American Dream example essay topic

'The American Dream', these few words raise many emotions, whether they are dreams or nightmares, hopes or the realisation of failure. For decades America has been seen as the golden country, the country where ' everyone can make it to the top'. America has an enormous influence on other countries, not only in political and military matters, but also in many areas that have been adopted into the daily routine of almost every country of this world. Where in Europe can you not find a fast-food restaurant, can't you buy Levis Jeans, can't you purchase Nike, Puma etc.? Well, the answer to that is simply there is no country where you cannot do those things.

Some countries have tried to avoid the so called Americanisation. France for example. The songs that are played on the radio have to have a certain amount of French ones among them. That is just one example of what lengths some countries have gone to stop the Americanisation.

The Fame and the fortune that has built itself up around the myth of the American Dream, has become somewhat obsolete. The peculiarity of the American Dream might still be relevant to some people, but if anybody goes for a drive through the suburbs and metropolitan areas of LA or Hollywood, they will very quickly realise, that the constitution of the United States of America has multitudinous examples of is apocryphal nature. There is no such thing as equality between whites and blacks. In the workplace there is no parity between the two races, never even mentioning the Vietnamese or the Mexicans that live in 'the golden country'. The crime rate in America is the highest in the world, which shouldn't surprise anybody, because anyone over the age of sixteen, can legally buy a lethal weapon, for his / her own 'protection'.

That means of protection is mostly not used for the persons own protection but in numerous cases during violent outbreaks of fury and anger, to kill people. In many American schools it is not unusual for the student body to be searched for weapons and walk through metal detectors, every time they wish to enter their school. There have been many incidents of school killings where children of the age from fourteen onwards have been shooting fellow students, and thus creating bloody massacres. The unhampered violence, according to a few professional psychologists comes from the brutal computer and film business. Isn't it somewhat funny, that any child of the age of sixteen can legally buy a gun and drive a car, but can not drink alcohol until it is twenty-one.

This is just one of the many aspects of conflict between the American Dream and its reality, which often subsides in people's minds. These people, not only Americans, of which there a millions, are the ones subterfuge d by the false clich'e of which the American Dream is made up of. Another major aspect which is one of injustice, is the American social and welfare system. The rule to apply to that aspect of American society is 'work or starve'.

There is such a minimum of help for people that are unemployed, disabled, blind and so on, that it is simply a disgrace concerning the human rights policies. The American social system is rectified by the Puritan belief the Americans praise so often. On the turning hand of the poor, there are the fenced off, and patrolled suburbs of the rich and famous, the ones that 'have made it'. Taking my own experiences into account, there can be no talk about the American Dream, but more about grave differences in the social structure and living conditions of the people in America.