History of Achieving the American Dream Essay

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Introduction

Achieving the American dream has been every American’s agenda since the country achieved independence in 1776. In 1963 when in Washington DC Martin Luther King Jr. delivered a speech on the American Dream, people felt rejuvenated in the quest for a better life. James Truslow Adams who wrote the book “The Epic of America” defined the American dream as “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” (Adams 214). This paper seeks to highlight the ideas of the American dream while demonstrating the impact of the dream on people. Although conservative Americans would never admit it, the dream is slowly slipping away.

Economic Aspect of American Dream

The infamous American dream entails both economic and social aspects of life, primarily themed to enhance the life of each citizen through equal share of resources and participation in national projects. The dream revolves around solid cornerstones of economic well-being of people, religion, education, and social tolerance of the multi-ethnic American population. For years America has boasted as the economic superpower among world economies with its citizens enjoying the results of its earlier struggles as a colony of the British Empire in the 17th Century (Adams 214). America’s controversial adoption of capitalism provoked much debate when economies were fragile and few countries were ready to take risks. However, the United States of America broke away from the status quo which later turned to be an appealing decision not only to the ordinary middle class Americans, but also to the entire world. Because of the positive projection of the economy, employment opportunities increased and living standards of people became better. Combined with better technology, American economy now continues to blossom, but it was not until the global crisis crept in a few years ago. Research shows that currently majority of Americans are in fear of economic meltdown if the government fails to implement necessary measures to revive the economy. The biggest problem is the gap between the wealthy and the poor with the rich are getting extremely rich, while the middle class faces a crisis of salary sabotage and loss of jobs because of the increased demand for technology rather than human labor. America might be the richest country globally, but wealth distribution undermines its efforts and achievements in the economic sector. Consequently, without a properly set wealth sharing, most Americans might never attain the American dream.

Social Status of Americans

While some people view the American dream as an opportunity to become as wealthy as possible, others concentrate on the basics of having accessible healthcare and social well-being. While a majority of the people can receive adequate medical services, others feel that unless the administration implements a well-documented health system, poor citizens will still succumb to poor healthcare. Even though the controversial health package, Obamacare, has elicited mixed support across the nation, the Republicans strongly dismissed it claiming it will not be the solution to the health problem in America, the government is still committed to implementing it.

Equally important, the United States of America has had a rough history of inequality, racial and religious discrimination which has prevented the U.S. from fully achieving the American dream (Collins 57). Because America, according to the writings of James Adams, is full of unending opportunities, there has continually been an influx of immigrants in search of better living standards. Historically, the interaction of different people of varied backgrounds, religions and beliefs contributed to conflicts and racial profiling that has since proved to be an enemy of growth and development. To date, the most noticeable alterations are between blacks and whites with a more recent instance being accusations labeled against police officer, Darren Wilson. The black community of Fergusson accuses Officer Wilson of killing James Brown based on racial grounds. If racism continues to thrive within American cities and suburbs, achieving the American dream of being a “God chosen country” might backfire (Adams 215). Despite America being a country with a long history of immigration, it has transformed to be the most economy developed globally. An aspect of democracy and freedom being one of the cornerstones of American dream revolves around religion and liberty people enjoy in the American environment. This is one sector where the score is always positive with various Human Rights Organizations acting as watchdogs suppose the government or any other law enforcing body attempts to infringe citizens’ right to freedom and religious orientations (Collins 46).

In conclusion, achieving the American dream has been a long journey. There have been challenges and obstacles on the way in the realization of this particular social agenda. Therefore, if America wants to achieve its much desired dream then it is advisable that both the public and the government work together. Besides, the major centers of concentration should be the pillars of the American dream and the future of the nation will be prosperous.

Works Cited

Adams, James Truslow. The Epic of America. New Jersey: Transaction Publishers, 2012. Print.

Collins, Owen. Speeches That Changed the World. Louisville, Ky.: Westminster John Knox Press, 1999. Print.

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