Introduction
America is referred as the most powerful country in the world due to its enormous economic resources and its strong advocacy for a democratic environment among its citizens. Since the era of Senior, Martin Luther King, American’s dreams and hope have remained alive. The spirited fight for racialism, gender equality, poverty, unemployment, and social democracy has remained the core objectives of every American leader. However, The American citizens feel that the struggle has yielded little for them to enjoy. Instead, only few people have lived to enjoy the fruits of the selfless struggle for an equal nation. In a unanimous voice, most Americans feel that the much hyped accolade by the rest of the world that “America is a second heaven” is just but rhetoric ridicule since they themselves cannot feel the comfort. The trails of terrorism threats, economic recession, unemployment, and the ballooned immigrants’ population render the America natives to deduce that the American dream is fading on the verge of the horizon or rather robed in veil for the reserved elites.
In their writing “Creating America” Joyce Moser and Ann Watters concluded a hypothetical argument that “Perhaps the closest we can come is to say that the America dream represents both what the Americans believe themselves entitled to and what they believe themselves capable of. In other words, it’s the promise inherent in the idea of America itself”. The authors believe that self-actualization of the Americans to understand and value their basic rights and appreciate their capability is the most appropriate perspective to view the realization of the American dreams. For instance, developing continents such as Africa admire the economic power of America and their influence in helping shape democracy in war-tone and undemocratic nations. On the contrary, Americans think otherwise about their country. Moser and Watters’ notion obtains my support on the basis that prophesies made by ancient leaders and activist and were thought as dreams have not materialized for the benefit of the American citizens. In his notable and revered assertions, Martin Luther King, Jr. said, “I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skins but by the content of their character”. However, the dream is yet to be fulfilled as the continent grapples with rising cases of racial discrimination. Such a contradiction between the prophesy and the reality today tells of the dreams in America today. Moreover, writings such as “The Betrayal of the American dream” and “Who stole the American Dream” by Donald Barlett and Donald Hedges respectively portrays the dissatisfaction of Americans about the infiltration of their economic pool of resources.
According to Jennifer Hochschild, economic resources in America were abundant for everyone to have a share and the identity of the rich was not recognized because everyone was living a better and self-satiating life and the rich had a chance to get rich (Hochschild 28). However, the perception by Americans that there was enough for everyone has since changed and thus invited a ground for competition among the American citizens. Americans now feel threatened by the scarce resources that have resulted in social barriers of the rich, the middle income and the poor. The rich are getting richer as the poor continue to languish in poverty. The scarce resources have consequently created a basis for the power struggle and bad politics. Americans feel short-changed by the prophesies of equality in America since their rights to claim their necessities has been infringed. The rise of immigrant’s population is a hindrance to the Americans entitlement to their resources. As a result, animosity of racial discrimination has aggravated thus threatening the country’s value for democracy. The Americans believe that what is entitled to them should not be shared. The ideology of Meritocracy in the American society has faced the challenge as the country has extended the benefits of its economic success to the developing nations (Sawhill 3).However, America as a hub to multiculturalism cannot confine the right to meritocracy to its citizens alone. The same privilege has to serve its objective of equality to its immigrants. The inability of the American leadership to achieve the tenets of meritocracy as advocated by Martin Luther king, Jr. is conformation that the American dream is far from reach.
Another argument that supports the faded American dream is the increased chances of access to education and job opportunities by all citizens (Sawhill 3). However, citizens lament that despite increased literacy level and household income, they are still incapable of enjoying most of the luxurious resources in the country. The statement complements Joyce and Watters deduction that only the Americans can determine the realization of their dream. This is because the Americans are oblivious of the external economic forces such as foreign exchange stability and monetary policy that influence a country’s economy. In their reserved opinion, loyalty and hard-work cannot guarantee them the anticipated dreams of America. Despite the Americans notion of dreams beyond reach, the increasing numbers of immigrants tell otherwise. Therefore, if the reality of American dreams is viewed in a different perspective, one would conclude “America is rising close to the prophesied dreams.” James Truslow viewed the American dream as “a land in which life ought to be better and fuller for everyone”. Further, he added that it was not a dream of material resources, but a nation where every individual should access the necessary resources to attain their goals regardless of birth or rank circumstances (Meacham 13). America has utilized its resources to ensure sustainability for its citizens. However, the notion of Truslow cannot be fully realized in the present as anticipated by many. In that case, Americans cite inequity in resource distribution oblivious of the rapid change in the global economy that has exposed the increasing world population to compete against the scarce resources.
Another element that overlooks the realization of the American dream is the rising levels of unemployment among the America’s young and skilled generation. The economic situation has generated a discontent between the American dream and the citizens’ entitlement to equal employment opportunities. They naively blame the government’s leniency in its foreign policy that allows permeation of the immigrants into the country and thus feel that their entitlement to the available labor opportunities has been hijacked leading to psychological fall out among citizens (Sawhill 3). In addition, American women feel that the achievements of the Women’s suffrage movement have not achieved their full mandate. Despite achieving the right to vote and vie for political positions, the federal government has had a low representation of women in the congress. Moreover, gender-insensitivity has continually characterized the leadership in firms. Therefore, women divert their attack to the federal government for its reluctance to enact equal gender representation policy to govern equal leadership and employment positions.
Conclusively, how one defines the American dream is essentially different. For a number of individuals, it is to follow their goals in life or their interests. For some it is money, and for some it is to realize equal rights as well as freedom since they desire to have equal treatment just like anyone else. To me, the argument by Joyce Moser and Ann Watters about the American Dream means that the Americans are capable of realizing it if at all they work extra harder in life. The American dream provides the Americans the freedom to make small and big choices that affect their lives.
Works cited
Hochschild, Jennifer L. Facing up to the American dream: Race, class, and the soul of the nation. Princeton University Press, 1996.
Meacham, J. "The History of the American Dreams." Time (2012): 24. Web. 15 Oct. 2014.
Sawhill, Isabel V. "American Dreams and Discontents: Beyond the Level Playing Field." (1996).
