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OK, I got another project to do, this time an 8-10 page paper on the American Dream. I would like to know what your opinions are of what the American Dream is. It can be about anything and all opinions are welcomed. Thanks in adavnce for your help

Supremacy over the rest of the world.

I agree with Silver!


To be rich and famous, to be better than anyone...whoever, as long as you're better than someone.

basicly what some are now but enlarged even more

The American Dream is lame. It disillusions people into thinking that anybody can be rich, which simply isn't true. Sure, once in a while, some joe-six pack will hit it big on the stock market and become a millionaire. But that's not often.

The American Dream is the constant promise of jam tomorrow, while ignoring the need for bread today....

Lol, Its so true!

The American Dreams of many immigrants are education, money, job opportunities, liberty. But are very few those who really achieved their American dreams, it depends of how much they work for it, how realistic their are and what are the opportunities offer to them (us).

the american dream is an illusion, a nice one, but still, it doesn't exist. the idea that anyone who works hard enough can have this american dream is just completely untrue.

look at john steinbeck's books, namely "of mice and men" and "grapes of wrath". they were set in the the 30s but their themes about the american dream can be applied to today

The novel Of Mice and Men is a microcosm of the American Dream

I hated that book, what rubbish, and completely boring

I thought it was good.

Another book that portrays the american dream very well is "The Death of a Salesman."

The American dream is, "if you put your mind to it, you can accomplish anything." Which, as we all know, is a heep of manure.

I've read Death of a Salesman. That is, in a nutshell, the American Dream

I like Of Mice and Men.. I've studied it so much

Good Lord, you guys are STILL so depressing...

It is like young people are SO cynical now that they cannot recongise the good in anything at all!

I am no Republican but the American Dream IS a solid ideal that has transformed the world- for the better. And yes, many of us have issues with many things American but this does not excuse blinding ourselves to some of these truths.

The American Dream is simply to be successful in your endeavours.

You know Ush, you're right, young people are cynical these days...

From my European perspective the American Dream seems to be to be building a global American Empire whist still pretending to be all about the founding states and democratic process.

The USA swears by the right of all its citizens to bear arms - has 752 military installations in more than 130 countries and yet still feels it has the right to dictate to the rest of the world what weapons they are allowed to posses.

God bless the American dream, because a dream is what it is - and the wake up call will be when the American economy implodes under the weight of its twin economic deficits, namely its external deficit and its growing budget deficit.

Hope that helps?

If that does happen, then the entire world crumbles. It's interesting to see what ppl from other countries think of the American Dream

Sorry to burst your bubble but the entire world will not "crumble" when Americas does. You don't export anything that can't be found elsewhere.

Best of luck with your forthcoming economic disaster and next fake election. We're rootin' for you.

"The American Dream" seems to be that the mass denial of the 50's hasn't ended and that one day all Americans will wake up to find they are all rich and everyone is white.

I agree with you Zero

1929: US stock market crashes, depression begins. All across the world, other countries economies crash.
If it happened once, it can happen again. Nearly every world economy is tied to the US's. If our economy goes, other might go too.

"fake election" what do you mean by that?

It wasn't just the U.S stock market
Not to mention that the Depression was caused by so many other factors, like overproduction and overexpansion, and tariffs, that were imposed firstly by the states to protect their goods, other countries followed suit, and world trade reached a stand still.

Many factors played a role. Saying that America carries other countries on its shoulders is ignorant. Where would America be without other countries?

Not to mention after 9/11 the new york stock exchange almost did crash didn't it, and somehow other countries survived.

Some countries depend on the US, while the US depends on others. It's interdepenence. And your right about the stock market not being the only reason, I was just being lazy and didn't want to discuss economics.

Not to mention after 9/11 the new york stock exchange almost did crash didn't it, and somehow other countries survived.

Reason was we didn't enter a depression, so other counties didn't suffer. I'm sure if our economy crashed, other counties would suffer, my guess is Japan and China because we wouldn't be trading with them if we were in a depression

It would take alot to create a depression nowadays.

I think I read somewhere that 5 percent of the world's countries carry 95 percent of it's wealth.
Other countries would survive and eventually bring the states out of the depression.

It irritates me when Americans think of this country as being the most important in the world... The rest of the world doesn't see it that way...

I like how you put it Kal.

This country is about the immigrants that came from other countries to try to find a better life or to escape the torments of the corruption from their homelands. Sure, it wasn't easy to adopt, but many immigrants say that they had better chances of survival in American than anywhere else in the world. People who think that the USA is all about explotation and corruption really need to look at other nations governments. All the nations of the world desire power it don't matter whether is European, Asian, or African nations. All nations exploit their citizens.

