Who can tell me sth about the American Dream

[echo]

Who can tell me something about the American Dream.?its origin,its symbol, etc.Where can I find some information or knowledge about it? Thanks in advance.

[dar512]

*sniff* *sniff, sniff*

Smells like a school assignment to me. Try google and the research librarian of your local library.

[breakingnews]

Read John Steinbeck's "Of mice and men." It's a nice read.

Where the American Dream comes from is nearly impossible to answer - you'll have to figure that out on your own.

What is this, a 9th/10th grade assignment for U.S. history?

[Catwoman]

The American Dream is something Americans Dream about before they realise that a four-bed semi with a white picket fence and a pink twin-set for the wife doesn't bring you happiness.

[Trilby]

What's a four-bed semi? I can honestly say that-as an American-I've never dreamed of a big rig.

[Catwoman]

A four-bedroomed semi-detached house. Sorry, that's more of an English Dream. I should have said a Big House.

[Trilby]

Originally Posted by Catwoman

I should have said a Big House.

With an in-ground pool? Now we're talkin'--!

The American dream is a quaint hang-over from the past when this was once the land of opportunity. People could believe that with hard work and a bit of luck they could better their position in life and that their children could get an education or enter into a skilled trade and become secure members of the middle class. We used to have a democracy that was responsive to the will of the people and manufacturing jobs that paid workers a decent wage. We were a nation of doers and producers with equal opportunity for all. Now we no longer produce anything but wars with other countries. Our jobs have hemorraged out to other countries thanks to te phenomenon of out-sourcing. Our so-called representatives on the state and national level respond to who-ever has the most money to give them, not the common voters. The American public is coming to understand this, and a smaller percentage of eligible voters participate in each major election that comes up. Public schools have deteriorated and the wealthy send their children to private schools where they can get a decent education. If you work hard, you may raise up to a manager's position in McDonald's, and maybe if you and your spouse both work at two jobs, you can buy a second hand car and a home in a trailor court. That's the reality of the American dream today.

[warch]

Horatio Alger.

Originally Posted by warch

Horatio Alger.

Yeah, right.

[Cyber Wolf]

The American Dream does not come to those who fall asleep.

[alphageek31337]

He came to waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay too cynical a forum to ask this question, but a provocative one it is.

The American Dream is a hangover from Ford Model-T, social contract days. The idea was that in a capitalist system, things are tough, but if you put forth the extra effort you can get ahead and eventually own your own house, car and little white dog, and use them as tools to aid you in raising a happy, healthy family with decent, law-abiding and satisfied children who will help to take car of you when you grow old. For a fair example of the American dream (from a Scottish perspective), try to take the sarcasm out of the opening monologue from the movie <i>Trainspotting</i>:

Choose life. Choose a job. Choose a career. Choose a family. Choose a fucking big television. Choose washing machines, cars, compact disc players and electrical tin openers. Choose good health, low cholesterol and dental insurance. Choose fixed interest mortgage repayments. Choose a starter home. Choose your friends. Choose leisurewear and matching fabrics. Choose DIY and wondering who the fuck you are on a Sunday morning. Choose sitting on that couch watching mind-numbing, spirit crushing game shows, stuffing junk food into your mouth. Choose rotting away at the end of it all, pishing your last in a miserable home, nothing more than an embarrassment to the selfish, fucked up brats you spawned to replace yourself. Choose a future. Choose life..But why would I want to do a thing like that?

That, my friend, is the reality of the American Dream. Where going a little further, doing a little more used to get you ahead, there's no way now, because the system demands so much of you that it's impossible to give that extra effort. You will most likely have rent to pay, or, if you're lucky, a mortgage, and paying that will require every ounce of force you have in you. And when you spend all of your life with one company, working 50 hour weeks, struggling, getting that promotion here and there and trying to carve yourself out a little niche in the world remember that there's someone in India with the same skills as you willing to work for half the money, and he will most likely end up with your job.

