Stereotypes In American People's Misperceptions Of America

Throughout centuries America has been known as the "land of opportunity". Even today people move to America in hopes of better jobs and a better life. People have misperceptions of America's economy, when in reality Americans are struggling just to survive. No matter how much an individual is struggling financially they still tend to self-identity as middle class rather than lower class. Individuals have a fear of being perceived as "poor" or coming from poverty, so instead they classify themselves as being in the middle class. Other people’s perceptions of one’s circumstance matters more than our own perceptions of who we are.
A large portion of the population fears being judged by their peers and not being “accepted” in society. From childhood,
Upper class citizens drive the really expensive cars, live in the nice gated subdivisions with their own golf courses. People fear feeling humiliated by their lack of success and steadily continue to borrow money in order to keep up a successful looking lifestyle. Failing to meet society’s idea of an acceptable stature is much like a zebra being shunned from it’s herd, without the protection of the herd it is left as prey to the predators. As America becomes more advanced the standards people have for themselves begin to rise. Most people are more concerned about other people's opinions than they are of their own because the opinion of others outweighs the opinion of ourselves. Everyone wants to be considered equals or even outrank each other, regardless if they have the money or not. In Florence King's article Stuck in the Middle: How to Understand America's Class System, King states: "Our upper class are somebody, our lower class are nobody, and our middle class are everybody"(312). If you have a lot of money then you are considered “somebody” because you can afford the best things. If you don't make enough money to afford nice things, let alone