Many people all over the world today immigrate to America in search of the American dream which incorporates equality, freedom and the rare opportunity to attain their personal goals, which would otherwise not be possible to attain in their home country. The pursuit of prosperity and opportunity largely make up the American dream, driving individuals to their limits and forcing them to persevere so that they can have successful lives and attain all the goals that they set (Brown 143). This has therefore endeared the United States to many individuals making it an attraction for the huge immigrant population. However, there is a growing resentment among many people concerning the American dream. This is due to the huge disparity in the income equality among the various groups in America with the wealthiest one percent controlling the entire economy and government. The inequality in the distribution of income erodes the equal opportunity that we all once thought we had. Given all these, the fact remains that America provides a land of opportunity, just not for the individuals who truly need it.
The concept of the American dream is founded on the idea that dreams can be achieved by individuals because there are few restrictions and barriers placed upon the citizens by the American government. However, other nations hold the view that America does not care about its poor population. The inequality in America continues to grow and could eventually result in major issues for the American economy in the near future. The growing inequality gap has led to loss of opportunities for many individuals and this has forced many people to go for the less productive jobs in the society if they desire to create any significant amount of wealth. When one observes the current situation in the United States, it is obvious that the wealthy have greater influence on the affairs of the government. The most visible way in which the rich exert their influence is through the tax breaks and kickbacks awarded them, including their interests. On the other hand, the rich advocate for the removal of even the smallest welfare programs that are targeted for the poor in the society. Therefore, inequality in income generation in America continues to increase, whereas the opportunities for the poor grow wealthy drop significantly (Western 67).
However, some individuals do not find anything inherently wrong with inequality, provided that some conditions are met: the first of which is that the entire society is getting richer, secondly is that there is security for all individuals including the poor in the society and third is that all people, regardless of their race, class or sexual orientation have equal opportunities to scale up the ladder via the system. Any system that oversees the uneven distribution of spoils or wealth in the society is immoral. A rapidly growing and vibrant economy may appear dreadful but it gives more optimism than a dormant one for all the individuals in America. To the numerous individuals who do not believe in American capitalism, they are just nut cold hearted individuals. They believe that any system that does not ensure the even sharing of spoils is immoral. However, inequity is not entirely immoral provided the three significant factors are observed; the first condition is that the entire society is getting wealthier, second is that there shall be availability of a safety grid even for the unfortunate and the third aspect is that all individuals irrespective of race, class, sex, or creed have an equal chance to move up the scheme. A fast growing and dynamic economy can appear ugly for some individual but offers prospects of a better future than a dormant economy.
Today, the American dream of having equal opportunity to attain your dreams in the land of plenty has been revitalized to accommodate the modern day standards of America. Every individual has the capacity to make it big and become wealthy by performing even minimal duties at work. In the current age, majority of individuals feel that the American dream is associated with material elements, getting very lucky or hitting a jackpot. The media too have a strong influence on the current view of the American dream. This is because in the cinemas and on television, people are exposed to ways on how to get rich quickly on shows such as Who Wants to be a Millionaire or Wheel of Fortune. Many people view these from the media and believe the hype produced by such programs, that one can become rich quickly and become famous by just participating in a game show. Majority of individuals in the United States believe in getting rich quickly through fortune and luck than through hard work, which goes against the original ideals of the American dream. Unfortunately for many individuals, this method does not usually work and many end up being bankrupt instead of getting wealthy like they had hoped for. This is due to the fact that many individuals believe that they can obtain instant gratification of attaining the American dream instead of achieving success through determination and hard work. If individuals would rely on luck and eliminate the culture of perseverance and working hard, then attaining the American dream would become totally impossible (Horrowitz 34).
The American scheme cannot be wished away in terms of social mobility. Even though America is considered a land of opportunity the truth could not be farther from the truth. Studies carried out have indicated that it is an easy task for poor kids to move up through the community in majority of European countries compared to United States. There is some certain fear concerning meritocracy of America and its system of education. An observation has been made that approximately three per cent of students found at the best colleges originate from very poor backgrounds. Children from poor families are always restricted to low schools whereas the rich parents spend a lot of money on mentoring and tutoring their kids. Therefore, the administration should not be determined on bringing down the rich, but it should provide assistance to the exceedingly poor individuals to enable them move up.
Another aspect faced by American population in their pursuit of the America dream is the difficulty of the targets created by every individual depending on the challenges faced. Even though majority of the Americans are optimistic about mobility in the class system, studies over the last decades indicate that the probability of moving from one class to another has not increased. Therefore, the idea of climbing up the social class, which many individuals consider to be part of the American dream, is quite a difficult task than many would imagine. During the early 1970s approximately thirty five percent of families survived on the same level of income compared to forty percent in the early 1990s. This indicates that mobility of income has not become easier as thought by many individuals (Clark, 124).
The American president J.F. Kennedy introduced the idea of affirmative action in the entire country in 1961. This required the federal contractors ensure that affirmative action was taken to provide for the equal treatment of applicants without prejudice based on race, color, religion and sexual orientation. This was due to the emergence of the Civil Rights Movements through America. Some individuals however, are of the opinion that the needs of people would be better met with a socioeconomic based system while other that the affirmative action should be banned completely.
In conclusion, the American dream continues to suffer a crisis of identity as we strive to remain a “nation of the people, by the people and for the people” and our crisis seems to stem from a lack of economic and social equity where the wealthy are the ruling class, propagating their own selfish desires. However, the country still remains the model to be envied by other nations of the world.
Works Cited
Brown, Phillip. ‘The Opportunity Trap: Education and Employment in a Global Economy.” European Educational Research Journal 2.1 (2003): 141-179. Print.
Clark, William AV. Immigrants and the American Dream: Remaking the Middle Class. Guilford Press, 2003. Print.
Horowitz, Ruth. Honor and the American dream: Culture and identity in a Chicano community. Rutgers University Press, 1983. Print.
Western, Bruce. Punishment and Inequality in America. Russell Sage Foundation, 2006. Print.
The Daily Conversation. “Wealth Inequality in America,” video file, YouTube, March 6, 2013. Web. June 1, 2016. Film.
