The American Dream: its Reality and Flaw
If somebody asked you for the definition of “The American Dream”, what would you have answered? It is rather a belief than a practice in the American society, it is used to “pump up” people to work harder and give their best effort to work hard until they have to push themselves above the limit. This idealism is also regarded by many foreigners and immigrants who solely come to the United States for that purpose. People believe that the United States is the “best” nation in the world considering personal wealth, finances, and economic distributions for everybody.
Yet there is a fatal flaw in that belief, and it has been proven for that flaw to exist. The Great Depression, the Americans’ worst nightmare in the early 20th century, has discouraged the morale of many people and increased the doubt in their hearts. People were literally scared to go to the Stock Market again and deal with their “too precious” money on businesses they do not even know about. In addition, racist inter-conflicts were not uncommon. Black people had less income wages than white people did in thousands of cases. Women were regarded as “less intellectually prepared” than men. As a result, the American Dream itself did not grant “dreams” for everybody but a fraction of the society.
When questioning the American Dream today, it is false to say that it has vanished a long time ago. Indeed it exists still in the hidden shadows of the American communities, yet people do not live for that dream, they live for their own care. In other words, the people continue to commit into their jobs and careers because they feel like they have to in order to earn a living and to care for the younger generations. As Adams quoted, “If the American dream is to come true and to abide with us, it will, at bottom, depend on the people themselves”.
Yet there is a fatal flaw in that belief, and it has been proven for that flaw to exist. The Great Depression, the Americans’ worst nightmare in the early 20th century, has discouraged the morale of many people and increased the doubt in their hearts. People were literally scared to go to the Stock Market again and deal with their “too precious” money on businesses they do not even know about. In addition, racist inter-conflicts were not uncommon. Black people had less income wages than white people did in thousands of cases. Women were regarded as “less intellectually prepared” than men. As a result, the American Dream itself did not grant “dreams” for everybody but a fraction of the society.
When questioning the American Dream today, it is false to say that it has vanished a long time ago. Indeed it exists still in the hidden shadows of the American communities, yet people do not live for that dream, they live for their own care. In other words, the people continue to commit into their jobs and careers because they feel like they have to in order to earn a living and to care for the younger generations. As Adams quoted, “If the American dream is to come true and to abide with us, it will, at bottom, depend on the people themselves”.
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