The Concept of the American Dream, Article Review Example

The concept of the American Dream: What is the American Dream Today?

American Dream concept changes over time and with different generations. Each new era brings additional set of values that governs and regulates the lives of the people at that particular time. These values usually dictate the generations what to do with their lives, thus, influencing the true concept of the American Dream.

For our great grandparents and grandparents who mostly immigrated to the US, the American Dream was a real and a very unique accomplishment. The meaning of life for them was all about getting by. They have been working in coal mines, plants and factories. They possessed small farms and tiny houses. Those people always had much dirt under their fingernails. But they fought morally and physically to achieve the American Dream not even for themselves but mainly for their future generations. Those people did not go to the universities or colleges but they made sure their children do. They were living the concept of the American Dream every day of their life and it was priceless.

For our parents and us the American Dream is mainly about making good money and providing things for our children that were not affordable by past generations in the family. For instance, our parents or previous generations in general, they observed how their parents worked day and night in order to ensure affording a bicycle or a basketball shirt for their kids. Therefore, our parents now think that their children should have the nicest bicycles and toys that money can possible buy. Many people have achieved American Dream by means of nice houses, cars, vacations, etc. The children, who go to schools and universities nowadays, do so in order to ensure their own American Dream comes true as well.

The initial term of an American Dream was originally stated by James Truslow Adams in the book he wrote called “The Epic of America” in 1931. He defined the term as that of a “dream of a land in which the life should be better and richer and fuller for everyone.” (Cullen, J. p. 34) He saw the realization of a concept in equal opportunities for everyone in accordance of their personal abilities and achievements. It is not solely a dream for material benefits, such as fancy houses or cars, but more of social order where people are able to achieve their fullest potential and where they recognize each other for what they do. In the Declaration of Independence of the United States of America it is also said that “all Men are created equal”, therefore, each one of us has a right to pursue our goals and make our dreams come true. (Declaration of Independence)

Many people argue that today the concept of an American Dream has shifted to material goods and prosperity. People are concerned with that they can have and how they can achieve that. Others say that nowadays it is much harder for a regular worker to fulfill their full potential because some people even have to have two jobs in order to sustain their families.

Traditionally citizens of the US have tried to achieve an American Dream of fame and wealth by hard work and faith. But the industrialization of the 19^th and 20^th centuries changed the perception and introduced a new notion by getting rich quickly. New often hear children say: “Get rich or die trying”. There have appeared numerous ways for instant wealth through the lotteries, TV shows and possibly lawsuits for compensations. So the question is how does a person achieve an American Dream today!?

Answers tend to vary greatly and with each generation. For Martin Luther King Jr., for instance, a dream was a realization of equality in rights for all Americans. He worked and achieved the perfection of his dream through rebellion and fight. American Dream today is a hunt for money. Many agree that Americans are focused on dollar and at times those who possess nice cars and houses are greatly separated from those who do not have such goods.

The notion of an American Dream these days is focused on instant formula of getting rich. Too many citizens believe that the only way to fulfill their hopes is by instantly wining some kind of “easy” money. They start forgetting about our ancestors who with their own hands created their bright future and built a fortune. People begin to think that hard work and pursuit of your dreams has nothing to do with an American Dream and it’s a pity.

Instant wealth concept, of course, has not always been in minds of Americans. Traditionally the key to being wealthy was industry. For many people dream was in the realization of social and economic independence. Scholars argue today that the shift in the concept of the American Dream also happened because of the industry and its rise. With the introduction of assembly lines and machinery, work values and ethics have changed greatly. As the consumer culture grew high after World War II, America became occupied with the material goods and luxuries. People started consuming for the wish of status and acceptance by others, thus, losing the sense of hard work and individuality that used to characterize the country.

