America Dream Essay

Galvez, Peter

English 20

I HAVE A DREAM

"I have a dream that my four children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character. I have a dream today." (MLK) These are the words of Martin Luther King himself. In 1963, Martin Luther King Jr. said that he too had a dream, and I would consider it a great view of the American Dream. But, what if his dream was something totally different than someone else's dream? Is the American Dream different than it use to be, or is it changing? These are questions that we must all ask ourselves as we live here in America. I believe that education, business, and technology are major aspects that drive the American Dream, and that the American Dream is changing for the worst for middle and lower class Americans.

My mom is one of the people that I interviewed asking her about her opinion of the American Dream. She grew up in Nicaragua and came to the United States by herself, because of the war that was happening there. When she arrived to the United States she only had four hundred

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dollars. She was able to survive on her own and her view of coming to America was something that I found really interesting. "I remember coming to the United States looking to live a better life and get a good education. Back them all the schools really focused on attendance and everyone would want to go to school to learn. Nobody would go there to show off his or her clothes or see who had the nicer car. I notice that in today's society there is a lot of kids that are dropping out and only go to school for the social aspect." (Gladys Galvez)

This makes me really put education as one of the top priorities in life. Without an education you will never be successful in life. Many people want to go to college and get a high paying job, or maybe one day being a millionaire. With out school you will never be able to get anywhere in life, and most aspects of a persons dream would be crushed. We give children a false comfort and reassurance that they can be whatever they want to be. Little boys grow up dreaming of professional baseball and little girls may dream of dancing in the ballet, but these dreams will most likely never come true due to their given situations. "I would want to be in the NFL and play for CAL's football team." That is a quote from my friend Lou

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Arroyos who was an excellent athlete, but never got to any college because his grades in high school were so bad. He didn't know you had to do well in school to get a chance to play. Education is going downhill and more and more people don't appreciate the chance they have. Not only are we getting budget cuts but also, the dropout rate is at an all time high. In most countries, people would die to be able to get a chance to come to the United States and get an education. We as American's, take for granted how lucky we are to live where we live. If we want to go to school we can go and learn, if we just simply don't go.

Business is a very important topic to talk about when speaking about the American Dream. Money seems to be everyone's top priority. The rich want to get richer, while the poor get poorer. I feel that this is correct, because middle and lower class people want that new car, television, house, or whatever it is they desire. The only problem that is happening is that people are biting more than they can chew. I was talking to one of my friends who are a parent already and she said, "When I was a little kid there was no way I would ever have a cell phone. My mom would take me shopping, but never would we spend more than forty dollars on a shirt. Also if I was lucky and saved

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for over a year I could buy a car. Now my seven year old and ten year old both want to wear name brand clothes and don't appreciate the value of money." (Nicole Bittle) I believe that now the America Dream for many people is more materialistic. Everyone wants a really nice house or that expensive car, but forget the value of family. Many people are over working and don't get a chance to spend that quality time with there family. Many families don't ever get a chance to eat dinner together anymore because they are either out working, or will just get a quick meal on the go. A lot of people will overspend, just to not feel like