One of the most critical questions we need to ask ourselves as we discuss the topic of the “American Dream” is; Have you ever thought about the “American dream”? Have you ever thought about what it means? Does the “American Dream” do what it says it does? And finally, do you think around how the “American dream” reinforces and maintains systems privileges? Therefore in this paper, we shall discuss the various issues related to the “American dream.”
The “American Dream” is unique in its standing. Hence there exists an endless possibility of expressions and interpretations of it. In the same manner, there is one “American Dream” which is being borne by people and us as a civilization. The American Dream has a way of bringing people together to believe in their togetherness in achieving their unified togetherness call. The “American Dream” is a grand story told in America as part of the nation’s extensive socialization process. Therefore, this meta-narrative assists to shape each understanding of the country, lives, the world, the society, as well as themselves ( Alston, 2018) .
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Four chief principles constitute the “American Dream” including social mobility, education, hope, and most importantly meritocratic and open class systems ( McNamee & Miller, 2004) . These pillars of the American Dream area rallying call to all the American citizens to live up to their clerical call of pulling towards the common goals of comfortable living. The Dream is pegged on achieving the highest level of literacy and education for all the citizens regardless of their social and political backgrounds. There is hope, in freedom for all Americans, in what may be seen as reminiscent of the Martin Luther King “I have a dream” speech. Hence, the “American Dream” in the United States, is one of the most dominant ideology. It is a grand tier whose main ideas are woven into the fundamental of the United States, and it is aimed at inspiring the American national spirit. It thus apprehends minds and hearts of the American nationals, regardless of their social class ranging from the President of the Republic, to college scholars, to the waged class nationals, as well as to the middle-level citizens. The Rallying call of the American dream has achieved so much in the sociological aspect, going by the extent to which it has brought together a great country of unified personalities and the ability of the people to walk and work together; regardless of their racial orientation.
Also, the “American dream” stimulates dreams and hopes for a better future. It, therefore, produces an expectation of being able to achieve the best in life and lurks as a milieu to countless lives. Regardless of whether the “American Dream” faces bitter rejection, or if it is accepted wholly, it is ever contemporary and shall forever remain. This dream generates a firm belief, which is beating deep within the hearts of the people who reside in the United States, and it is a symbol of unity that keeps the country intact (McLeod, 2009). More to that, the Dream affects a people’s lives at every point and day. In other words, it shapes practices, decisions, and policies, and impacts the system of learning in the United States. It is a rallying call for the American Nationals to pull together in one direction while maintaining their faith in what is their national identity.
Regardless of the empirical information provided, the majority of the American citizens still have faith, and believe in the “American dream.” The main reason why most people still believe in the Dream is that it is real. Irrespective of how unrealistic the dream may be for a few numbers of persons, or what the real leeway of attaining it is everyone as a whole; the fact remains that it is real because the United States citizens have been attaining it in substantial numbers for the past 125 years now. If you ask a majority of the people what is meant by the “American dream” some would say; owning large mansions, regular vacation all over the world, having lots of clothes, or owning two luxurious cars. So if we base our arguments and definition of the “American dream” on the above description, it would, therefore, seem practically impossible to achieve this objective ( Dalton, 2004) . This does not mean that people should not improve their living standards, what is only means is that, if one finds happiness in purchasing irrelevant things, he or she will never attain satisfaction and complete happiness.
For rational people, the real answer to what the dream should entail is, “To maintain the promise of freedom to all. To have the sensible fiscal independence to own any home within an individual’s capacity. To start your own family and provide for them adequately. To involve oneself in saving enough to cater for you if you retire, and maybe assist your children in paying their college bills. The economic independence, education for all and general acceptance of all citizens as equal before the face of law is the reason as to why the dream is so alive to the many Americans who see the goodness in it.
Whenever people face challenging times, they can make sense of the “American Dream,” and this helps them to get motivated and not to lose hope in life. When people consider some motivational constituents of the “American dream” like; if you work hard, you will make it. This phrase motivates people facing day to day struggles in life, thus driving them to work hard and strive for what they believe in. America has faced challenges in the past as in recent times. Such issues like Terrorist attacks always have ways of bringing the nation together in the recognition that an individuals’ suffering is suffering for all.
Consequently, as much as the “American dream” is a national icon, it bears both some advantages and disadvantages. As much as the dream carries these consequences, the people themselves choose their fates. One of the positive effects includes migrant’s origins, to America. Due to the high living standards of America, most of the refugees come to the United States to enjoy peace and freedom ( Surowiecki, 2017 ). On the other hand, the adverse effect of this much-cherished dream is that; democracy tends to reduce the authority levels within America, and this, in turn, has increased the degree of crime in most States within the US.
In conclusion, if you are living in the United States, and you have perceived the “American dream story” from the time you are fledgling, up to the time you die. The story, used to bolster the inheritance of meritocracy in this republic, tells tales about working hard, personal success, receiving what you deserve, and the chance to progress or improve your commonplace. The American dream changes and motivates a nation over its charm of a person being able to overwhelm any situation. It transforms persons by offering expectation that tomorrow will be much better than at present if you practice the “correct things” and adhere to its rubrics.
Reference
McLeod, J.(2009)_Ain’t No Makin’ It_, Westview_ Boulder CO.pdf
Dalton, H. L. (2004). Horatio Alger. Rereading America. Cultural Contexts for Critical Thinking and Writing. Ed. Gary Colombo, Robert Cullen, and Bonnie Lisle. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s P .
Alston, P.(2018)_American Dream is rapidly becoming American Illusion_,OHCHR.pdf
McNamee & Miller (2004)_The Meritocracy Myth_Sociation Today, Vol. 2 (1).pdf
Surowiecki, J. (2017)_The Mobility Myth_, New Yorker Magazine, June 19.pdf
