P
piepss
If someone asks you, what do you think about the American Dream: What would you say?
Do you think the American Dream still exists today??
Do you think the American Dream still exists today??
Maradona12
Well-known member
really hard to answer. what we learned is that an american dream is still there but not quantitative in the amount of former years.
and more important what we learned: an american dream which was fulfilled could also end in an american nightmare.
you can see many people who lost their houses because of the financial crisis worldwide.
and more important what we learned: an american dream which was fulfilled could also end in an american nightmare.
you can see many people who lost their houses because of the financial crisis worldwide.
In my opinion the American Dream was in the past true but now you can not really say this.
In the past you went to America to have a better life standard. Now the life in the USA is really hard.
The American Dream you can translate it like that into German:
" Vom Tellerwäscher zum Millonär".
In the past you went to America to have a better life standard. Now the life in the USA is really hard.
The American Dream you can translate it like that into German:
" Vom Tellerwäscher zum Millonär".
I wouldn't go as far as saying that the American Dream was destroyed in a 21st Century America but it was much stronger in the past.
Even though finding a job is still easier than in other countries, it is not nearly as easy as it used to be.
But the American Dream is not only about jobs. One other big part of the Dream is freedom. But do Americans have more rights than Europeans? I don't think so. Just look at all the censoring on TV and such, just because kids shouldn't hear words or see pictures on TV, that they hear/see in school anyway.
The majority of Americans ist just too old-fashioned and still thinks that the female breast does not belong anywhere but in the bedroom and that swearing is a tool of the devil (I don't want to insult anybody's religion here, but swearing is just a part of our everyday life).
Kids hear swearing ten times more in school than they would when watching a movie.
That said, I think the American Dream barely exists anymore today, but can still mean hope to anybody in the world experiencing trouble in their own country and convince them to go to America. In most cases, that will be the best decision (although I have to admit that just immigrating to the United States without a good reason is not possible anymore).
Even though finding a job is still easier than in other countries, it is not nearly as easy as it used to be.
But the American Dream is not only about jobs. One other big part of the Dream is freedom. But do Americans have more rights than Europeans? I don't think so. Just look at all the censoring on TV and such, just because kids shouldn't hear words or see pictures on TV, that they hear/see in school anyway.
The majority of Americans ist just too old-fashioned and still thinks that the female breast does not belong anywhere but in the bedroom and that swearing is a tool of the devil (I don't want to insult anybody's religion here, but swearing is just a part of our everyday life).
Kids hear swearing ten times more in school than they would when watching a movie.
That said, I think the American Dream barely exists anymore today, but can still mean hope to anybody in the world experiencing trouble in their own country and convince them to go to America. In most cases, that will be the best decision (although I have to admit that just immigrating to the United States without a good reason is not possible anymore).
In my opinion, there is nothing like the American Dream, but a few of them. The most commonly known is the one already stated—to make it from a dishwasher to a millionaire. With reference to the financial and economic boom of past decades it seemed possible to achieve this goal and make the dream come true. There are examples of people who made it, but there are also countless and unheard people who failed and didn’t make it “from wretches to riches”. And with an imminent recession, it just started to turn the other way around; millionaires became or might become dishwashers within a snap of their fingers.
Yes, finding a job in the U.S. was and is easy. Here you learn your job by doing it. There is nothing like an apprenticeship you’ll have to successfully finish in order to be able to apply for a job. So, finding a job isn’t that difficult. But there’s nothing said that this job will suffice to make a living. You might need two, three or more jobs to get your bills paid, since the minimum wage is what might be called “too less to live, too much to die”.
The first “dream” people had and which made them undergo dangerous trips across the Atlantic towards the New World was their dream of freedom—to exercise their religion freely. Freedom is something you either have or don’t have. Or, as others put it: freedom is, when you have nothing to lose ... and everything to gain. But this doesn’t work when you have fellow citizens around you who also want their freedom. So, you want your freedom without having it interfering with the freedom of your neighbor. That’s why concepts shifted a bit, even though certain “freedoms” remained and were irrevocably fixed in the “Bill of Rights”, like freedom of religion, speech, press, assembly, and the right to petiton. Other than that, the Declaration of Independence stated what would be considered the American Dream for the centuries to come: life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. This dream also still exists. And here “liberty” is what I would regard as “freedom with rules” so that everybody in a society can have the same amount of freedom without being oppressed by or oppressing another person’s freedom.
But censorship is something different and is not necessarily in opposition to freedom of speech. Censorship, if done for the right purposes and not with the intention to obstruct the truth, is a means of channeling audiences, that is, to separate content suitable for minors from the one for adults. That’s what we have here in Germany as well, even though it is by far not as strict as in the U.S. With this regard the U.S. are bigoted; having a big porn industry, producing hardcore splatter movies but being shocked to the core by a semi-nude nipple of a singer on national television during the halftime show of a Super Bowl.
