Ashton Chowning English 102 Short Argumentative Essay February 24, 2017
The American Dream is Not Dead Professor of American history, Matthew Warshauer once said, “Traditionally, Americans have sought to realize the American dream of success, fame and wealth through thrift and hard work. However, the industrialization of the 19th and 20th centuries began to erode the dream, replacing it with a philosophy of "get rich quick’ ” (Warshauer par. 3). In making this comment, Warshauer insists that the American dream has a new philosophy of becoming rich faster than the traditional ways used by past generations. The American dream has changed, yet it is not dead; it continues to thrive even though many Americans now choose against getting married, buying a house, and working at one job until retirement because the American dream changes within what the citizen wishes to accomplish.
Past generations hold on to the fact that to be a successful American they must get married to achieve career goals, but in today's society, it is not important to be married before commencing into the career world. Fox News Watch panelist, Cal Thomas view on the American dream, “had meant building a life based on the foundational principles that created and have sustained American for more that 200 years” (Thomas 568). In other words, Thomas believes that the past generations have lived the same lives as their past generations for 200 years. The past generations have a common trait of marrying once out of high school, but in today’s society that is no longer the case. With today’s society, many Americans choose to place their career first, then determine if marriage is the right choice. Although a large number of people in America today believe that placing their career before marriage will help them become successful more quickly, New York Times columnist, Bob Herbert disagrees when he writes, “however you want to define the American dream, there is not much of it that’s left anymore” (Herbert 564). Although Hebert holds to the fact that the American dream has adapted to the new generations means of success, this does not mean that the new form of success is of less importance.
Even though past generations believed that buying a house was necessary to achieve financial success, it is not true in today’s society. In her article, “The American Dream Does Not Exist”, author Lorie Johnson states that “the middle class is vanishing, leaving home ownership to only the richest people (Johnson par. 6). Basically, Johnson is saying that the middle class is not longer buying homes and, she is correct. A study showed that 205.7 million people, out of the 309.3 million people in America in 2010, did not have homeownership, but the study also showed an 1.1 million increase in Americans becoming renters of households. (King 574). In today’s society, most Americans prefer to live a middle class lifestyle therefore they can focus on being stable and saving money (King 573). Today's members in today’s society focus on saving money and living a stable life, rather than the past ideas of needing a mortgage to feel successful. While past generations believed that getting a job and working the same job until retirement will cause the most successful career path, many Americans today are taking different routes. Writing in the article “The American Dream: Dead, Alive, or on Hold?” Brandon King emphasizes “... a 2009 New York Times survey found that 72 percent of Americans still believed it was possible to start poor, work hard, and become rich in America” (King 573). A plethora of Americans spend most of their lives to working hard, they may not be working the same job, but they are working. Americans choose different career paths every day, which means that the “American dream” is truly about citizens creating their own American dream. Johnson, writer for the website Sunfell recognizes that, “Happiness and the reality of the American dream are found in abandoning the false dream, and creating one of your own” (Johnson par. 9). She means that it is possible to live a rich life without technically being rich. Past generations believed that working themselves up the same corporation was the only way to prove that they are successful, but the current generations realize that if they want to become successful they need to create an American dream for themselves.
The American dream once basically referred to “building a life based on the foundation principles” that would expect people to achieve more than their parents, but while using all the same tactics their parents had used (Thomas 568). The dream originally was to get married, own a home, and work with the same company until retirement. The American dream now fluctuates through the American citizens depending on their goals. Each American takes responsibility for their own goals and success, and how they accomplish those goals are through their own means of the American dream.
Works Cited
Johnson, Lorie A. “The American Dream Does Not Exist.” Www.sunfell.com, edited by Kate Burns, 2001. Opposing Viewpoints in Context, link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/EJ3010415203/OVIC?u=chil38234&xid=f24a2cad.
Warshauer, Matthew. “The American Dream Still Exists.” American Studies Today Online, edited by Kate Burns, 2003. Opposing Viewpoints in Context, link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/EJ3010415202/OVIC?u=chil38234&xid=c842d682. Accessed 2017.
Herbert, Bob. "Hiding from Reality" They Say I Say With Readings. By Gerald Graff and Cathy Birkenstein. Ed. Russel Durst. 2E ed. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 2012. 564-567. Print.
King, Brandon. "The American Dream: Dead, Alive, or on Hold?" They Say I Say With Readings. By Gerald Graff and Cathy Birkenstein. Ed. Russel Durst. 2E ed. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 2012. 572- 578. Print.
Thomas, Cal. "Is the American Dream Over?" They Say I Say With Readings. By Gerald Graff and Cathy Birkenstein. Ed. Russel Durst. 2Eed. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 2012. 568-571. Print.