Why the American Dream Is a Fallacy - Assignment Example

Zhaojun Yang Wr121 Bjorn Smars Why the American Dream is a Fallacy The American Dream is broadly understood as the basic principles which have built and sustained America for over 200 years. This dream envisioned a nation guided by equality, material prosperity, and freedom for all within its borders. Consequently, parents always worked hard to ensure that the future generations achieve better lives than what their parents and great grandparents achieved. There is no doubt that it was such an amazing dream that any individual would love to savour. Looking into the current state in America however leaves so much to question in so far as this dream is concerned. The income inequality has widened tremendously, dependency ratio has increased, and access to basic needs are becoming an issue for quite a number of people from the lower class. On the other hand, America stills remains the world’s superpower boasting of the largest economy, unparalleled democracy and prosperity of its citizens. Considering America is experiencing an equal share of troubles on one hand and prosperity on the other hand, is America actually living the American dream? The idea of the living the American dream is a fallacy considering the ever-widening income gap between the rich and the poor, the burgeoning budget deficit, and the increasingly over-dependent youthful population. Unfortunately, the present situation in America have left so many questioning if at all these dream is still valid. Cal Thomas, a panellist at Fox News Watch, argues that unless radical changes are made, the American Dream is long over. Thomas supports Bob Herbert, a columnist at New York Times, who writes that the sad state of the economy, jobs, budget deficits, and constant war fares are all a pointer of the fact that there is nothing much left of the American Dream. The fundamental argument expressed by Thomas is that the American government has become so dysfunctional creating an over-dependency and cant-do attitude among its citizens. This behaviour does not reflect the American Dream at all. The same sentiments are echoed by Robert Frank, an economic columnist of the New York Times, who feels that it is impossible to live this dream with such a widening income inequality. Brandon King holds however holds a contrary view. He claims that the ideal and values of the American Dream are still alive based on America’s ability to come out of hardships such as the Great Depression. Certainly, there exists a very thin line between defining success and failure in American dream. As Thomas sees it there are far more problem in America to claim that Americans are living the American dream. Seemingly, a government full of materialism has squashed individual initiatives aimed at realizing the American dream. Indeed, Frank sees the problem of inequality as a big impediment to realization of American dream. There seems to be two different groups of people living in America, the rich and the poor (Frank 582). Accordingly, the few rich are enjoying the American dream whilst the vast majority is still grappling with scarce resources, unemployment, and social issues. However, America seems to have actualized more dreams than any other powerful state in the world. As King would say, most Americans are happy with their living standards, which is a measure of realization of American dream (King 573). It is worth noting though that King’s argument is pegged on a redefined American dream. With a redefined dream, Americans have been able to meet the standards of this new dream. Arguably, America is facing far more problems than not to claim that America is living the dreams of the founders. Whereas the country has recorded a significant development in virtually all aspects, there still exist far-reaching challenges that put the country in a precarious situation. For instance, in the year 2012 America had a debt of more than $16 trillion, which represented more than 100% of GDP. Such a debt could only be blanketing a looming crisis making Americans feel as if they are living the American dream. However, it can be argued that such shaky economic foundation contradicts the tenets of the American dream. Although Brandon may argue that middle-income earners are averagely happy (King 572) with current living conditions, it can as well be posited that lack of opportunities, jobs, and avenues for financial prowess have shaped Americans to “small” dreamers. As posited by Robert, the spending by the rich has actually made life difficult for middle-income earners by causing a price upward shift (Frank 582). In return, this causes them to lose hope and only dream for the bare minimum. In addition, divorce rates and commute times have been flagged as key pointers to struggling Americans. However, on the other hand, America has remained as a global custodian and a reliable benchmark for political, developmental and peace mileage. Indeed, many countries are struggling to attain such a global status. For instance, China hopes to overtake America as a super power. Having to retain a global status for a long time can be seen as a precursor to achieved American dream. The election of Obama as the first black president is indeed a plus to the American dream. All these are positive aspects credited to America’s effort to achieve what the fore-fathers environed in the American Dream. Unfortunately, achieving some aspects of the dream on one hand, and grossly mishandling other aspects does not make the dream any feasible. This can only be compared with the analogy of trying to cover a hole by digging another hole. While a given problem is resolved, another problem is created on the other hand. This certainly does not meet the criterion of the America dream whose premise whose build on wholesomeness of fulfilment in terms of equality, material prosperity, jobs opportunities, and overall better life for the future generations. In conclusion, living the American Dream remains a fallacy considering the widening income gap between the poor and the rich, the burgeoning budget deficit, and the increasingly dependent population that has been created by misguided policies. Several scholars including Thomas and Frank have raised a red flag over America’ government failure to address the fundamental issues that threaten this dream. Standards of living are on a downward trend and many parents have become so worried about the America their children are going to inherit. The college education has almost become unaffordable to children from the lower and middle class living this demography vulnerable to over-dependency. Extreme over-dependency translates to over-burdening of the tax payer which again leads to further deteriorations of the living standards. Just as Thomas quotes Bob Herbert, “America will never get its act together until it recognizes how much trouble it has plunged itself into” (Thomas 570). Works Cited Cal Thomas, (2010) “Is the American Dream Over” p568-571 Brandon king (2011), “The American Dream, Dead, Alive or on hold?” P572-579 Robert H. Frank (2011), “Income inequality; too big to ignore” p580-589 Read More