White Republican Americans have shown the most anger at the current state of America. Polls recently released information showing whites in America are the angriest because 54% of the white American population have grown more outraged in the last few years. Latinos come in second 43% and African-Americans third at 33%. Another poll revealed 73% of whites feel anger at least once each day in comparison to the 66% of Latinos and the 56% of American blacks.

The topics they feel the angriest of are consumer fraud and congressional dysfunction. Overall, there is a growing sentiment that the American dream is no longer possible. "52% of the country said the idea of the "American dream" no longer holds true. The group most pessimistic about the thought that anyone in the country can work hard to get ahead is Americans between 45 and 64 who are thinking about retirement." (Rafferty) While things look grim for Americans, things may get worse or better in the upcoming presidential elections. Only time will tell.

The next article is about Selby, a British boxer with a 22-1 record and eight knockouts. His partnership with American advisor Al Haymon may prove to lead to a fruitful and highly publicized fight this year. Essentially, Selby believes fighting in America will gain him more recognition and perhaps a longer and more fruitful career as British fighters in the UK mainly get recognition in the UK and to a much smaller audience. He has the American dream of coming to the United States, making it big, and moving away from the small world he grew up in, in his youth

He placed priority on his future fight in the states over the one with Warrington in the UK. This is because this fight in America could be his big break and he feels the Warrington will be there for the summer. He is placing all his eggs in the America basket and hopes to draw a big crowd for his fight so he can pursue more lucrative deals in the future.

The third article, titled: "Capturing the American Dream with photographer John Loomis" chronicles Loomis photographing people from six states who say they or their children have better chances of capturing their American dream than their parents. It is a journal kind of article that describes each day in the overall process of getting pictures, meeting people, and conducting interviews. He takes pictures of food, he notes his frustration with the process and shares little tidbits of information from the people interviewed. "Regina and I talk about her having found the American Dream already and what it means to have been able to afford education for her kids. After another hug goodbye, she tells me that next time I visit there will be sweet potato pie." (Ridgway)