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How do you define the "American Dream"? In your definition, incorporate any personal stories or anecdotes to help illuminate your definition. Within this, you may also want to touch on the fact that you attend an American School in Paraguay (quite a long ways from the United States) which, it seems to me, may somehow be some trickle down effect of this dream. Finally, do you think the dream is still alive in 2007? If yes, in what form(s)? If no, what happened to it?
I believe that the american dream is that of a humble man making it big in the world, of exceeding probabilities. I think that many times people also interpret it with a little imperialistic attittude, as if it sends the message of do whatever you want, but in reality the american dream is not only doing what you want, but succeeding in it, failing to do so doesnt really fit in with the americaan dream, or at least it seems so to me. The american dream also involves freedom beyond normal laws, like defying the law of gravity by sending a man to the moon is a perfect example of the american dream.
Dain, you fail to address the other parts - do you think it's still alive now in 2007, and how does a school like ASA fit into that dream?
I think that it really depends on the person, but yes it is alive in some people, a lot less than before, but its alive in the sense that there still are some people who follow their dreams, they do what they want and succeed. I think that this has trikled down to our shool asa, because of the encouragement we get from the school to study what we want, and have the freedom to choose our profession. I tthink that the american dream has become part of globalization, in that because the world is getting richer, it is already normal for a person to do what they want in life, because there are so many open possibilities to everyone. The american dream i think came from the 1700 to the 1800, when many people where born into their profession, and except in the united states, where it was possible, through hard work, to persue the proffesion you desired.
I would define the American Dream as an idyllic perception that there is a land of opportunity out there -- one where any individual can accumulate wealth and fame through the sweat of his brow and the wit of his mind. This definition does not preclude that an "American Dream" can occur in countries other than the United States, despite the nominal contradiction; it is most often associated with the United States, but I wouldn't say that it is restricted to it. The term was born in the United States, but I think it's pertinent on a global scale nowadays.
I do think that the fact that we attend an American school has some bearing on our attitudes towards the "American Dream". There is a clear-cut emphasis on academic or athletic success and a general philosophy that stresses that everyone will reap the benefits of the efforts they sow. In that sense, the American school that we attend does inculcate a sense of personal advancement through personal effort and a vision of honest success as desirable and worthy. Hard work by the part of the student will earn him future success; American schools imbue their students with a long-term perception of the "American Dream" as a pathway for personal improvement.
The "American Dream" is still very much alive, since its roots tap on the human conception of improvement. The United States is a prosperous and developed country; it is all but natural that thousands of individuals throughout the world would see the country as a path for the improvement of their lifestyles. It is a very individualistic perception of personal advancement that places the individual at the forefront of the amelioration of this economic situation through hard work an effort. As long as there is a prosperous country out there and someone seeking to improve his or her lifestyle, then there will still be an "American Dream"; not in the United States, perhaps, but the essence of the underlying concept will be the same.
From my perspective, the American Dream is the prospect of an existing land of boundless wealth and hope. It?s a heaven where people can have a better life and a race where everyone starts at the same point and has the same opportunity to succeed. It emphasizes equality regardless of ethnicity, religion, sex, and social class.
As poet Archibald MacLeish states it, the American Dream is ?the liberation of humanity, the freedom of man and mind.?
In fact, the American Dream is present here at the American School in Paraguay. The students are constantly encouraged by the environment around them to strive for success. We seniors are stimulated to go to college, where we?ll be a step closer to our ambition. However, such conditions aren?t restricted to ASA: it happens all around the world. As long as people don?t stop fantasizing, the American Dream will live on.
The American Dream is the dream of immigrants, the dream that America is the land of opportunity and anyone can make it. This is why the United States has such a big problem with immigration, because they are desperately longing a better future for their kids and for themselves. I believe the American Schools have somewhat to do with the American Dream, and with the idea that an American/English education is the best one in the world. I believe the dream is still alive to the all the people that risk their lives to run across the Mexican/USA border everyday, even though today the dream is much harder I believe it is still alive and still possible.
The American Dream is the success of a person through his own work and hardship. The man who has lived the American Dream is the self-made man who is successful. This "success" is usually associated with wealth and good living conditions. The term, "The American Dream" started from the fact that America had many opportunities for people from other countries to improve their standard of living because of the abundance of jobs and natural resources.
