American Dream Essay

It can be agreed that America has changed socially, politically, and economically since the 1930s. During that time of the great depression, many Americans found hope in the American Dream— the idea of a richer and fuller life anyone can achieve. While many believe the American Dream is still attainable given the ample opportunities this country provides, the dream ultimately proves to be unattainable for many Americans of lower class.

The perception of the American Dream has changed and the new values are far-fetched. Now people associate the dream with earning a lot of money, the house on the hill with the white picket fence and the two car garage. But when James Truslow Adams coined the term in 1931, its main focus was not wealth but, “opportunities for each according to ability and achievement.” Americans work longer hours than they did thirty years ago (Thompson 2017). And many do it in hopes that they can essentially buy a better life, and pass down a better one to their children, but in a sense this thinking is only diluting the true meaning of the American dream for each generation. This shift to materialism has only led Americans to accumulate debt. Several middle class families get credit cards and discount brokerage house, because there is a “willingness to take on debt” in order to achieve the new perception of this dream (Kamp).

The American Dream is a set of ideals that promote success and social mobility through hard work, but there are several families that despite their hard work have yet to see achievement. The United States has a poverty rate of 13.5%, which is equivalent to 43.1 million people in need (2015 Census). And many of those people will stay in that percentile because there are not enough means to prosper. Barbara Ehrenreich, a writer for the Atlantic, describes the jobs available for many of the lower class as a “trap”. The pay is so little that one cannot accumulate even a couple of hundred dollars to help make the transition to a better-paying job. Often there is no control over work schedules, making it impossible to arrange for child care or take a second job. And in many of these jobs, even young women soon begin to experience the physical deterioration—especially knee and back problems—that can bring a painful end to their work life (Ehrenreich 2014). People argue that the key to overcoming poverty is educations, but schools are a reflection of the community and if the community is underperforming then chances are so will the school. Post secondary education is even more farfetched for some individuals, with tuition rates increasing steadily and wage increases are not keeping up with the same inflation rates.

The American Dream Adams envisioned no longer fits the lifestyle of America today. Instead the dream has transformed and not for the better. It may still be attainable for the predominant class in America but majority of the population struggle to reach the high expectations set. Although the dream encourages people to strive for the best, it prioritizes the wrong values and leaves many of the lower class doubting if the dream was ever real.