U.S.A. Flag waving during the sunset.
(Allegiance Flag Supply)
We have all heard about the American dream, but is the American dream attainable at this point? Based on our economy and world conflicts, is it still safe to believe in the American Dream?
It’s called American Dream because of the idea that the United States is a land of opportunity that gives freedom and equality for people of all classes who work hard and have the will to succeed.
But this might not be true. According to our actual situation and position in the world, it could be even harder to succeed in the USA. A long time ago, the meaning of “succeed” was very different than it is today. During the early 1900’s, the meaning of being successful was very odd and simple, like having your own house, have kids, a pet, a home wife, or a luxury car.
But nowadays we’re focusing on different things. Everyone has their own perspective of what the American dream means. Someone’s American dream will be being rich, and that’s fine, and someone’s American dream is living simply with few possessions. Everyone has their own perspective of the American dream.
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So we can’t define if the American dream is attainable for everyone because everyone has their own perspective on it, but we can say that it isn’t the same for everyone and not everyone has the same opportunities. We come from the same and different places at the same time: we came from our mother, most are born in a hospital, but we didn’t have the same opportunities as others. So is important to change our American Dream according to the situation.
“The reason they call it the American Dream is because you have to be asleep to believe it.” George Carlin (Wikipedia)
And our perspective on how to attain the American dream can be affected by many variations, like the inflation rate in our country that is at its lowest since 2020 when Biden entered the office.
How much the inflation rates change (this measures 2020-2024) affects the American dream.
People that receive a high school diploma are closer to pursuing their dreams than those who weren’t good enough to keep it in high school or didn’t have the time or the opportunity to finish high school.
High School Graduation Rates by state in 2021, Source: US News
As you can see in this illustration, states with a higher percentage of people who graduated from high school are more like to have people that succeed and get a good job. 88% of citizens graduated from high school, so everyone should be able to achieve their goals, right?
Well, education may be a variable that influences your life, but not necessarily will make you successful. This just adds to the fact that even if people have the same opportunities like high school, in order to being able to succeed, being actively social and connecting with other people who are successful is important. Also, taking risks and learning from your mistakes matters.
Some healthy habits that are shown in successful people are recorded and illustrated on the graphic below, where it shows how healthy habits are shown on the scale of highly successful people and unsuccessful people.
People that are highly successful typically have similar habits that help them.
In summary, many factors may affect our American dream. I say that we need to think on what we can accomplish in a little amount of time and then determine if we want to achieve something bigger in life.
Successful students set basic goals such as cleaning their room when they wake up or make their bed before leaving home. Early goals help them prepare for later success.
Is the American dream attainable? I believe that achieving the American dream is possible, but it’s harder to attain now than how it used to be. Social problems, lower incomes, and racial inequalities are main causes for people’s perspective on the American dream has changed, but it is still possible to achieve it. With education, consistent good habits, and goals, anyone can still make their American dream come true.
