Discussion (250 words)

Discussion prompt – Discuss with your classmates the following question:

What does the American Dream mean to you?  Do you think the American Dream is a dream worth pursuing?  How might we redefine this dream?  Is “The American Dream” a myth or real possibility in America today?

“Post” a substantive post (about two or three paragraphs) and then “Respond” to at least three (3) of your colleagues’ Posts.

Response 1(50 words):

The American dream was portrayed to society as owning your home or property with the picture of a white picket fence a spouse, children, a dog, two cars, and the job that can support you well beyond your means. At least that was through my perspective of what was portrayed to the American people. Sort of like “Leave It to Beaver”. As we know, people are starting to wake up and realize that everyone has a different perspective on life. We see through different eyes.

The thing is, the American dream has changed time and time again. Aince the independemce of America to curent day the dream was to habe independence from British Parliment, then it was to be a tycoon during the industrial revolution. Dreams change over time adn the initial message seems to ne who can create a successful busniess and have political influence.  What does it mean to be successful? Wealth at any cost.

I definitely believe the American dream is a real possibility it is not a myth, but it is defined by your own interpretation. My belief is that the American dream is what you define for your life. Achieving your personal success is the American dream, it is not a myth, it is not impossible. In my personal perspective of the world there is no such thing as impossible. We see people follow almost a certain path that says once you graduate high school you must go to college and enter the workforce to be productive for the sake of society which in turn then benefits you.

Pretty much the message I received on my view was how can you be a productive member of society. In order to be a productive member of society you need a degree that lets the rest of society know that you are well-versed in whatever subject or career you choose to pursue. Nowadays it seems that the ultimate goal is to be president, can you reach higher than that? To be in a position of wealth and power.

So to answer specifically what does the American dream mean to me? To me it means the pursuit of my own financial stability and which I am truly happy without worry. Granted worry Could Happen about anything as long as I am not homeless. Is the American dream worth pursuing? In my personal perspective yes, no one puts a limit on ourselves but ourselves; we pursue what we want to pursue so continue on with your dreams because they are just that; your dreams to pursue and no one else’s. How might we define the American dream? As I’ve stated earlier to redefine means to pursue one’s own success, liberties, and happiness. Is the American dream a real possibility? I personally believe the American dream is not a myth, because we are considered the land of the free, home of the brave , we the people by the people for the people.

Democracy, granted the way our politics are being handled at this current day and time, does not reflect such a thing nor has it really for a long time, but that message in itself is very possible because we have in a way freedom to pursue whatever career we choose we have the right 2 follow our own path. Cause for hope to pursue and endure what you envision your life to be like.

Response 2(50 words):

The “American Dream” is an expression I think most people have heard before and realized that it has changed meaning over the years. In 2018 The New York Post published an article called: “The American Dream Maybe Dread” by Maria LaMagna they stat that the American dream is not was it used to be “Three quarters of respondents said part of their “American Dream” is owning a home, the traditional definition, but 71 percent said it is achieving financial independence”. This quote is exactly how I feel about the American dream. There are two types of people, number one is the type that is happy working a 9-5 with a decent salary that might need the spouse to also make decent about of money to buy a house and provide a good life for their kids. They would go on vacation about 2 weeks out of the year and do some fun things in some weekends and mainly be in a routine most of the year-round, and you could call that the “American Dream”. The second type of person is the big dreamer, someone who is self-employed, enjoys to travel and buying al the finer things in life like jewelry, sportscar, fancy dinners and so on. Someone who might not just own one property but more and where the spouse doesn’t have to work, and that is also the “American Dream”

            I remember when I was younger and all I wanted was to own a house, have a husband and a child and nothing else would matter, however now my American dream is to be financially independent in a way where I don’t have to work but can live of investment and cash flow from all of my projects so I can have the freedom to travel rise my kids and actually have time to be a good mom.

           The “American dream” can be interpreted in so many different ways and I believe everyone should be able to pursue their “American Dream” as long as they are realistic with their vision of the “American Dream” and their abilities, it will always be worth it. People are very different, and if you are not a risk-taker and don’t really like to work weird hours, there is no reason to open up your own company, but you might be happy studying hard and finding a well-paid job and in that way living another form of the “American dream”. However it really depends, some people are not book smart and will never take a college or master degree and that doesn’t mean they can’t get their “American Dream” they just have to want to work hard to find another way to archive their dreams, but no matter what they would have to work hard towards their goal.  

            However, I would say that the “American Dream” is a healthy thing to have in our society as long as people remember to personalize it and make it realistic for themselves and focus on what they really want in life and make sure that fits with what they are doing. Any dream is possible as long as you set your goals and focus on achieving them.

Response 3(50 words):

Coming from an immigrant family the American dream to me always meant living in America with a nice big house, having a couple of children, maybe a dog, working a nine to five job Monday to Friday that pays well enough to support you and your family’s lifestyle. While all still being able to go on a family vacation at least once or twice a year. The American dream can now be redefined as moving somewhere that’s affordable to live or either working multiple jobs to keep your house/apartment.

Honestly in my opinion the American Dream is not worth pursing, yes nothing wrong with being able to dream big like that but now in today’s world it is extremely expensive to live. I saw a study done that said most people live with more than 2 roommates just to be able to afford rent. Personally, that is not what I want I would love to own my house with only my future husband. Living with multiple people can cause arguments over silly things and also allows you no privacy. Also, another thing I noticed from the study I saw is that most people have more than one job just to be able to live here, or at least in the bay area.

Today in America the “American Dream” is not possible nor is it realistic. I work in an industry that involves seeing clients and even my clients with really good paying jobs say that they are still struggling or are in a lot of debt because the cost of living here is ridiculous. In my opinion you are never going to be debt free. The way I think of it is, yes be finically responsible but not to the point where you can not even enjoy the money you are making