<p>Hello parents, I know that you busy with your babies’ college admission and stuffs but I still want to disturb you. </p>
<p>I am planning on writing a novel about the “American dream”. My target reader will be for young foreigners who believe that they will become rich and successful once they step in America. As you know some of them, gives up everything they have home and risk their life to come here illegally but are disappointed because they couldn’t just grab the so-called “American dream” and put it in their pocket. So I will be happy if you can tell me </p>
<p>If you are in the US are you currently living the “American dream”? If yes, are you American or an immigrant ( recent) ? If you are not living the “dream”, what do you think is keeping you from reaching it? Do you think that you might grab this “Dream” in the upcoming years? Some people say that the "American Dream is a lie, is it true?</p>
<p>A “Dream” is an ongoing process. It’s the journey. It’s not the end. America is a country that believes in God. Contrary to those who don’t believe in God; it’s not that THEY allow US to believe in God. It’s that WE allow THEM to NOT believe in God. Because of our belief, our “Declaration of Independence” declared that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. …</p>
<p>These are our only true “Rights”. Everything else is a “Privilege”. The “dream” that you refer to is the “Pursuit of Happiness”. It is a never ending process. What makes the so called “American Dream” possible ISN’T the cars, home, big screen tv, membership in clubs, buying things, etc… The American Dream is that our country “ALLOWS YOU THE OPPORTUNITY FOR YOU TO PURSUIT YOUR HAPPINESS”. That IS THE DREAM. Being allowed to do it. The moment you become a citizen of the United States, you HAVE ACHIEVED THE AMERICAN DREAM.</p>
<p>Whether or not you get that $500,000 a year job, the $80,000 car, $1 Million house, etc… IS TOTALLY IRRELEVANT. If you don’t get those things, it’s because you didn’t work hard enough. But then again, those “THINGS” aren’t going to make you happy. The “DREAM” is that you are “ALLOWED TO” pursuit those things. </p>
<p>So, sorry to put a twist on your question, but if you are looking for someone who has become WEALTHY or SUCCESSFUL and are wanting to call that the “American Dream”, then you have come to take the “American Dream” for granted and don’t deserve it. If you become a legal citizen or immigrant of the United States, then you have opportunities that are NOT available to you anyplace else in the world. THAT IS THE DREAM. The OPPORTUNITIES.</p>
<p>Thanks for your answer Christ. I was not looking for someone who is wealthy, because apparently everyone has their own definition of the “American dream” and you know million dollar does not mean success. For example, someone might get political asylum in the US without becoming rich, but I guess that the fact that he is able to live in this country without the fear of being repressed by political enemies is good. Many people flee their country to come to America because they define the American dream as " Freedom" so, your answer didn’t put any twist to my question. </p>
<p>“The moment you become a citizen of the United States, you HAVE ACHIEVED THE AMERICAN DREAM.”</p>
<p>Well that will never happen to me because my country does not allow its citizens to have dual citizenship. And even if I wouldn’t lose my motherland’s citizenship, I wouldn’t naturalize American because I don’t think that one can love two countries with the same heart beat. At least not me. :D</p>
<p>Well, I understand your comments, but your question was about obtaining the “American Dream”. In order to do that, you need to become an American Citizen or at least an legal immigrant.</p>
<p>Writing a book on the “American Dream” then on your part becomes more of a book of fiction. Not that the information your provide isn’t of interest, but rather that you can’t quite understand the concept. Then again, there are probably people out there that equate the “American Dream” with some sort of “Achievement”. As I stated previously, the “American Dream” isn’t an achievement, it’s the “Opportunity”. The opportunity to pursue whatever it is you want to. Whether it’s a lifestyle, certain freedoms, certain level of wealth, etc… That is the “Dream”.</p>
<p>oh yeah, my work will just be friction. I don’t have any definition of the American dream and I also don’t fully understand the concept too. Otherwise I wouldn’t be asking for information here. One thing I like about what you said is the opportunity to study in the US. In some countries, you wouldn’t be able to go to college if you are not extremely rich or even if you were a Brillant student. Sometimes there are people who can pay and are good academicaly but they can’t attain University because they don’t have a contact or the right connection to put them in. But here you can go to college even if you end up with debt. At least at the end, the person can say " I wanted a degree and I got it".</p>
<p>I agree that living the American Dream does not have any correlation with financial succes because there might be some foreigners who become succesful without being a legal resident at first.</p>
<p>Hey Christ sorry if some of sentences do not make any sens. English is a complete new language to me</p>
<p>Christcorp, I copy a fabulous answer that Salamande gave to my thread in the cafe.</p>
<p>"I am. I was born in America and so were my parents and grandparents, though I think all my great-grandparents were born in various European countries. My grandparents are/were not all that well-off, though. Neither of my parents finished college (at least not until last year, when my mom became an RN), and we’ve never had very much money.</p>
<p>Now, making a lot of money is not my primary goal, so long as I have enough to provide the necessities and avoid any major financial woes. I am expected to do better than my parents, though, and so is my sister. We’re going to go to four-year colleges, really good ones, we’re going to graduate from them, and we’re going to get master’s or professional degrees if we want/need them. We’re going to make sure our kids, if we have them, can do exactly the same thing we’re going to do, and do it even better than we did. In my mind, that’s certainly an example of the American dream."</p>
