In this new world, people who are from all over the world have been moving into America and intending to start and live a better life. Emigrants from Africa, Europe, South America, and Asia, among other regions of the world, have all come in the US hoping for better political, economic and social conditions. They just have one thing in their minds, and that is to achieve the American dream. In addition, the American Dream is just like that life should be better, richer and fuller for every person, with opportunity for each based on his ability or achievement. It is a national spirit that represents the best possible life of the American population. Everyone has an opportunity to be successful, lead a prosperous life, and have the freedom to climb up the economic ladder along with their family and children, without any regard to their origin or social class. Also, the United States usually declared the independence that is the American Dream should let all people are equal and have the freedom to enjoy life, liberty, and happiness. Furthermore, practically, realizing the American dream is to own a house built on a private land. President Bill Clinton emphasized that for one to realize this dream, they have to work hard in order to have a chance for personal development and advancement. Living the American Dream is the principal goal for the majority of American citizens and those that have been fighting to attain American citizenship. However, the realization of this dream has proved to be a nightmare for most Americans because of many reasons (Cullen, 2004, p. 124). And then the American Dream for most American has been rendered unrealistic and impossible to achieve.
In 2000, after many years of significant economic development and success, the rate of poverty of both Latino and African American populations was still close to three times higher than that of the white American white population. Even though this difference was alarming, the previous decades had seen worse with higher disparities recorded. When the economy made a slow turn to the worse after 2000, the rate of poverty among the minorities rose significantly higher than that of the whites. They result in a widened poverty gap and make the realization of the American Dream among them even seem impossible (Soyer, 2016). Although the number of Americans living in poverty reduced by over a million between 2004 and 2005, the poverty levels of the minorities heightened.
Gender has also been an obstacle for most people to achieve the American Dream. Since ancient times, the men have been viewed by the society as stronger, able and the host of their families. This notion has identified women as a minority gender and made it difficult for them to get ahead of society’s stereotype against them. A majority of them have been trapped in a society that limits their abilities to cooking, cleaning, and raising children as the men set out to make a name for themselves and realize their dreams (Maglin, 1986, p. 16 & 17). This has created an obstacle for women to create a better life for themselves by achieving success.
A study which is from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) revealed that the minority populations have access to minimal information in real estate, where agents show them a small percentage of available housing units. When some people buy houses, and they stay away from living with white people, these people including African Americans, Asian Americans, Latinos and Arabs. However, this discrimination against minorities also keep them away from access to higher quality education, health, and desirable jobs.
Education which has been the most important thing that creates opportunity and upward mobility, and has not been performing as like before. A majority of the people who started the pursuit of better education ended up opting to work instead of continuing with their education. This is because of the high cost of education that has burdened many Americans. And because of America’s continued labor market evolution, it is more prudent than ever for every citizen to have access to the better education that provides them with the knowledge and skills. And they will help them prosper in the economy today and remain competitive. America is known to have one of the best learning facilities and a highly technological education system. Therefore, the government should make plans to give its citizens a cost-effective education curriculum that enables them to attain their college degrees successfully. To be more specific, so far, the top small percentage of the American population has recorded an increase in the income by over 200%, while the middle and lower social class population has an increase of only 6%. This is because of a reduced number of startups and the loss of over seven million mid-level jobs in the result of the slowed economic rise. These companies have created a significant number of job opportunities, which means fewer companies translate to fewer well-paying opportunities. To ensure that people can have more income, the developed start-up companies will help them increase their revenues and create meaningful partnerships with locally available assets like universities, which can facilitate economic development. Moreover, Owning a home has been held in high regard in the American culture for a long time, and is considered as the ideal of the American Dream realization. So if the minorities had the same opportunities to own a home as the whites, the wealth disparity would be reduced by over 30%. For example, before the Recession of 2007, SelfHelp Credit Union assisted over 50,000 low-income Americans and borrowers from the minority populations to become homeowners throughout America. Therefore if more stakeholders implement these practices and initiatives, a lot more Americans will have the opportunity to create wealth through ownership of their homes, making the realization of the American Dream easier. Therefore, I think that education should combine with the jobs which is given by stakeholder, and let those student also have tickets to realize American Dream.
Some people might state that minorities have a lot of difficulties to achieve American Dream, but there are still some people that have overcome among the many challenges in their quest. Therefore, it would be incorrect to say that the American Dream is exclusively for white Americans. The main reason why minorities have continued to immigrate to America is that they are in search of an escape from poverty, political turmoil, poor education and healthcare from where their original homes. Also, policies set in place by the government have increasingly become very strict to discourage immigration. Therefore, successfully and legally attaining American citizenship is an American Dream come true for many. For example, the immigrants like the Chinese and the Koreans have developed their successful businesses and establishments like Chinatown and Koreatown. Moreover, there is also a substantial increase in the well paid black population. In the decade between 1990 and 2000, the life expectancy for the African American population rose from 69.1 years to 72.2 years because of the more favorable education and job opportunities they have had access to (Martin, 2018). In addition, the first Black president, Barack Obama, and Oprah Winfrey, arguably the world’s most powerful woman, has encouraged many blacks to work even harder to achieve the American Dream.
In conclusion, the American Dream is a public prospect that creates a unique person who you are, and distinguishes American from the rest of the world. It involves the pursuit of happiness, prosperity, and success by every individual. Just as President Obama emphasized, “there is neither a liberal America nor a conservative America, but the United States of America. Discriminating people which is based on their race has hindered a majority of Americans from realizing their American Dream and promoting the prosperity of the country. Moreover, opportunities should be available for all so that every American citizen can be successful through their hard work, and let those people who are not born in high-income families will also have an equal chance to build their wealth, have reputation for themselves, and allow their children to accept the best education. This way the American Dream will not gradually deteriorate into a simple illusion. Therefore, from past reports and experiences, the American Dream has numerous hindrance, which has made many people give it up and declare that it is unachievable. Nevertheless, it does not mean that is not attainable. If the government and other relevant companies could provide favorable conditions for all regardless of their gender and race, then many people from the minorities can be able to achieve the American Dream.
Reference page
Cullen, J. (2004). The American Dream: A Short History of an Idea that Shaped a Nation. New York, NY: Oxford University Press, USA.
Maglin, N. B. (1986). Gender Balancing in the Curriculum: Women, Minorities, and the "American Dream." Women's Studies Quarterly, 14(3/4), 16-17. Retrieved from https://www.jstor.org/stable/40003818
Martin, L. L. (2018). Black Community Uplift and the Myth of the American Dream. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield.
Soyer, M. (2016). A Dream Denied: Incarceration, Recidivism, and Young Minority Men in America. Oakland, CA: University of California Press.
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