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Running Head: MY AMERICAN DREAM

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My American Dream
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Part B

The American Dream is something that forms the substance of being an American,
something that will dependably be there through all kinds of challenges. However, there are a
few misunderstandings about what the American Dream means, and what it implies with regards
to America as a country. One of the confusions is the mixed up idea that the American Dream
has been around as far back as 1776, and with only a couple of minor changes, is basically in a
similar form today. Unfortunately, this is far from the truth. Faith in America as a land that is
unique, and a dream for a life that is better surely has been around since Jamestown's founding
during the 1600s, but the dreams and hopes of Americans have changed a lot since the country's
Founding Fathers (Herring, 2008).

Another misconception is that the American Dream is exclusively a result of the late
twentieth-century social construct. This is the misconstrued thought that the American Dream is
simply an idea that has been manufactured, something pop culture came up with to legitimize the
nation's mass prosperity after World War II. The outcomes of this idea include the conviction
that the American Dream is primarily a result of its time, and not by any stretch applicable to the
decades after or the decades before, or worse, that the American Dream is a post-war fantasy that
never truly existed anyway. The American Dream is one of only a few unifying ideas we have,
and the fact that it can be adjusted to some degree, which means various things for various
individuals, enables it to act paradoxically, and yet coherently, as a concept that unifies the
masses (Obama, 2007).

To me, the American Dream is simply based on the pursuit of happiness. Having the
opportunity to make a better life is at the central core of the American Dream, and this is what

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the American Dream means to me. As a foundation, the pursuit of happiness supports many
pillars, and upward mobility is one of them. Upward mobility alludes to the idea that in America,
you can accomplish your dreams and go beyond the game. This pillar is most likely the focal
pillar of the American Dream. Be it a dream of equality, a vision of rags-to-riches, or even
merely constructing a dream home for your children, the idea that you can improve your life is
the focal point of the American Dream.
Another pillar that is supported by the pursuit of happiness is equality – the possibility
that the American Dream applies to everybody. Equality is an important concept and could mean
equal rights, opportunities, or conditions. General mobility is also another vital pillar supported
by the pursuit of happiness, and this directly addresses the inquiry "are we building a good future
for our kids?" This pillar goes past guaranteeing that the up and coming generation of people will
have better opportunities than I have. It is the thought that as a class, everybody in my position
will be in a better situation many years from now. In other words, equality endeavors to ensure
that our children's generation, in general, will be in a better position than our own. To me, these
pillars, established on the pursuit of happiness, are the fundamentals of the American Dream.

According to Jim Cullen, the latest variation of the American Dream is a quest for
placidity, and this is a strong allurement. Among the cultural constructs of the American Dream
defined by Cullen is that of home ownership. The American Dream of owning a house is the
most acknowledged and widespread American Dream. Cullen proves this case by clarifying how
advances in technology for building made houses less expensive. He additionally talks about the
motor vehicle industry and the affordability of home loans to outline how owning a house was
feasible for many individuals. The value bolsters the American Dream of homeownership that

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land has dependably had in American culture. Cullen proves this fact by contrasting it with less
consistently valuable things, for example, currency. He likewise underlines the significance of
the physicality of land rather than more abstract useful items (Cullen, 2004). Since the pursuit of
happiness implies the quest for status and wealth in the American culture today, a more
significant number of people have made owning a home a prerequisite or part of the pursuit of
happiness and the American Dream.

Another cultural construct defined by Jim Cullen is that of the dream of the coast. The
American Dream of the coast was a fantasy of having quick wealth and comfortable life. The
writer utilizes early Hollywood celebrities and responses of individuals to the Gold Rush to
establish how individuals felt toward California. Nonetheless, this dream was set on illusion, and
Cullen incorporates anecdotes about the gold rush, the Sunkist orange publicizing effort, and
Hollywood couple Pickford and F...