The
American Dream is a national ethos of the United States of America
in which democratic ideals
are perceived as a promise of prosperity
for its people. In the American Dream, first expressed by
James Truslow Adams in 1931,
citizens of every rank feel that they can achieve a "better,
richer, and happier life." The idea of the American Dream is rooted
in the second sentence of the
Declaration of
Independence which states 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."
The "American Dream" has been credited with helping to build a
cohesive American experience but has also been blamed for
overinflated expectations. The presence of the American Dream has
not historically helped the majority of minority race and lower
class American citizens to gain a greater degree of social equality
and influence. Instead, the American wealth structure has often
been observed to sustain class differences in which well-positioned
groups continue to be advantaged.
In common parlance, the term
American Dream is often used
as a synonym for
home ownership since
homes have historically been seen as
status symbols separating the
middle classes and the
poor. This usage, though, while common, is generally
considered a very specific use of a more general term.
Overview
Since the early
19th century, the
United States has regarded and promoted itself as a beacon of
liberty and prosperity achieved through a combination of the
philosophical and ethical principles propounded by its founders and
implemented in their most perfect form. In tandem with this is its
natural wealth and bounty within the
New
World.
The meaning of the 'American Dream' has evolved over the course of
American history. While historically traced to the New World
mystique — the availability of land and the continuing
American expansion—the ethos today simply
indicates the ability, through participation in the resonant
society and culture of the United States, to bring prosperity to
oneself.
According to the dream, this includes the opportunity for one's
children to grow up and receive an
American education and its
consequent career opportunities. It is the opportunity to make
individual choices without the restrictions of
class,
caste,
religion,
race, or
ethnic group.
According to researcher Tommi Uschanov, "american dream" actually
characterizes better European societies in which people who born to
lower social classes are - according to statistical data - more
likely to reach upper social classes during their lives than in the
United States.
Origin
Historian and writer
James Truslow
Adams coined the phrase "American Dream" in his 1931 book
Epic of America:
He also wrote:
Later 20th and 21st centuries
In recent years, the concept of the American Dream as a national
ideal has been studied by various organizations. The conclusions of
these studies indicate that during the 1990s to the 2000s, an
increasing number of people confess to having lost faith in the
American Dream.
Cultural references
Some authors have written to critique or ridicule the concept, such
as
John Steinbeck's
Of Mice and Men.
Sinclair Lewis in
Babbitt satirized 20th-century materialism and
conformity.
Hunter S. Thompson's depicted in
Fear and Loathing in Las
Vegas: A Savage Journey Into the Heart of the American
Dream a dark view of the search for the American Dream in
the early 1970s after the collapse of the counter-culture movement;
a vision of the cynical politics of
Richard Nixon, violence, avarice, ignorance,
vicious patriotism and personal alienation, endemic to American
society.
Many films explore the topic of the American Dream. One such film
is 1969's
Easy Rider, in which
characters make a pilgrimage in search of "the true America."
American comedian
George Carlin joked
that "it's called the American Dream 'cause you have to be asleep
to believe it."
Casting Crowns have a song entitled
"American
Dream" on their
first
album, expressing the negative effects on family life of the
pursuit of material wealth and power.
In the book
Watchmen, the American Dream is
referenced to when the Comedian and Nite Owl are clearing the
streets of protestors against the
Cold War.
After the chaos and an argument with the Comedian, a somewhat
depressed Nite Owl asks, "But this country's disintregrating. What
happened to America? What happened to the American dream?" The
Comedian, standing among the ruins of the riots while brandishing
his shotgun, says, "It came true. You're looking at it."
Ben & Jerry's Ice
Cream named a new flavor of ice cream in honor of comedian
Stephen Colbert in 2007 called
"
Americone Dream," a humorous
reference to the extremely patriotic character Colbert plays on
The Colbert Report.
In an episode of
NCIS(Outlaws and In-laws) Tony
refers to himself as the
American
Dream. The episode aired in November 2009.
See also
References
- Notes
- Cullen, 2004, p. 6.
- Vanity Fair, April 2009. Rethinking the American Dream.
Retrieved on June 20, 2009.
- USHistory.org. The Declaration of Independence. Retrieved on
June 20, 2009.
- Greider,
William. The Nation, May 6, 2009. The Future of the American Dream, Retrieved
on June 20, 2009.
- Johnson, 2006, pp. 6–10. "The crucial point is not that
inequalities exist, but that they are being perpetuated in
recurrent patterns—they are not always the result of individual
success or failure, nor are they randomly distributed throughout
the population. In the contemporary United States, the structure of
wealth systematically transmits race and class inequalities through
generations despite deep-rooted belief otherwise."
- Fisher, Sarah Young; Shelly, Susan: The
Complete Idiot's Guide to Personal Finance in Your 20s &
30s, Penguin Group, 2009, pg. 264
- Book: "Mikä Vasemmistoa Vaivaa?", Author: osman kamara
- Bibliography
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