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America Provides Access to the American Dream

Institution
Professor
Student
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America Provides Access to the American Dream

American Dream Synthesis

Since basic desiderata have never been at the top of the hierarchy of needs, the thought of
comfortable and hassle-free existence seemed very attractive. However, the mythologized
American dream appeared to be an ambitious, yet rather difficult and prearranged enterprise.
Many people lost their faith in greater future due to the growing social and economic inequality
and the related conditionality. So, is it possible to live the dream? Yes, but not for everybody. If
you were not lucky enough to be born in a full and wealthy family living in a good
neighborhood, it would be a tough challenge with no guarantees whatsoever.
The thought of the American dream is an embedded idea that everyone has an equal
opportunity to succeed. As long as you put hard work and effort, then anyone can have a
financially secure future and become socially established. Success is different for everyone and
should be defined by an individual. The American dream, is being challenged because our
society has prioritized the strive for fame, wealth and power and it has labelled the achievement
of all this as success. This has challenged the idea of searching for happiness while utilizing the
opportunities available that would help achieve one’s dream. The idea of the American dream,
though entrenched in us is slowly being challenged but should it? Maybe there is a
misunderstanding of the idea of the American dream because if you try to tie it down to just
America, then geographically, other countries have more favorable conditions like Canada. I
believe, the American dream is still accessible because anyone whether American or Immigrant,
has the opportunity to seek their own idea of happiness and achieve it. From 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”. (Declaration of Independence 59). This clearly says that all have
life and in it you are free to choose your happiness and strive hard to achieve it with the
resources available so that you may live it which is the American dream.
For the American dream to continue existing, we need to have people believing in it. This
dream has been challenged and the people are doubting it. There was a survey conducted by
Public Religion Research Institute, and according to it, 7 percent of all Americans state that the
American dream was never true, whereas impressive 48 percent say it once was true but does not
exist anymore (PRRI 2014 American Values Survey, p.12). This clearly says that either what we
are searching for cannot be found and is unachievable or it is extremely hard to achieve it and
accessible to very few.
Does the American dream define success as wealth? Wealth is not accessible to everyone
and even though there are opportunities, not everyone can be wealthy. But the idea of success is
majorly influenced by our childhood environment and background. Many factors affect our
ability to prosper our family structure, background and community environment play a major
role in how we define and strive for success. The American dream requires more than just mere
effort from everyone.
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In his best-selling book Epic of America, James T. Adams came with the term “The
American Dream.” He described it as “the dream of a land in which life should be better and
richer and fuller for everyone, with opportunity for each according to ability or achievement.”
Adams went on to explain, "It is a difficult dream for the European upper classes to interpret
adequately, and too many of us ourselves have grown weary and mistrustful of it. It is not a
dream of motorcars and high wages merely, but a dream of social order in which each man and
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." Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s famous I have a dream speech, referred to the concept of
the American dream by clearly stating: "I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and
live out the true meaning of its creed: 'We hold these truths to be self-evident; that all men are
created equal.
For the American dream to be achieved which clearly references to equality for all, there
are fundamental elements that one would need to consider. The fundamental elements are a good
living wage, a secure financial retirement and the assurance of one’s child being able to get
ahead in life. It has increasingly become impossible for the majority to afford the fundamental
elements of the American dream. Given the current state of our economy, it is slowly becoming
impossible for America to provide equal opportunities for all members of our nation to access
the American dream.
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Outline:
I. Introduction
II. Body

