My Opinion about American Dream

劉潤松++李吳瓊++夏青

【Abstract】Adopting the method of literature consultation and logical analysis， this thesis discusses about the American dream—equality， democracy and freedom. And the thesis thinks the American dream specifically refers to the following stuff： everyone in America should be treated equally； everyone can make a difference through their efforts； people should be hard-working， courageous and creative； all the people constitute a country and create a more prosperous and stronger America.

【Key words】American dream； equality； democracy； freedom

The sky was full of different shapes of beautiful clouds. Some of clouds were like a group of eagles. Some of clouds were like a cluster of blooms. Some of clouds were like a branch of armies. The sun lied in the sky， feeding all the things on the earth. Our car was full of jokes and laughter. After an hour， we arrived at our destination—Mountain Rushmore. The moment our car stopped in the parking lot， we couldnt control oneself， and I unfastened my seat belt， and grabbed my cellphone， and jumped from our car. I must be on fire. For it was my first time being there. So I run to the perfect viewing platform， then I saw the statue. “They are Washington， Jefferson， Lincoln and Roosevelt” someone said. And I felt it was big—very big， so big that it could even match the Titanic. And through the telescope， much clearer and tiny stuff entered into my view， like the serious expressions of the four American presidents， like the rock layer structures， like the rain or snow traces on their faces， like the artificial chiseling locus. Anyway， the four famous American presidents statues were combined together， elevating American citizens sense of pride， giving hope to the poor people， enlightening the world—they are trustworthy， confident， loyal， determined， and courageous. Watching the meaningful statue， I was somehow caught in contemplation. Immediately， a question rushed into my brain—whats the American dream？ Is it all about the economy？ Is it all about the military？ Is it all about politics？ Actually， it is not a simple but complex question. However， in general， I think the American dream refers to equality， democracy as well as freedom. Specifically， everyone can live a wonderful life and succeed by their efforts. And people should be industrious， courageous， creative and determined so that they can make a difference without depending on specific social stratum. So in this respect， it is about the American citizens. But all the American citizens constitute a country： the United States.

There is an expert who agrees with me. He believes that the wealthy gap is a serious problem， and the government should take some measures to narrow and eliminate it. In his essay “From the People， by the People， to the People： The American Dream，” Debut Demetri states the following： “Nevertheless， Adams defies the very forces of mystical anarchy he describes， calling for financial regulation to narrow the gap between the wealthy and everyone else， as necessary in the 1930s as in the 2010s” （168）. I think it could be true that the wealthy gap is an obvious issue in the US， for it can result in terrible consequences. I knew there was a story about an American woman， who was a worker in the Microsoft Corporation. Her work was about a technological development， and there was another worker， and his work was a technique monitoring. However， the man earned twice as much as the woman did. After one year， the woman couldnt bear this inequality and she left. So I think the unequal salary issue is an urgent problem which needs to be solved. Because it can really decrease the staffs working motivation， bringing negative effects on its development. Whats more important， the gap between the rich and the poor will evoke the social contradiction， and hinder the realization of American dream. Many authors tend to agree with me that human are created equal and freedom is an important right for them. In his essay “The Declaration of independence，” Thomas Jefferson states the following： “We hold these truths to be self-evident， that all men are created equal， that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights that among these are Life， Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness” （365）. This is a world-famous saying. I cant agree more， for nobody shouldnt outmatch others. God creates human and endows human equal right to choose their own life， to seek happiness， to do whatever they like. Besides， the law is made by human， so even the law also protects humans right and ensures that everyone is equal. There is another argument which I assert. In their essay “Our Kids： The American Dream in Crisis，” Robert Putnam suggests that “the problem is not simply a problem of rich and poor， nor， as he presents in the data， a racial or ethnic problem. It is really a problem of class， which he defines by level of education” （210）. This statement really strikes me that there used be a problem about the right for education in America. I heard an old story about an American family. They were Indians and they had two children. So they prepared all the procedures required by school， and then they sent their children to the school. However， the school refused to receive the two children and told them that Indians were not allowed to get education. Finally kids were not able to go to school and lost the best time to receive education. I think this issue is basically about the race or ethics. Nowadays， everyone should have the equal right to receive education. Besides， children is the future of a country. If children are ignored and deprived of their education right， a country will lose its hope.endprint

