The American Dream

“I believe in America because we have great dreams - and because we have the opportunity to make those dreams come true.”

The above quote was made around World War II, a time when American patriotism and pride meant the most to citizens and everyone felt they could at some point live the American dream through hard work and persistence. Today, more than 65 years later amid a recession and a dramatic rise in our unemployment rate, the question arises: is the American dream just that – a dream? Or is it something that can truly be attained by all American citizens through time and hard work? Is our country really providing the opportunities Americans need to succeed in every possible way?

James Truslow Adams gave the best definition of the American dream in his book “Epic of America”. “Life should be better and richer and fuller for everyone, with opportunity for each according to ability or achievement.” It is equally important to add that he later stated “The American dream, that has lured tens of millions of all nations to our shores in the past century has not been a dream of material plenty, though that has doubtlessly counted heavily. It has been a dream of being able to grow to fullest development as a man and woman unhampered by barriers which had slowly been erected in older civilizations…”
So are there any barriers hindering the better, richer and fuller life of Americans today? It is safe to say the two largest contributors to the fulfillment of development and success in our society today are education and job opportunities. Both allow for personal growth and advancement in our society. Statistics say these elements have been hit the most as of recently.

In terms of education, right after World War II the United States had the #1 graduation rate. Today our country has dropped to #21 among industrialized nations. According to The Eli and Edythe Urban educational foundation American students rank 25th in math and 21st in science compared to students in 30 industrialized countries. This affects our country as a whole – jobs are been shifted overseas and American employers say students today lack the basic skills to do even the simplest jobs. Without dramatic changes, the U.S. economy will continue to suffer, crime rates will increase and our children won’t be able to find a job or afford a house. Education is an issue that affects our national strength and security. If nothing changes and no opportunities are created to educate our youth, our standard of living will decline, our democracy will be at risk and we will continue to fall behind as other countries surpass us.

In regards to job opportunities – it goes hand in hand with education. With poor education, our citizens cannot advance and those “barriers” mentioned by James Adams will hamper and chance of receiving the better, richer and fuller life promised by the American dream. Today our unemployment rate is at 9.1 % meaning there are 13.9 million Americans looking for work. Poor education and jobs being moved to overseas companies are just a couple factors that explain why the rate is so high.

So, based on the facts presented, our American dream has become a harder goal to reach – but not impossible. Americans have opportunity and freedom to make choices – to dream. And standing up for our rights to obtain better education and job opportunities is a small feat compared to other issues faced in the past.