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American Dream or American Nightmare? - Referat
American Dream
The American Dream is the belief in the U.S. that every individual is given the chance to be successful, fulfill the pursuit of happiness and have upward social mobility “from rags to riches”. One of the reasons why people immigrated to the USA.
• Can be found in the American way of life, patriotism and optimism about the future
• It does not only apply to individual wealth, but is also a dream of social order where everyone (people of all colors, genders or religions) has the opportunity to reach their aims
• There are people (examples) who achieve the ideals of the American dream
• Everyone has the same rights (and opportunity to reach their goals/the American Dream)
• The role of the state is very minimal so you rely on yourself and have a high variety of chances
• 37% of Americans still believe in the American Dream (it is still in the people’s minds and hopes)
o There are still people immigrating to the US from other countries (for example Mexico)
As a conclusion you can say that the American dream is a phenomenon or an ideal that is still existing in society. The election of Kamala Harris as Vice President of the united states shows us that many indivuduals achieve it. In addition to that the American Dream is a pull- factor for people immigrating into the US.
American Nightmare
The belief that nowadays the American dream can not be achieved anymore, furthermore it is an illusion held up by society.
• American Educational System: Only the rich can be educated well enough to get the good jobs (go to college) while Black people or people from poor families get minimum wages
o A lot of your social status depends on your family
o The social mobility in the US is lower than in Europe
• Only some individuals achieve the American Dream and work their way up without a good education  there is a misleading picture about one’s possibilities in society
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• The gap between rich and poor grows bigger
• There is a huge gap between white and black middle class and their incomes
o Nearly 40% of black children are poor (in the US)
o Unemployment rate is twice as high
Certain groups of people (e.g. women, black people, religious minorities have it harder to Achieve the American Dream
• People who “fail the system” are not supported, the state doesn’t offer you any help in case of sickness or disabilities
• There are not enough well-paid jobs, many people have to work two ore more jobs to feed their family
• Immigrants do not get the same chances as Americans (for example illegal immigrants from Mexico)
As a conclusion you can say that the American Dream is an ideal held up by examples that are not representative and the vast majority of people can not achieve it. The framework given by the government increases inequality and the gap between rich and poor.
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