The American Dream When I was a little girl my dream was to grow up to marry a handsome man, have a baby boy and girl, a little puppy, and live in asuburban style home with a white picket fence in a small town. This dream was established through the continuous stories I heard as a child of happy families. As a young girl I never thought about money or college or anything other than having a happy family and a cute little house. I think many people grew up with a similar image in the United States during the 20th century.
Now, however the American dream has turned to fame and fortune. While the Obama family represents the "old" American Dream, celebrities like Angelina Jolie, Miley Cyrus, Diddy, and Brad Pitt represent the "new" American Dream. Instead of thinking about a family in the future, most children are worrying about fame, fortune, and a career. While this change in life goals is not necessarily a bad thing, it reflects our ever increasing shallowness and loss of values. Instead of worrying about the people we love, many Americans main concern is money and they will do anything necessary to get there. On the other hand, this change in values also shows our ever increasing desire for further education. Although American students are typically lazy in comparison to students from other nations, we still have the yearning to become more intelligent. Our reasoning for this seems to come from our cultural drive to become skilled in one or multiple areas in order to secure a well paying job that will eventually lead to fame and fortune.
This drive has been in our culture for centuries, but it has changed slightly. The other day, my mom’s friend told me that Santa Clara is a great place for young workers. During the story she mentioned that in the old days people would start at a company, like IBM, and stay with it for their entire lives. Now, however, many young people start at one company and switch to another because the latter company is willing to pay them more for similar work. This story is a perfect example of how our cultural values are changing, and rather than staying loyal to a company we have learned to do whatever it takes to earn a lot of money even if it means breaking ties with coworkers.
When I was a little girl my dream was to grow up to marry a handsome man, have a baby boy and girl, a little puppy, and live in a
Now, however the American dream has turned to fame and fortune. While the Obama family represents the "old" American Dream, celebrities like Angelina
On the other hand, this change in values also shows our ever increasing desire for further education. Although American students are typically lazy in comparison to students from other nations, we still have the yearning to become more intelligent. Our reasoning for this seems to come from our cultural drive to become skilled in one or multiple areas in order to secure a well paying job that will eventually lead to fame and fortune.
This drive has been in our culture for centuries, but it has changed slightly. The other day, my mom’s friend told me that Santa Clara is a great place for young workers. During the story she mentioned that in the old days people would start at a company, like IBM, and stay with it for their entire lives. Now, however, many young people start at one company and switch to another because the latter company is willing to pay them more for similar work. This story is a perfect example of how our cultural values are changing, and rather than staying loyal to a company we have learned to do whatever it takes to earn a lot of money even if it means breaking ties with coworkers.