Wendy AP Language

The “American Dream” is not something that is the same for every person.  America is filled with a variety of people, every single one having a different motive or idea of what America means to them.  America can be good or bad, a place of hope or a place of failure.  In America, no one has the exact same background or situation, so the “American Dream” cannot apply to all people if it focuses merely on one goal such as wealth or fame.  However, the appeal of this dream is that it is open to all people, no matter who they are or where they have come from.

America is a place where happiness and success are made possibilities.  The government is created so that people will have the opportunity to explore themselves and really figure out what they want out of life and what they want to do.  Sometimes, however, this “opportunity” is taken too seriously by people who do not feel like America is all that it claims to be, and this is where we run into problems.  Many parents tell their young children that they can “be anything that they want to be,”  but when people do not succeed as they wish, they take it out on what their parents told them and the overall attitude of America and its people.  Of course, not everyone is going to be able to become president or a rockstar, not matter how much they may want it, because it is just not technically possible.  The dream is taken way too literally when people can honestly say that everyone who wants to become president can achieve that dream.  The problem with people’s visions of the “American Dream” today is that they believe that America is a perfect place, better than the rest of the world.  When their lives do not live up to what they perceive as their dreams, they insult America and all that it strives to encompass.  America is far from perfect, as a government, as a people, and as nation, and once people can accept this, they will be able to better accept the flaws of America and focus more on the opportunities it holds and the freedom it gives you to pursue your dreams.

I  believe  the attitude that “you can be anything you want to be” really means that all Americans have the freedom and the opportunity to try and succeed.  It is not a promise that everyone will become millionaires or find eternal happiness, but a promise that American people will have the ability to think freely and work towards their goals.  America is neither a country where religion is forced upon you nor a place where the government commands your every step.  The laws are set up so that we have the ability to find happiness in our lives.  The “American Dream,” as we like to call it, is constantly changing, but it is static in the sense that it is a place where everyone can define their sense of the dream and have the chance to try to fulfill it.