With what has to be the longest hiatus I have taken from the blogging scene, I must apologize for the lack of consistency. On the bright side, I have finally motivated myself to produce some quality content.
For this first topic, I will be backtracking to Giovanni Boccaccio's The Decameron which was discussed roughly three to four weeks ago. The question I will be attempting to answer is whether or not a grand narrative still persists in the United States.
Although the existence of many possible "grand narratives" can be debated, I will focus on the American dream, since it is the one I am most familiar with. The "American dream" is a concept that was taught to me from an early age, although the term itself did not appear until my early adolescence. As early as Kindergarten (age five), the question of "what do you want to be when you grow up?" became the central pillar of contemplation. From then on, the expectation to make something of myself never ceased. In my eyes, this expectation, which I believe to be fundamental to American society, spells out the existence of a grand narrative. However, that is my subjective truth.
The American dream is defined as "the ideal that every US citizen should have an equal opportunity to achieve success and prosperity through hard work, determination, and initiative." To prove or disprove the reality of this term, questions must be asked to see if the prerequisites implied within it are met. Does every US citizen have an equal opportunity to achieve success? Is success and prosperity distinguishable from non-success (is it real)? Can success be achieved through hard work, determination, and initiative alone?
As far as I know, equality of opportunity has been achieved to the best it can be. The government has established rules for companies and organizations so that they cannot discriminate in the hiring process. No matter the race, religion, or sexual orientation, nothing instituted by the government is barring those who want to achieve success from doing so. Family units and the raising of children have a more profound impact on the success of an individual than the government in this point in time. It can be debated, however, that government programs such as affirmative action disrupt the balance and true "equality of opportunity", but there is a huge difference between installing an expedient policy that gives more opportunity and preventing success outright. So, in a sense, the current state of affairs does not meet the requirement of "equal opportunity".
Successful people and non-successful people are most definitely distinguishable from one another. It is the inevitability of capitalism, after all. One can look at faces such as Bill Gates or Mark Zuckerberg and realize that achieving immense success was possible in the past and is still possible today. The same goes for the homeless people on the streets; the road stretches in two directions. From a monetary standpoint, success is real.
The last question is a difficult one. I would like to believe that anyone could overcome any obstacle as long as they worked hard enough, but the sad reality is that some people cannot. Dealing in absolutes is tricky business. If the question simply entails the possibility of just one individual achieving success due to hard work, then that scenario is undeniably true.
In my opinion, the "American dream" still exists; nevertheless, I am aware that there may be examples that contradict the reality of its textbook definition. I am curious as to what you guys think. Does it still exist?
I believe the american dream does indeed still exist as you said. I believe that it has been diminished greatly over the years by people wanting achievements without doing anything for them. It seems many Americans believe they have a "right" to things outside basic necessities such as health care, phones, etc. My father and Grandfather are quick to point out that the world has not always been so weak. Just a couple decades ago no one wanted to be seen with a handicap license plate or tag hanging on their vehicle. It was disgraceful to act as if one was unable to perform task to the same degree as everyone else, especially one such as walking to a store or other establishment. Now I see countless cars with tags and license plates pulling right up and exiting perfectly to walk without aid to their destination. In fact it is now much harder to acquire a disability tag and Mississippi rarely if ever hands out lifetime tags because of the peoples misuse. Another instance is welfare and other government aided agencies. The past generations believed in hard work and earning ones rights. It seems now the young masses are rebelling against work and instead claiming they deserve all of the same rights and items as those who give their lives for it. This is why I believe we as Americans have sort of lost the "American Dream" outlook. Of course I am not saying everyone should want a white picket fence house and two kids with a dog, but everyone should understand that 9 times out of 10 you do have to work a large part of your life. You will have to pay taxes, and you will not be handed everything you desire. If we as a nation could right the path and get back to earning what one has then I believe we would have a more solidified grand narrative.
ReplyDelete