Create a 6 page essay paper that discusses The overarching theme of this course is that America, almost from its beginning, was more of a promise than a reality: Promises.Download file to see previous

Create a 6 page essay paper that discusses The overarching theme of this course is that America, almost from its beginning, was more of a promise than a reality: Promises.

It is a difficult dream for the European upper classes to interpret adequately, and too many of us ourselves have grown weary and mistrustful of it. It is not a dream of motor cars and high wages merely, but a dream of social order in which each man and each woman shall be able to attain to the fullest stature of which they are innately capable, and be recognized by others for what they are, regardless of the fortuitous circumstances of birth or position” (Adams 2). As a function of understanding this quote and the appreciation for what America portends to offer, the reader can and should consider some of the contributing factors that have made the American Dream possible within the past. ...

One of the main reasons that placed the American Dream in the present endangered situation is the increasing economic inequality that was exhibited in the United States shortly afte World War II. But, in the past three decades the rich are getting richer, while it is becoming increasingly expensive for the poor and the middle class to afford basic necessities. The wealthiest one percent of individuals own more than a third of the total wealth in the United States, making it increasingly difficult for shareholders within the lower classes to break free from the constraints that bind them to their realities. A perfect exemplification of this is evidence in the essay “Up Against Wal-Mart”. Within this particular essay, Karen Olsson discusses a worker in Wal-Mart named Jennifer McLaughlin. Jennifer is paid a meagre$16,800 a year for her hard work and neither she nor her baby has any form of health insurance. Jennifer is just one of 2 million employees working in Wal-Mart, the largest private employer in the country. We can see that these people are definitely not living the American dream. However, more importantly than merely using Jennifer as a strawman for a larger argument, the reader can understand that Jennifer is emblematic of the means by which many individuals seek to survive within the current system. Within the same theme, the essay “Progressive Wal-Mart, Really” by Sebastian Mallaby defends Wal-Mart by stating that the low prices offered by Wal-Mart are a benefit to lower middle income families. But what is forgotten here is that these low prices are on the backs of poverty level workers who cannot live off their wages that Wal-Mart is prepared to pay.