I have the American Dream in me because I believe that through sweat, anyone can improve themselves, and their situation. In some countries and situations this is easier than others, but to a certain degree it is quite possible everywhere.
Being in the American School in Paraguay, the dream is passed on to us in the sense that our instructors and the staff encourage us to seek the best for ourselves, by doing things like going to college. Unfortunately, the majority of the population of Paraguay is so hopeless, that they do not share this view and are conformists.
The dream is still alive in 2007, but not as strongly as before. Right now, the United States is going through tough economic times. Additionally, this dream is not shared by much of the world.
In my opinion, the "American Dream" is the ambition of an average man to succeed in industrial America, being able to afford trends and penchant your heart may desire. It can be most clearly observed in 1920's U.S., in the minds and hearts of immigrants arriving to Ellis Island. My personal "American Dream", and the way in which it is still alive today, would be my yearning to study in the U.S. and perhaps achieve economic prosperity by living in corporate America.
The American Dream... It was a dream that all people had (and still have) in achieving personal wealth at any cost. And by any cost I don't mean stealing or killing for money, but starting from the bottom to reach the top. The American Dream was "created" by the immigrants that came into the United States in search of a better life and pay. They were in search of that "superficial happiness" as some might say. All their energy was dedicated to achieving success and wealth, which is very honorable in my opinion. One that gives everything for a goal is someone who deserves y admiration. Most of the times, those that were in search of the American Dream failed miserably, but they still continued struggling with a tiny ray of hope. Admirable!
Being in the American School of Asuncion might help us foster a type of "American Dream" because we are in search of a better life than what Paraguay could possibly offer us. Although Paraguay is our home (for most of us), we need to detach from it in order to grow. The American Dream is not all about money and power, etc. but about growing and getting to know yourself. I have an American Dream. I want to become a lawyer, a firm lawyer that works in NYC.
The American Dream is still alive now. Although we are not in search of gold in the west coast or in search of diamonds in the northeast of Africa, we are constantly fighting towards a six-digit salary and entering to a prestigious university.
In my opinion, all humans strive towards the denominated "American Dream." We all seek happiness in the material, that is why there are no people that can live a material-less life. We are greedy, what can we do about it? We want more, and we will not rest until we get that extra thing. It is an ongoing process.
The American Dream can be described as a pursuit that many have to find a better life characterized by freedom, success, and overall happiness. I have no idea why it is called the AMERICAN dream(maybe its got something to do with history) because it is a notion well alive all around the world. Everyone wants to be free, succesful, and happy! For example, Paraguayans that are deserting the country and going to Spain in search of jobs are being driven by the so called "American dream". The American Dream is clearly conspicuous in the modern world. Most people in the world are motivated by the American Dream to take the burden of life and try to make the best of it. Freedom is not a big concern in the modern American dream as is the notion of success and prosperity.
The American Dream has its central theme in opportunity. The chance to be a succesfull self-made man while giving somehting back to society. Like Ben Loman, you enter the wild with nothing and come out rich. Wether it is a true dream or wether it is another commercial-invented dream to stir some hope in the masses, the American Dream will live as long as the US is a capitalist, competitive country and as long as there are suckers to buy the dream.
i forgot...the American Dream may change its contexts as ages pass by, but the idea and essence of it will always be the same. For example, in the 1890s we had Horatio Alger as the "chronicler" for the AD, in the 1930s Fitzgerald, in the 70s Thompson and others. Different writers with different stories and ideas for the Dream, but always the same concept.
In my opinion, the American dream is the belief that everyone is equal and has the same opportunity to obtain wealth. What I find most interesting is that it is based in the materialistic and monetary condition of the people. The American Dream developed in the U.S because of the absence of strong cultural traditions and a social stratum that otherwise would prohibit economic mobility. I believe that it is more of a ?free for all? were the emphasis is the financial condition of someone instead of its cultural or social origin. This way, the American dream is not superficial or merely an illusion, but it is not an idealistic idea completely untainted of any moral deficit.