America has set stricter limitations on immigration and refugees now.
They don't even take in all the people anymore.

The immigration laws had to change because many ilegal aliens that were detain were found to have previous criminal records in their native land. Nowadays the Imigration department issues work permits for ilegal aliens. Illegal aliens who wants to work in the US must apply first with the immigration dept. before entering the country. Most of the refugees laws are enforce towards the Cuban defectors, but that is something hopefully will change with the end of the Cuban embargo.

Another good example of the American Dream is "American History X."

A great film.

And Ush, I am not trying to be cynical. I am trying to be realistic. In my opinion. The American Dream is, in a nutshell, is having the white picket fance around your 2 story house, a two car garage with your van/SUV and your family sedan. Satallite TV, the whole nine yards. You should all know the scenerio.

The problem with this whole topic is the topic in itself. It is just a dream, nothing more. The reality of America, Canada, and everywhere else is that there is an abundance of poverty, single parents, credit card debts, false promises and so on. The American Dream is a nice thought, but to hard to reach. Sad though, but true in my eyes.

I love reading non-American views of what the American Dream is.

I grew up with the belief that the American Dream involved me with my nice two story house, the white picked fence out front, with 2 kids (boy and girl) running around playing in the backyard while I sit at the bar-b-que cooking up burgers in french fries.

of course....everyone's views that America is trying to accomplish what Adolf Hitler set out to do.....is feasible also.

This will cause some 'static,' but...

Hitler, regardless of his actions, was a political Genius.

Too true... We all know England is the most important country in the world....

He was an evil genius

Indeed

I'm going to disagree with you, but nit in the way you might think. True he did rally the German people and made them feel superior, but he was flawed. He should have let his generals run the war, not himself. Never let policitions runs a war, disaster is inevitable.

America has set stricter limitations on immigration and refugees now.
They don't even take in all the people anymore.

That's because too many immergrants are entering our country. Not to be mean, but we have the right to say who can enter and who can't.

Canada allows many more refugees and immigrants. If they have nowhere else to go, saying no is just plain inhumane.

His generals he appointed, so therefore he was a genius in that sense.

Canada allows many more refugees and immigrants than who?

I'm all for immigration, but I think immigrants should be of a certain criteria. In Southern California all we have are Illegal immigrants and border hoppers.

Hoping a fence or taking a life boat across the Gulf of Mexico doesn't mean you deserve to be in the United States. Everyone should have to go through customs.

I agree and disagree, Linker.

There need to be set rules, but there is an exception to every rule.

than the states

I'm sorry if that wasn't clear

It would have been very nice if Native Americans had had that right

If so then the rest of the world are fools. America IS the most important country in the world and it is sheer self-imposed ignorance if anyone ever thinks otherwise- simple denial of the truth because you do not like it. Rather pitiful.

None of us would enjoy living in a world where the US falls from power. Nearly all of Western society is very dependant on the US in very direct ways. Again, people like to ignore this, but it IS so.

The American Dream is simply that any person, of any origins, in a democracy can become better than he is and create his own life for himself. It was a call to liberty and freedom that has been accepted around the world and in many cases would not be there if the US had not been spreading that word.

Yes, it is flawed. Yes, the US can be deeply hypocritical about it, riven by its own internal divisions, prejudices, and unfairness. Yes, the US sometimes does more harm than good.

But this does not affect the fact that liberal western democracy- by far the most civilising and advanced influence the world has ever seen- has its heart now in Washington, and has done for several generations. Moan all you like about Bush, the Iraqi war, and so-called faked elections, but this will remain a fact for the forseeable future.

America is a superpower- the world's only remaining superpower. In fact, more that that now, it is a hyperpower. It is the most powerful force the world has ever seen. If you cannot call it the most important country in the world, the only way I can excuse you is if you are on a different planet at the time.

Hitler, meanwhile, was not even remotely a political genius. He was a demagogue who was simply in the right place in the right time. His people ended up loathing him. He was ALL short-term- frankly, hopeless. The only thing he could ever do right was destroy, and even then not for very long.

Well put, Funkmaster Ush...

Not too many good things being heard about the U.S. or it's leader, so that's good to hear something good coming from a British guy.

@REX
Even here in the IS, Bush's populariety is hitting rock bottom. This Nov, we're screwed no matter who wins.