Misguided American Dream

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“As time goes on we get closer to that American Dream of there being a pie cut up and shared. Usually greed and selfishness prevent that and there is one bad apple in every barrel.” Is the American Dream a misguided dream? Everyone has goals and aspirations. If a group of people were surveyed and asked what their idea of the American Dream is, chances are, the majority of the answers would be vastly different. Despite people’s personal opinions, there is a general idea of what the American Dream consists of; fame and fortune. The American Dream is disingenuous because of the focus on material things. The fact that some people are placed in more advantageous positions makes it so people in impoverished positions can’t achieve the dream they’re …show more content…
The shift in ideals may make the dream seem unappealing to some with different values, and could cause a massive drop in morale for people seeking something else in their life or just anyone that believes that we’ve lost our way as a nation. “In fact, fame and fortune have replaced faith and family as the linchpins of the American dream” (Ned Smith, 1) What used to be the most important values have taken a backseat to fame and fortune in today’s society. The strong desire for fame and riches that we as a country face, has made us lose sight of what’s actually important. “What needs to change is our expectation of what the dream promises—and our understanding of what that vague and promiscuously used term, “the American Dream,” is really supposed to mean. In recent years, the term has often been interpreted to mean “making it big” or
“striking it rich.” (David Kamp, 1) Writer, David Kamp relays the idea of changing our expectation of what America has to offer in terms of the dream. Before pursuing this dream, people must first get a firm understanding on what exactly it holds for us or what it even …show more content…
The people living in poverty are the ones that actually have dreams and aspire to make it out of the situations they’re in. “ The American Dream is becoming less about mobility and more about keeping one’s head above water.” (Shanzeh Khurram, 1) For people living in poverty, their dream isn’t to become rich and buy stuff, it’s to become stable enough to survive. Some could say that based on this fact, a lot of people in poverty don’t even know what the general American
Dream is, and if they do, it’s probably the last thing on their minds. “ That notion that anyone who works hard will be successful is The American Dream -- and it is a great one! But when we forget that the dream is just that, a dream, and not a statistical reality, we get ourselves in deep trouble.” (Rebecca Rosen, 1) People always say anything is possible with hard work, and that is true in some cases, but it is also just as equally false. This false optimism is what could be the downfall for some. The idea that working hard will bring you everything you want in life, strays people away from the actual requirements they need to achieve what they want, such as
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