[lookout123]

Originally Posted by marichiko

The American dream is a quaint hang-over from the past when this was once the land of opportunity. People could believe that with hard work and a bit of luck they could better their position in life and that their children could get an education or enter into a skilled trade and become secure members of the middle class.

Mari, what the hell are you talking about? There are many opportunities available in America today. we can argue about the causes all year long, but you are right, the public education system is a mess. but it isn't just rich people that pull their kids out of the system for alternatives.
Everyone has the opportunity to go to college in america. their are countless scholarships, grants, and loans available - and lets not forget about the GI bill. Their are still many jobs and skilled trades that don't require a college degree that pay very well. the middle class does still exist although the gap is widening between what many define as wealthy and the middle class. some of that is due to time. (you can look at it like a golf swing or a baseball swing. one degree of difference at the starting point can become a vast difference at greater distances. if money is the ball and the distance traveled is time it works out to be about the same due to the power of compounding and freedom to play a little more loosely).

We were a nation of doers and producers with equal opportunity for all.

we still are. we do and produce different things but that is due to technological advancement and globalisation. BTW, i don't like the fact that our industrial base is gone because i think it will eventually bite us in the ass if there is ever another large scale war. but the simple fact of the matter is that it isn't just america that is losing manufacturing jobs. it is a global phenomenon attributable to increases in productivity, technology, etc.

The American public is coming to understand this, and a smaller percentage of eligible voters participate in each major election that comes up.

you're right - many if not most of the politicians are self serving chumps. they get to keep their offices because too many people take the defeatist attitude that you can't change anything so why try. the ones who get out and vote are often the ones who throw their vote to the person promising to make their particular situation easier with new programs whether or not that will actually help the nation as a whole.

If you work hard, you may raise up to a manager's position in McDonald's, and maybe if you and your spouse both work at two jobs, you can buy a second hand car and a home in a trailor court.

BS. some people do have to work very hard and they will end up in a management position at McD's. good for them. they won't be wealthy, but they show up to work every day and contribute to a productive society. Are you aware that a Jack-N-The-Box manager starts at $35K/annual? That isn't too bad for a starting position that doesn't require a degree and has a distinct promotion track and good benefits. it may not be prestigious, but it is a necessary job, so don't disrespect the guy handing you your fries. He/she is working to support his family. and if it takes 2 people working 2 jobs to by a used car and a trailer - then they should probably seek some guidance about what they are doing wrong. but again, you are belittling the people that choose to live in mobile home parks. many do it not because they are downtrodden people, as you seem to think, but because it is a cost effective form of housing.

That's the reality of the American dream today.

No that is your perspective of the American dream today. Most people get up, go to work, come home and spend a little time with their families before bed and then rinse, lather, repeat. they don't sit around thinking their lives suck. everybody wishes they had a little more, but most people are generally pretty happy in their lives - at least the ones who don't fall into the trap of playing the victim.

the reality is the American dream was popularized and defined by the rags-tor-riches tale. those things did happen. those things still happen. Most people then and now didn't grow to be extremely wealthy. but everyone has the opportunity to take their shot at it. success in achieving goals will always depend on the same thing. A) having a goal B) working hard to achieve it C) lucky turns at the right time. you can still achieve your goals without C - but you might not be as wildly successful. good luck trying to achieve anything without ingredients A and B.

Mari - you are a highly educated individual with a lot of compassion for those around you but have fallen prey to the cult of victimhood. negativity will hold you down faster than anything in the world.

[Trilby]

With a two-year degree (and the State will pay for it!) you can start out making 50K--but you gotta be willing to wear the scrubs. You gotta be willing to work weekends and nights. You gotta be willing to put up with a lot of BS and you've gotta believe in the divinity of doctors----just kidding!

...just kidding about the divinity of doctors thing. Everything else stands.

[Trilby]

Oh, and Mari--looks at the Saudi's--they don't PRODUCE anything--they've a natural, limited reserve of oil that is the end-all, be-all of their economy. That's IT. Nothing is "made in Saudi Arabia" and they do just fine, don't they? They lucked into an economy. Does that make them any less ambitious than anyone else? You tell me.