ASA is too bicultural to be remotely considered completely American, but a trace of the American Dream clearly exists. The whole concept of effort, hard work resulting in grades, SATs and other is all the essence of such dream. Excessive competition, the stress, tests, high-stake tests, is all part of the American Culture.
I think the American Dream is more alive than ever, but the most interesting part is that it does not only exist in the U.S. Globalization has deeply affected the labor markets, opportunities, and the exchange of information. Now, more people around the world are aware of the conditions that the most developed nations in the world are. Also, more trade centers develop as a combination of globalization and specialization occurs, and the new arising markets and industries give opportunities to entrepreneurs whom have enough will to fight for wealth.
<font color="#a62a2a" size="1">[ November 05, 2007 08:28 PM: Message edited by: hcaceres ]</font>
Here?s what, to me, the phrase ?American Dream? elicits: the image of a family of four (two kids- a girl and boy) living in a nice suburban house with a fence painted white. In addition to a tan-colored golden retriever, the family owns a car and nice boat they use during the summers when they vacation in Cape Cod. I think the American Dream is the ideal life so many struggle to attain. Beyond the economic factor, the notion of the American Dream encompasses a particular way of living. I think that, although people still yearn for the American Dream, a lot have come to regard it as impossible to attain. And that?s why I think that frustration is often associated with the American Dream; because often it is left unrealized.
I think the American Dream was something that was far more advertised 50 years ago than it is now. Even though it is not as explicitly shown now it is still present in our everyday lives. The American Dream is the real need to be that family with a nice house in the suburbs, a good American car, a great and perfect family, and a white picket-fence. This dream is something that people can achieve materialistically but they can't really live. The thing is that from the beginning they are already attempting to be something else. You can't pretend that you are happy and that you truly appreciate your family. Previously, the American Dream was advertised much more, but people still have the same goals and want to get to the same places as they did before. The American School of Asunci?n is supposedly one of the best schools in Paraguay. People put their children in such a school only so they can live out their portion of the American Dream when they are older. By getting the best education, a person can infer that you will far more successful than in inferior learning institutions (it is not necessarily true).
How do you define the "American Dream"? In your definition, incorporate any personal stories or anecdotes to help illuminate your definition. Within this, you may also want to touch on the fact that you attend an American School in Paraguay (quite a long ways from the United States) which, it seems to me, may somehow be some trickle down effect of this dream. Finally, do you think the dream is still alive in 2007? If yes, in what form(s)? If no, what happened to it?
The American Dream is a perception of opportunity. It is tied to the idea of a "land of opportunity" in which any person can reach prosperity through hard work. That individual achieves this regardless of his/her humble situation and manages to better himself/herself. The most common perception is that the individual starts at the very bottom and works himself to the top. Although the term "American Dream" is generally tied to the U.S, I dont think the idea is limited to the coountry. The term was a lot more advertised in the U.S therefore it is linked to it but the idea is not only thought of in the U.S alone.
Being in an American school does make us more familiar to the term. We are encouraged to be successful and the basics of the "American Dream" do trickle down. Maybe the dream is not so evident nowadays but it is present. I think that now, the fact that people strive for it is simply taken for granted. It is a common goal so we dont really realize it is there. Prosperity and improvement is something most people want so there it is not advertised as it was back then.
<font color="#a62a2a" size="1">[ November 10, 2007 08:55 AM: Message edited by: alexiacalo ]</font>
The American Dream is an idea that one's well-being depends on one's hard work and its the perception that a person has that they will triumph in the United States and be better than in their country of origin. Its taking advantage of the opportunities that are given to one in a first world country like education, health care, and no class or race distinctions. The American Dream is still alive today because people still go to the U.S trying to find a better lifestyle than in their own countries. The mexicans risk their lives everyday passing the Texas border to enter the U.S illegally to make money and make it "big" to take care of their families who they left in Mexico. The same happens in Paraguay today. Paraguayans are going off to Spain because they think that they will work hard there, earn money, and come back to their families here in Paraguay again. As students in the American School here in Paraguay I think that many of us are living the American Dream right now in the sense that we have a very good social and economical status and that our parents do "make it big" here and they work hard to succeed. Most of us are living the opportunity of a lifetime that not many other paraguayans will be able to experience.