The result of the shift in the work ethics leads today to the notion that people no longer pursue the vision for brighter future that involves hard work, time and the success at the end. They are keener on getting everything rather quickly and without much effort. This concept, supported and promoted by marketing campaigns, is settling deeply in the minds of Americans. Such things as lotteries, TV program shows and, say, legal lawsuits are today’s way to become successful quickly and effortlessly. From the TV, radio, general mass media sources people hear that the American Dream is more a matter of great luck than hard work and time.

TV shows that Americans see every day are developing new thinking. Such programs as, for instance, “How to Become a Millionaire” not only in America but throughout the world is rushing more and more people to try to get the fortune. Lotteries and TV programs are starting to dominate in the pursuit of the dreams. They lead people directly to a belief that with good luck and some knowledge, they can become someone really special and rich.

National lotteries many times bring attention that with just one dollar and lots of luck, everything is possible. People start forgetting their values and the true meaning of success. They believe in chance and fate. Sad part about lotteries is that it is believed that people who usually play are the ones who are below average income. They maybe indeed are the first people who should achieve the American Dream. The state is capitalizing on those individuals who need support.

Lottery is a disillusion of an American Dream. It is the trick that many people get into in their pursuit of easy and quick money. However, the irony is that wining big money is not what lies in the true meaning of the American Dream.

So what is a true effect of changing concept on the American Dream on our society today!? The variations of the concept nowadays mainly points out that people have given up the responsibility. Americans do not want to be held responsible for their drawbacks, misfortunes or inabilities. However, still everyone is everyday looking for his or her dream to come true. Americans want to achieve financial independence and call it an American Dream. But the means of achieving one’s goal is what lies in the ethical fundament of the nation. Many people seem to look for easy ways to pursue the Dream and in this process they withdraw from real true values and morale. They forget what the Dream is in the first place. And “these are tough times for the American Dream”. (Vanity Fair)

Apart from those who view the American Dream as an instant way to get rich, there is a number of people who think of it as simply a promise of getting wealthy. Just a sole promise, a dream that can never be achieved and nothing else. It’s again one of those views that comes to peoples’ minds through advertisements, commercials and mass media in general. People tend to lose faith in something that they think unrealistic to achieve. With the changed values and corporate ethics, people many times seek for simple lives and simple comfortable goods around them.

Many stop dreaming and many live the routine of life. People, unfortunately, lose the spark in their eyes and decide that instead of putting extra efforts and hard work, they better accept life as it goes. Or sometimes they are misleadingly trying to become richer or wealthier than the guy next door.  The common values and morale went down significantly these days.

America needs a new vision that will help people deal with the reality and be able to pursue the dreams. They maybe need an inspiring new story of the future that will help them forget and let go of the past.

However, based on the democracy of America, dreams are important and meaningful especially nowadays. The nation has a strong spirit and it’s a fact. America was and always will be able to change its weaknesses into strengths and drawbacks to success. Equality and prosperity are parts of the American Dream. America itself can be growing older, but the dream remains. The dream of the freedom and opportunities for each and every citizen to pursue their goals and become rich and famous through hard work and personal effort.

As the America’s Founding Fathers said in the Declaration of Independence:

“”We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”

Our country might not really be looking towards the light at the very end of the tunnel. But the light that comes from the unique democracy that the whole world is looking up to, will always be strong and will lead people in the right direction. In America, compared to another countries, no matter how hard your dream appears to be, one still has a much higher possibility of achieving it. There are no restrictions on the ways of accomplishing ones dreams and dreaming itself. America’s freedom leads all citizens to possibilities that can greatly enrich and benefit them. This is how people should think of the American Dream and it’s realization in our country.

Works Cited

Cullen, Jim. “The American dream: a short history of an idea that shaped a nation”. Oxford University Press US, 2004: p. 34

Kamp, David. “Rethinking the American Dream”. Vanity Fair. April 2009. http://www.vanityfair.com/culture/features/2009/04/american-dream200904

The Declaration of Independence. The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America. http://www.ushistory.org/Declaration/document/index.htm