Well, are we really so much different from that? Aren’t we bigoted as well by having a stricter jurisdiction over tax evasion or copyright piracy than for example over sexual abuse of children? And being able to air curse words or the so-called “four-letter-words” in the media here is nothing I would consider freedom or something to be proud of that they even became part of our daily life. Do you think this might create a “German (Freedom of Speech) Dream”? I doubt that anybody would envy us that opportunity to say “f*ck”, “sh*t” or stuff like that uncensored. It is the allurement of doing forbidden things that might be considered attractive. But do I use those words more often just because I can? No.
To sum it up, I don’t think that there is one “American Dream”—there are several; they shifted over time and will continue to do so. And maybe there is a different perspective on this concept for people who are already living in the USA than for those who would like to live there. I think that the notion for those dreaming about leaving their countries and emigrating to the U.S. was and perhaps is more romanticized with some kind of yearning, but lost much of its charm over the last years' politics. And I don’t think that immigrating to the U.S. (besides being a refugee and fearing persecution or death and thus seeking asylum) ever was easy or that it became more difficult in the recent past. Maybe Barack Obama can create (a) new American Dream(s) or revive old ones. But this is something only time can tell.
Yes, finding a job in the U.S. was and is easy. Here you learn your job by doing it. There is nothing like an apprenticeship you’ll have to successfully finish in order to be able to apply for a job. So, finding a job isn’t that difficult. But there’s nothing said that this job will suffice to make a living. You might need two, three or more jobs to get your bills paid, since the minimum wage is what might be called “too less to live, too much to die”.
The first “dream” people had and which made them undergo dangerous trips across the Atlantic towards the New World was their dream of freedom—to exercise their religion freely. Freedom is something you either have or don’t have. Or, as others put it: freedom is, when you have nothing to lose ... and everything to gain. But this doesn’t work when you have fellow citizens around you who also want their freedom. So, you want your freedom without having it interfering with the freedom of your neighbor. That’s why concepts shifted a bit, even though certain “freedoms” remained and were irrevocably fixed in the “Bill of Rights”, like freedom of religion, speech, press, assembly, and the right to petiton. Other than that, the Declaration of Independence stated what would be considered the American Dream for the centuries to come: life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. This dream also still exists. And here “liberty” is what I would regard as “freedom with rules” so that everybody in a society can have the same amount of freedom without being oppressed by or oppressing another person’s freedom.
But censorship is something different and is not necessarily in opposition to freedom of speech. Censorship, if done for the right purposes and not with the intention to obstruct the truth, is a means of channeling audiences, that is, to separate content suitable for minors from the one for adults. That’s what we have here in Germany as well, even though it is by far not as strict as in the U.S. With this regard the U.S. are bigoted; having a big porn industry, producing hardcore splatter movies but being shocked to the core by a semi-nude nipple of a singer on national television during the halftime show of a Super Bowl.
Well, are we really so much different from that? Aren’t we bigoted as well by having a stricter jurisdiction over tax evasion or copyright piracy than for example over sexual abuse of children? And being able to air curse words or the so-called “four-letter-words” in the media here is nothing I would consider freedom or something to be proud of that they even became part of our daily life. Do you think this might create a “German (Freedom of Speech) Dream”? I doubt that anybody would envy us that opportunity to say “f*ck”, “sh*t” or stuff like that uncensored. It is the allurement of doing forbidden things that might be considered attractive. But do I use those words more often just because I can? No.
To sum it up, I don’t think that there is one “American Dream”—there are several; they shifted over time and will continue to do so. And maybe there is a different perspective on this concept for people who are already living in the USA than for those who would like to live there. I think that the notion for those dreaming about leaving their countries and emigrating to the U.S. was and perhaps is more romanticized with some kind of yearning, but lost much of its charm over the last years' politics. And I don’t think that immigrating to the U.S. (besides being a refugee and fearing persecution or death and thus seeking asylum) ever was easy or that it became more difficult in the recent past. Maybe Barack Obama can create (a) new American Dream(s) or revive old ones. But this is something only time can tell.
M
McBag
Yes he exist.
The Dream of an American was e.g to invent a craft, which can be used by old Humans.
And he made it to come true.
The Segway.
He is for old and young and a genius invention.
The Dream of an American was e.g to invent a craft, which can be used by old Humans.
And he made it to come true.
The Segway.
He is for old and young and a genius invention.
It seems that the American dream is still alive. The American dream is also a part of the "Declaration of Independence",that says that the population can eliminate
cruel or wrongful leaders and give themselves a new political order in their pursuit of happines. Nowadays Amerika tries to spread out this happiness to the whole
world and the name for it is the NWO ( New World Order ) , and that means freedom for everyone in the name of capitalizm.The near future will show what this means
4 the working population in this free brave new word.
greetz
arup
cruel or wrongful leaders and give themselves a new political order in their pursuit of happines. Nowadays Amerika tries to spread out this happiness to the whole
world and the name for it is the NWO ( New World Order ) , and that means freedom for everyone in the name of capitalizm.The near future will show what this means
4 the working population in this free brave new word.
greetz
arup
R
robbi18w
well, at least everything is possible...depends on how much you want it!