 Foundation and promotion of the American dream

 Impacts of federal government on the American dream

 The Entrepreneurial Concept of American Dream

 The Concept of how Immigration and Current Trends relates to American Dream
III. Conclusion
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Introduction
American Dream is the opinion and perspective that every American citizen despite race,
socio-economic background, regardless of where they were born, class are capable of attaining
their version of success in the community with the assistance of the government (Tóth & Enikő,
2021). The American dream makes the majority of the citizens depend on the government; the
federal government grants life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness to its people with no complain.
The American Dream of late has been challenging and the people of America feel that the state is
ignoring their rights. With upward mobility, the American dream is still possible for every
citizen. According to the research statistics this year, about 37% of Americans believe that
attaining the American dream is impossible than it used to be in the previous years. The
marginalized people feel like the dream is for the chosen ones but the remaining 63% still
believe that the American Dream is alive. It is difficult to achieve American Dream if an
individual is not working hard and waiting for the federal state to give them everything (hand to
mouth food) which is impossible (Marino, 2021).
Foundation and Promotion of American Dream
In the films from the past decades, many people brought up the American Dream in every
scene meaning that the concept was founded for every individual to improve the lives of
Americans. The whole concept of the American Dream is that every individual can move to the
US but still have a chance of succeeding; this idea made the country bill as an essential thing to
make the country stand out and make people comfortable (Schupp, 2018). I support and defend
the concept that "America provides Access to the American Dream." The concept of education
and support of talents is also in the constitution; there are various activities such as "American's
got talent, American Idol" that support the dream of the young stars, who want to be musicians,
actors, and TV hosts. There are also television realities that promote individuals with talents in
the country and ensure that the whole world is aware of their dream and can support them (Elo &
Hieta, 2017). These television reality shows act as entertainment and young people are capable
of learning from the celebrities on how they achieved their dreams by becoming successful. In a
society that people support each other's dreams and everything is based on principles; they are
capable of achieving their dreams. When an individual wants to achieve the American Dream,
they should require political and economic freedom which is protected in the constitution and
property rights (Elo & Hieta, 2017).
Impacts of Federal Government on American Dream
The State usually ensures that every individual must access education despite the social
class and the employment opportunity in the country. There are various communities that the
Federal Government ensures that they change their lifestyle and eradicating poverty among
them; the Hispanic Communities, and the Black Americans communities are usually
marginalized and their lifestyle is poor. The government has organized several committees to
assist the community to see the good side of life, education, and boost their skills and talent. The
Federal Government is supporting non-organizations such as the March of Dimes that fight for
the health of newborn babies and pregnant mothers to prevent premature birth. The March of
Dimes attempts to reach such marginalized communities through organizing programs and radio
stations to create awareness for them. The World Health Organization also assists the state with
pandemic issues and ensures that every individual is protected from the attack. The government
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usually supports yearly donations to assist people who face calamities in regions that are lying on
the tectonic sides of the state and support them (Molz, 2021).
The Entrepreneurial Concept of American Dream
The American Dream is still alive especially in the entrepreneurial world whereby the
State has been suffering from a poor economy as a result of the pandemic that hit the world;
however, the federal government still created opportunities for those who lost their job. The
government encouraged people to work online, and take the presented opportunity by the
pandemic to create small businesses like selling masks and personal protective equipment.
During the Covid-19 pandemic, the majority of Americans ensured that they recorded several
small businesses with the support of the state (Molz, 2021). About 1.4 million small startup
businesses were recorded and between March and September 2020. The emergence of these
small businesses expresses how the American Dream is still accessible to everyone living there;
because the country values small enterprises.
The Concept of how Immigration and Current Trends relates to American Dream
It is problematic to believe in the interpretation of the concept of the American Dream
because other individuals still pass through poverty, and are facing suicidal thoughts (Elo &
Hieta, 2017). There is high competition in achieving the American Dream since people from
different nations; states make a step to come to America to look for greener pastures. The
majority of people especially in continents like Africa believe that America is the best place to
achieve their dreams; the immigration rate is high and others also use illegal means to enter into
the state; people want better life and future and they believe they can find it in the United States.
The current news and occurrences, the government ensured that the family of George Floyd
received justice over the murder of their member; this case portrays that every Black American
community's life is protected. Education is the critical concept for one to achieve their dreams; in
the United States’ curriculum, one is capable of choosing, and majoring in subjects related to
their future career instead of struggling throughout your school with unnecessary subjects. The
United States support talent; the majority of artists achieved their dreams while attending school;
the government support people to pursue their career, and at the same time go for their hustles.
Conclusion
The American Dream only works for individuals with a positive attitude and can apply
their skills, and knowledge with the available opportunities. The American Dream is only
achievable through hard work and how society views their children; some parents ensure that
their children are doing the part-time job after coming back from school. The American Dream is
promising freedom and equality; everyone can access any opportunity. It gives people the
opportunity to make their decisions, and aspire for bigger achievements and freedom to acquire
wealth at their pace (Tóth & Enikő, 2021). The American Dream dignifies life and values
everyone's opinion and their freedom to live how they want. The federal government is
protecting the constitution by ensuring that everyone is equal before the law and that there is no
racial discrimination among the citizens. The American Dream has deeper roots.
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References
Elo, M., & Hieta, H. (2017). From ethnic enclaves to transnational entrepreneurs: the American
dream of the Finns in Oregon, USA. International Journal of Entrepreneurship and
Small Business, 31(2), 204-226.
Marino, A. (2021). Displacing the American Dream in Mat Johnson’s “Drop”. Iperstoria, (17).
Molz, J. G. (2021). Global American Dream. In The World Is Our Classroom (pp. 163-167).
New York University Press.
Schupp, K. (2018). Dancing the ‘American dream’: Dance competition culture in times of
shifting values. Nordic Journal of Dance: Practice, Education and Research, 9(1), 32-43.
Tóth, E., & Enikő, T. (2021). The American Dream in Twentieth Century English Literature.
Bivens, J., Gould, E., Mishel, L., & Shierholz, H. Raising America’s pay: Why it’s our central
economic policy challenge. (2014, June 4). Economic Policy Institute.
Chetty, R. (n.d.).Improving opportunities for economic mobility: New evidence and policy
lessons.
Eskow, R. (2014, October 22). 7 facts that show the American dream is dead: The key elements
of the American dream are unreachable for all but the wealthiest. AlterNet.
PRRI 2014 American values survey. (2014, September 23).