THE American Dream - RWS 200

I've always thought the American Dream is something that you have to work hard for and earn. To achieve the American Dream you can't just sit back and hope that your life becomes amazing, Walter R. Fisher shows how this is true. Fisher wrote an essay in 1972 called Reaffirmation and Subversion of the American Dream about the American Dream and how they're is not just one ideal American Dream but there are two. The first one is a  materialistic view which is more of a work the hardest you can and you will be able to achieve what you want. While the other dream is a moral one where you want to help your fellow man and the idea of community. Fisher claims that these two views are contradictory but also vital for the American Dream to succeed. Throughout the essay Fisher makes claims about how the American Dream is a "myth." Fisher makes the claim that the American Dream is a "myth" but not the type of myth that we usually think of, he claims myths h...

I have grown up in America all my life and it is pretty much all I know. Yes, I have travel outside of the United States but never long enough to really wrap my head around other cultures or experience things other then touristy things. I've been to Europe, Mexico and Spain and although they are amazing places I could tell they were very different from America. I personally love where I live/grew up and most of the values I believe in Althen brought up in his article. The values I that are more prevalent in my life and I believe in the most are equality, achievement, time, hard work and directness.  Equality and hard work are the two main values that I care/believe in the most. Although the Declaration of Independence states that "all men are created equal" this is not true in today's society. Racism, sexism and classism are all still very prevalent in many people's daily lives. "Although they sometimes violate the ideal in their daily lives, particu...