Comments on the American Dream
The phrase"American dream" generally refers to the hopes has for his own well-being in America.It is not necessarily a selfish notion, because achieving the dream is assumed to make America strong.Because the dream is held by individuals, there can be as many different dreams as there are people to have them.A new immigrant may dream of mastering the language, holding a steady job, and having his own apartment.A successful industrialist may dream of acquiring more companies.
In the past, the most typical components of the American dream for ordinary are as follows. The first component is a piece of land where one can sustain himself and raise a family.Having the land has to go beyond mere subsistence.It must also provide for a profit and expansion.Most importantly, it must help to give your children better opportunties than you had.A final component is freedom of movement within your geographic area.In our agriculrural age, freedom of movement came with horse and wagon.
We remain emotionally tied to our agricultural past.We replace the working farm of the American dream with a suburban house and an urban job.The horse that took our ancestors to town once a month for supplies is replaced by a couple of cars that take us several places everyday.
The essence of the American dream seems to me to be geographic space and physical freedom.One's efforts allow one to succeed independently while providing an improved future for one's children and making a contribution to the world that one can be proud of.
The dream has its constants,but is ever-changing with the people and with the times.For young students today, the dream might include a very high-paying technology job from which one could retire at an early ageand devote oneself to helping others.For middle-aged people today, the dream may include voluntary simplicity--a planned reduction in consump-tion with a potentially more satisfying lifestyle.
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