At the same time， in his essay “The Gettysburg Address，” Abraham Lincoln states the following： “Now we are engaged in a great civil war， testing whether that nation， or any nation so conceived and so dedicated， can long endure. We are met on a great battle-field of that war. We have come to dedicate a portion of that field， as a final resting place for those who here gave their lives that that nation might live” （369）. As we know， the Civil war plays an important role in American history. For example， it solved the farmers land problem， and improved the unity of United States， and abolished the slavery system at that time. But this great achievement is paid by American citizens. They bore any burden， met any hardship and opposed any foe. They dedicated themselves to fight against the unequal slavery system. And finally they won the war and got their freedom and equality. It is a success of American citizens. So I think anyone who takes humans freedom and equality away， he will be destroyed in the end. Moreover， there is another expert who agrees with me that African–Americans should be treated equally as the white Americans. In his essay “I Have a Dream，” Martin Luther King， Jr. states the following： “We can never be satisfied as long as our children are stripped of their selfhood and robbed of their dignity by signs stating ‘for whites only. We cannot be satisfied as long as a Negro in Mississippi cannot vote. No， we are not satisfied， and we will not be satisfied until justice rolls down like waters and righteousness like a mighty stream” （372）. This is from Kings world-famous speech. I am sure that I agree with this， for both of African–Americans and the white Americans are humans. So they should have the equal rights.

However， there is one essay “Living the Dream： Barack Obama and Blacks Changing Perceptions of the American Dream.” in which Christopher Timothy Stout states the following： If blacks side with optimism about hard work and the American Dream， they may erroneously disregard the reality of continuing socioeconomic and political inequalities. As a result， blacks more optimistic outlook may lead to a sense of complacency and a decline in activism for policies that address disparities between blacks and whites. By ignoring racial disparities in economic and social opportunity， it may be harder for blacks to objectively achieve the American Dream they have become so optimistic about. （1351） I approve of some parts of this statement but not entirely， for each coin has two sides. On the basis of this point， I think the African–Americans increasing optimism has both positive effects as well as negative effects. If the African–Americans hold this optimism and transform it into big motivation， they will make a difference in political， economic and some other fields. But if they pay more attention on the increasing optimism， they will maybe lose some energy. And it tends to be harder to achieve the American dream.

Now back to my point， I think American dream is about the three basic and important subjects—equality， democracy， and freedom. And American citizens will be full of determination， confidence， creativity， courage， and persistence to make their dream come true.

References：

[1]Abraham，Lincoln.“The Gettysburg Address.”The Blair Reader：Exploring Issues and Ideas.Ed.Laurie G.Kirszner and Stephen R.Mandell.8th ed.New York：Pearson，2014：369-370.

[2]Christopher，Stout.“Living the Dream：Barack Obama and BlacksChanging Perceptions of the American Dream.” Wellesley College Danvy Le，University of California Irvine，2012： 1351-1352.

[3]Debut，Lallas.“From the People，by the People，to the People：The American Dream.” The Journal of American Culture Volume 37，Number 2，June 2014：168-169.

[4]Martin Luther King，Jr.“I Have a Dream.” The Blair Reader：Exploring Issues and Ideas.Ed.Laurie G.Kirszner and Stephen R.Mandell.8th ed.New York：Pearson，2014：372-373.

[5]Robert，Putnam.“Our Kids：The American Dream in Crisis.” New York：Simon and Schuster，2015：210-211.

[6]Thomas，Jefferson.“The Declaration of Independence.”The Blair Reader：Exploring Issues and Ideas.Ed.Laurie G.Kirszner and Stephen R.Mandell.8th ed.New York：Pearson，2014：365-366.

作者簡介：劉潤松（1992-），男，湖北十堰人，在讀碩士研究生，主要研究方向為體育教育學。