Lisa Napell Dicksteen

EGL 266

February 22, 2005

What is the American Dream? Is it Equally Accessible to Everyone?

The initial answer to the first question takes almost as many forms as there are Americans, and people who wish to be Americans. However, they can be broken down in to three basic categories: freedom, opportunity, and material comfort. The answer to the second is equally varied, but not so easily segmented, as it depends a lot on who is doing the dreaming.

First freedom: the American dream as depicted in the American mythos has always included the idea of freedom. Within that seven letter word are housed the ideas of freedom of religion, freedom of the press, freedom to hold one’s own political beliefs – whether they are in concordance with the government or not, freedom from oppression and discrimination, freedom of speech and congregation, freedom to live as one sees fit, and the biblically-stated freedom to live each under his (or her) vine or fig tree with none to make them afraid.

Next, opportunity, which is really the dream of class mobility. The idea is that in America each individual has equal access to education and opportunity in a free market so that, in theory, each individual has the ability to make their own success. Unlike many other countries where one is “trapped” within the socio-economic strata into which one is born, the dream is that in American “even a poor man’s son can become president.”

The idealized concept of material comfort; the idea that all Americans own their own home, have at least one car in their garage, have a yard for their 2.5 children to play in, send those children to college, and retire in financial security is based on the freedoms and opportunities built into the American system of government.

On the other hand, it is not true that everyone who is born in or immigrates to this country has equal access to the tools to build the dream, or even a reasonable facsimile thereof. While the freedom part of the equation is the most accessible to the largest number of people, especially in terms of state-sponsored activities, in reality, everyone is not treated equally. Some people are denied access to affordable housing, higher education, corporate promotion, and the other keys to success based on their race, religion, gender, sexual orientation, height, weight, or other factors. As a result, the opportunity playing field is slanted from the beginning, making it harder for some than others. And that doesn’t take into account the personal factors that interfere with the drive toward success such as family support, ambition, will power, intelligence, common sense, and simple luck. All these factors come together to create a situation in which only a small number of people is able to achieve the American dream in its pristine Horatio Alger state. Many others are able to achieve portions of the dream, and most of them are quite pleased with their personal levels of access.

Unfortunately, far too many people don’t even make it to a position where they can pretend they are living the dream. Millions of American families live below the poverty line, and none of them are happy about it. What they are able and/or willing to do about it depends on who they are and what circumstances created their present reality, but many of them will remain there throughout their lifetimes, forever reaching toward the American mirage.