The American Dream
In 1931, when referring to the American dream, James Truslow said, “life should be better and richer and fuller for everyone.” The American dream usually denotes to the desired American way of life. It is premised upon the declaration of independence that supported the idea of Equality in everybody. The American dream is focused on the common man and how he can achieve something that would be of benefit to him. Even though many Americans living in poverty have often referred to the American dream with sarcasm, outsiders can see it being realized. The USA is probably the only place in the world where all dreams are valid(Erickson, 2014). A quick pick into the Forbes 400 will facilitate the evidence to backup this statement. People have made it from things that are considered, in other places, inadequate. The richest people in the country are comprised of singers, actors, sportsmen and so forth. Those who made it from businesses did not necessarily have big ideas but had the opportunities to exercise the smallness of their ideas and grow them into something worthwhile. The most surprising fact is that they were all ordinary people once. American has an economy that affords people the chance to explore what they can and make it(Boritt, 1994). The economy is flexible, and accommodative of all ideas that people seem to generate. The economy is receptive to small businesses, which gives the people a platform to start something small and see it grow. The population and diversity of American facilitate the American dream in the sense that all ideas that the ordinary man may have will somehow have an audience. One can start something in their neighborhood and before they know it, explode into a national phenomenon.
There are opportunities in almost every aspect of life. Any talents and ideas can be supported because the framework of the USA allows it. The flexibility of the American economy and social system gives it an advantage over the rest of the countries. Other places still remain rigid on the social and economic opportunities that people can be afforded with, and that is the reason they do not thrive. The tycoons on America are diverse. They contain the people from all genders, ages, and ethnic affiliation. An example is Iranian born Pierre Omidyar. He is the owner of the much-acclaimed eBay company. Other tycoons emanate from all over the worlds and are of different ethnic affiliations. In fact, it is the belief of the thousands of immigrants who flock the country that there are opportunities that will make them rich. The American dream has emphasized on the issue of equality, evidenced by the type of people who find themselves wealthy in the country. The treatment that is afforded to the ordinary man makes it easy for them to achieve. A close examination of the 400 richest people from Forbes or fortune will reveal the commonality of such tycoons. Very few people in the list were born into wealth. Most of them worked hard to climb the ladder through their talents, and small and big ideas. Hollywood has often exploited the concept of the American dream through the statement, “from rags to riches.” The phrase is evidence that most people believe the American dream belongs to the common man. The Hollywood stories usually end with the poor man attaining riches(Crevecoeur, 2007). The opportunities in the country are to thank for the way everyday people can work hard and become something. Without such opportunities, people would work hard with no results.
References
Boritt, G. S. (1994). Lincoln and the economics of the American dream. Urbana: University of Illinois Press.
Crevecoeur, J. (2007). Letters from an American Farmer. Applewood Books.
Erickson, A. (2014, July 14). Here's Why America Is Still the Greatest Nation the World Has Ever Seen. Western Journalism.
