The American Dream is a national ethos of the United States.docx

the american dreamintroductionthe american dream is a national ethos of the united states, a set of ideals in which freedom includes the opportunity for prosperity and success, and an upward social mobility achieved through hard work. this includes the opportunity for ones children to grow up and receive a good education and career without artificial barriers. it is the opportunity to make individual choices without the prior restrictions that limited people according to their class, caste, religion, race, or ethnicity.this term was first used by james truslow adams adams, james truslow. (1931). the epic of america (little, brown, and co. 1931)in his book the epic of america which was written in 1931. he states: the american dream is that 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. it is not a dream of motor cars and high wages merely, but a dream of 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. this idea of the american dream is rooted in the united states declaration of independence which proclaims that all men are created equal and that they are endowed by their creator with certain inalienable rights including life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. kamp, david (april 2009). rethinking the american dream. vanity fair. archived from the original on may 30, 2009.the meaning of the american dream has changed over the course of history, and includes both personal components (such as home ownership and upward mobility) and a global vision. historically the dream originated in the mystique regarding frontier life. as the royal governor of virginia noted in 1774, the americans for ever imagine the lands further off are still better than those upon which they are already settled. he added that if they attained paradise, they would move on if they heard of a better place farther west. in the 19thcentury, many well-educated germans fled the failed 1848 revolution. they welcomed the political freedoms in the new world, and the lack of a hierarchical or aristocratic society that determined the ceiling for individual aspirations. one of them explained:“the german emigrant comes into a country free from the despotism, privileged orders and monopolies, intolerable taxes, and constraints in matters of belief and conscience. everyone can travel and settle wherever he pleases. no passport is demanded, no police mingles in his affairs or hinders his movements.fidelity and merits are the only sources of honor here. the rich stand on the same footing as the poor; the scholar is not a mug above the most humble mechanics; no german ought to be ashamed to pursue any occupation.in america wealth and possession of real estate confer not the least political right on its owner above what the poorest citizen has. nor are there nobility, privileged orders, or standing armies to weaken the physical and moral power of the people, nor are there swarms of public functionaries to devour in idleness credit for. above all, there are no princes and corrupt courts representing the so-called divine right of birth. in such a country the talents, energy and perseverance of a person.have far greater opportunity to display than in monarchies.” f. w. bogen, the german in america (boston, 1851), quoted in stephen ozment, a mighty fortress: a new history of the german people (2004) pp 170-71 the discovery of gold in california in 1849 brought in a hundred thousand men looking for their fortune overnightand a few did find it. thus was born the california dream of instant success. historian h. w. brands noted that in the years after the gold rush, the california dream spread across the nation: “the old american dream . . . was the dream of the puritans, of benjamin franklins poor richard . . . of men and women content to accumulate their modest fortunes a little at a time, year by year by year. the new dream was the dream of instant wealth, won in a twinkling by audacity and good luck. this golden dream . . . became a prominent part of the american psyche only after sutters mill.” f. w. bogen, the german in america (boston, 1851), quoted in stephen ozment, a mighty fortress: a new history of the german people (2004) pp 170-71 in 20th century, historian james truslow adams popularized the phrase american dream in his 1931 book epic of america: 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 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 motor cars and high wages merely, but a dream of 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. the american dream, which has lured tens of millions of all nations to our shores in the past century, has not been a dream of merely material plenty, though that has doubtlessly counted heavily. it has been much more than that. it has been a dream of being able to grow to fullest development as man and woman, unhampered by the barriers which had slowly been erected in the older civilizations, unrepressed by social orders which had developed for the benefit of classes rather than for the simple human being of any and every class.martin luther king,jr., in his letter from a birmingham jail (1963) quest for the american dream: “we will win our freedom because the sacred heritage of our nation and the eternal will of god are embodied in our echoing demands.when these disinherited children of god sat down at lunch counters they were in reality standing up for what is best in the american dream and for the most sacred values in our judeo-christian heritage, thereby bringing our nation back to those great wells of democracy which were dug deep by the founding fathers in their formulation of the constitution and the declaration of independence.” brueggemann, john. rich, free, and miserable: the failure of success in america (rowman & littlefield; 2010) 233 pages; links discontent among middle-class americansthe american dream in different fields of the usaliteraturethe term is used in popular discourse, and scholars have traced its use in american literature ranging from the autobiography of benjamin franklin, j. a. leo lemay, franklins autobiography and the american dream, benjamin franklins autobiography (norton critical editions, 1986) pp harold bloom and blake hobby, eds. the american dream (2009) to mark twains the adventures of huckleberry finn (1884), f. scott fitzgeralds the great gatsby (1925), theodore dreisers an american tragedy (1925). other writers who used the american dream theme include edward albee nicholas canaday, jr., albees the american dream and the existential vacuum. south central bulletin vol. 26, no. 4 (winter 1966) pp 28-34, john steinbeck, hayley haugen, ed., the american dream in john steinbecks of mice and men (2010) the american dream is also discussed in arthur millers death of a salesman; the plays protagonist, willy, is on a journey for the american dream. the american dream has been credited with helping to build a cohesive american experience, but has also been blamed for inflated expectations. some commentators have noted that despite deep-seated belief in the egalitarian american dream, the modern american wealth structure still perpetuates racial and class inequalities between generations. one sociologist notes that advantage and disadvantage are not always connected to individual successes or failures, but often to prior position in a social group. since the 1920s, numerous