The American Dream
American Dream: The Conspiracy Everyone knows those stupid conspiracy theories about the Nazis and 9/11, but if you really think about it, is the “American Dream” any different? Or is it just a product of the government trying to keep us appeased? Government has used propaganda ever since the idea of a government was thought up. By definition, the American Dream is the idea that everyone in the United States has the chance to achieve success and prosperity. My theory is this; the government has used the idea of an American Dream to keep us productive dummies for as long as the U.S. has existed. But before I can criticize the American Dream we have to see all the sides of it. The idea of the American Dream was first put into words and publicized by a man named James Trusslow Adams in his book The Epic of America in 1931. Mr. Adams published his ideas in the absolute worst point of the Great Depression and this book was wildly accepted since it spoke of a happier time. In his book he mentions the American Dream only once, and in fact, it’s in his book’s epilogue.
“If, as I have said, the things already listed were all we had had to contribute, America would have made no distinctive and unique gift to mankind. But there has been also the American dream, that dream of a land in which life should be better and richer and fuller for every man, with opportunity for each according to his ability or achievement ... It is not the dream of motor cars and high wages merely, but a dream of a social order in which each man and each woman shall be able to attain to the fullest stature of which they are innately capable, and be recognized by others for what they are, regardless of the fortuitous circumstances of birth or position…”(qtd. in Wright 197).
Who else can clearly demonstrate the main aspect of the American Dream better than the early immigrants to the United States of America? An immigrant, defined by law, is a human being who changes his or her country of
“If, as I have said, the things already listed were all we had had to contribute, America would have made no distinctive and unique gift to mankind. But there has been also the American dream, that dream of a land in which life should be better and richer and fuller for every man, with opportunity for each according to his ability or achievement ... It is not the dream of motor cars and high wages merely, but a dream of a social order in which each man and each woman shall be able to attain to the fullest stature of which they are innately capable, and be recognized by others for what they are, regardless of the fortuitous circumstances of birth or position…”(qtd. in Wright 197).
Who else can clearly demonstrate the main aspect of the American Dream better than the early immigrants to the United States of America? An immigrant, defined by law, is a human being who changes his or her country of
Cited: Findlay, David. "Living The American Dream - Part II." Tampa Bay New Times (1995): 46. Alt HealthWatch. Web. 23 Sept. 2012. Hunter, Em Powers. "Is the American dream dead?." Christian Science Monitor 18 Sept. 2009: 9. Academic Search Complete. Web. 23 Sept. 2012. Miller, Harold. "Is The American Dream Really Dead?." Business Journal (Central New York) 25.9 (2011): 17. MasterFILE Premier. Web. 23 Sept. 2012. Wright, Luke S. H. "The Death Of The American Dream." Virginia Quarterly Review 85.4 (2009): 196-199. Academic Search Complete. Web. 23 Sept. 2012.