authors, such as sinclair lewis in his 1922 novel babbitt, and f.scott fitzgerald, in his 1925 classic, the great gatsby, satirized or ridiculed materialism in the chase for the american dream. for example, jay gatsbys death mirrors the american dreams demise, reflecting the pessimism of modern-day americans. a lot of people follow the american dream to achieve a greater chance of becoming rich. some posit that the ease of achieving the american dream changes with technological advances, availability of infrastructure and information, government regulations, state of the economy, and with the evolving cultural values of american demographics. the american dream has been credited with helping to build a cohesive american experience, but has also been blamed for inflated expectations. in 1949 arthur miller wrote death of a salesman, in which the american dream is a fruitless pursuit. the novel requiem for a dream by hubert selby,jr., is an exploration of the pursuit of american success as it turns delirious and lethal, told through the ensuing tailspin of its main characters. politicsscholars have explored the american dream theme in the careers of numerous political leaders, including hillary clinton, dan dervin, the dream-life of hillary clinton, journal of psychohistory, fall 2008, vol. 36 issue 2, pp 157-162 benjamin franklin, and abraham lincoln. in 2006 u.s.senator barack obama wrote a memoir, the audacity of hope: thoughts on reclaiming the american dream. it was this interpretation of the american dream that helped establish his statewide and national reputations. political conflicts, to some degree, have been ameliorated by the shared values of all parties in the expectation that the american dream will resolve many difficulties and conflictspublicsrecent research suggests that the united states show roughly average levels of occupational upward mobility, and lower rates of income mobility, than comparable societies. blanden et al. report, the idea of the us as the land of opportunity persists; and clearly seems misplaced. according to these studies, by international standards, the united states has an unusually low level of intergenerational mobility: our parents income is highly predictive of our incomes as adults. intergenerational mobility in the united states is lower than in france, germany, sweden, canada, finland, norway and denmark. among high-income countries for which comparable estimates are available, only the united kingdom had a lower rate of mobility than the united states. this challenges the notion of america as the land of opportunity. sandra l. hanson, and john zogby, the pollstrends, public opinion quarterly, sept 2010, vol. 74 issue 3, pp 570-584 to a majority of americans, the american dream is more about spiritual happiness than material goods. majorities state that working hard is the most important element for getting ahead. however, an increasing minority stated that hard work and determination does not guarantee success. on the pessimistic side, most americans predict that achieving the dream with fair means will become increasingly difficult for future generations. they are increasingly pessimistic about the opportunity for the working class to get ahead; on the other hand, they are increasingly optimistic about the opportunities available to poor people and to new immigrants. furthermore, most support programs make special efforts to help minorities get ahead. influence of the american dream on other parts of the worldthe aspirations of the american dream in the broad sense of upward mobility has been systematically spread to other nations since the 1890s as american missionaries and businessmen consciously sought to spread the dream, says rosenberg. looking at american business, religious missionaries, philanthropies, hollywood, labor unions and washington agencies, she says they saw their mission not in catering to foreign elites but instead reaching the worlds masses in democratic fashion. they linked mass production, mass marketing, and technological improvement to an enlightened democratic spirit.in the emerging litany of the american dream what historian daniel boorstin later termed a democracy of things would disprove both malthuss predictions of scarcity and marxs of class conflict. it was, she says a vision of global social progress. rosenberg calls the overseas version of the american dream liberal-developmentalism and identified five critical components: “(1) belief that other nations could and should replicate americas own developmental experience; (2) faith in private free enterprise; (3) support for free or open access for trade and investment; (4) promotion of free flow of information and culture; and (5) growing acceptance of u.s. governmental activity to protect private enterprise and to stimulate and regulate american participation in international economic and cultural exchange.” cullen, jim. the american dream: a short history of an idea that shaped a nation, oxford university press us, 2004. isbn 0-19-517325-2britainthe american dream regarding home ownership has little resonance before the 1980s. in the 1980s, the british prime minister margaret thatcher worked to create a similar dream, by selling public-housing units to their tenants. her conservative party called for more home ownership: homes of our own: to most people ownership means first and foremost a home of their own. we should like in time to improve on existing legislation with a realistic grants scheme to assist first-time buyers of cheaper homes. niall ferguson, the ascent of money: a financial history of the world (2009) p 252 guest calls this thatchers approach to the american dream. knights and mccabe argue that, a reflection and reinforcement of the american dream has been the emphasis on individualism as extolled by margaret thatcher and epitomized by the enterprise culture. david e. guest, human resource management and the american dream, journal of management studies (1990) 27#4 pp 377-97, reprinted in michael poole, human resource management: origins, developments and critical analyses (1999) p. 159russiasince the fall of communism in the soviet union in 1991, the american dream has fascinated russians. the first post-communist leader boris yeltsin embraced the american way and teamed up with harvard university free market economists jeffrey sachs and robert allison to give russia economic shock therapy in the 1990s. richard m. ryan et al., the american dream in russia: extrinsic aspirations and well-being in two cultures, personality and social psychology bulletin, (dec. 1999) vol. 25 no. 12 pp 1509-1524, the newly independent russian media idealized america and endorsed shock therapy for the economy. in 2008 russian president dmitry medvedev lamented the fact that 77% of russias 142million people live cooped up in apartment buildings. conclusionto me the american dream is the liberty offered to its citizens; the freedom to attend school, to start a business, to work, to pray if you want to, and not how many things i own. the american dream is to have all the basics that all people share, but i worry the dream is dying because government is debasing the currency, taxing income, and selling children into debt slavery at far too fast a rate to benefit bond holders and rich people. the american dream is not embracing diversity or racist affirmative action quotas for hebrews, africans, women, ho