<p>My FIL escaped from Poland as the Germans invaded, fought all over Europe, was captured and escaped twice, and ended up wounded in England. He met an English girl while there, they married, and when they were expecting a child, came to the US. It was after Ellis Island … they came over on the Queen Mary – but only had $5 in his pocket when he landed.</p>
<p>He worked very very hard – his wife was expecting a baby very soon – found a place to live, worked even harder, mostly construction in NYC. They found an apartment in the South Bronx … more a tenement really. Eventually, after about 10 years, he opened his own construction-related business and moved to Long Island, where they owned their own new home with a yard, two cars, and whatever little luxuries they wanted.</p>
<p>Their son went to college, earned a bs and ms in engineeering, and then an mba. His education, plus the immigrant drive inherited from his father, has enabled the American Dream. </p>
<p>(Their grandchildren – one is in college, the other heading in that direction.)</p>
<p>Grande Antilles, that quote is probably the view of many of today’s parents esp those who were themselves first generation college students. Notice the emphasis on materialism, however; it takes money to go to the “really good” schools and to be able to make sure our kids can do what they want. And not just money, but the power or ability to control the use of that money. Because of its capitalist AND democratic roots, America has been seen as the “land of opportunity” where, like Horatio Algiers (and many other more modern business entrepeneurs), one can go from rags to riches. The “American Dream” is merely the continued belief that even someone without an education or money, or little education or money (or, sadly, not enough education or money) CAN achieve (financial) success. And this dream continues to offer hope and motivates many to seek opportunities that will bring financial success because we ARE a democracy that allows individuals the right to pursue such a dream. </p>
<p>As such, many of us already have the luxury of living some form of the “American Dream” and our dreams for our children are a more personalized, grander variation of that dream - that they can live the life they choose. And that it will somehow be better than ours. Unfortuntately once you reach a certain level of meeting your material needs, the negative side of this dream comes into play; since the grass always seems to looks greener on the other side of the fence…which is why many may never feel like they have ever attained this dream.</p>
<p>And of course, aspiring to write a novel about the “American Dream” is pretty much the same as trying to write the “great American novel” both of which have been attempted many many times. But good luck to you. Just do not forget that even dreams have two sides. We do live in a world of polarities, after all.</p>
<p>I spent eight years living abroad in a country where at every cocktail party I was asked why I, a US citizen, was living there, how the questioner/his family/his friend could get to the US for school/work/to live. Every year I had to talk down one of happydad’s students/colleagues/friends who was thinking of going to the US on a tourist visa and overstaying, or was thinking of buying a false social security card to work in the US, or some other hare-brained scheme. I don’t know how many times I told people that their university grades and work experience would get them into grad school in the US with a scholarship from the home country, and that if they got a job in the US they would be able to pay back that scholarship. I don’t know how many times I told people that Canada and Australia were currently more immigrant friendly, and equally prosperous and safe as the US (if not more so). I don’t know how many times I told people who had European Community passports thanks to immigrant grandparents that they really ought to go to Europe where they would not face the language barrier of perfecting their English. I don’t know how many times I told people that the part of the US they were insisting was where they “just had to” go, was only a very small part of the US.</p>
<p>In eight years, only one person ever looked at my resident ID and asked “You’ve lived here so long, why aren’t you a citizen yet?” It was a traffic cop. The only answer I could come up with was “Neither this country, nor the US recognizes dual citizenship.” Had either country recognized it, I would have nationalized there in a snap. I really came to love that place and its people. I’ve been back in the US for almost ten years, and I still miss everyone there. You can love more than country, just as you can love more than one child.</p>
<p>It took us a full three years to become settled after moving back to the USA. That is with a US citizen who had never lived abroad until after grad school, a Permanent Resident who had lived in the US for seven years in grad school, perfect fluency in American English on both parts, and annual trips back to the US to visit family for extended holidays. We had a huge family and college alumni network to tap into on arrival. We had money in US banks, and US-based credit histories.</p>
<p>It is not easy to live here. Immigrants blinded by the legend of “streets paved with gold” have huge problems. I can go on for hours about the financial hardships faced by happydad’s various family members who did not have good advice when they got here, or who weren’t able to accept the good advice that they were given.</p>
<p>Are we living “the dream” probably not. We are managing however to mostly live our own dream.</p>
<p>Grande {sic.} Antilles, Both my DW and I are immigrants. FWIW, both of us are from countries that are peripheral to the
Grandes
Antilles. Are we living the American Dream? Well, as others have mentioned, it really depends on how you define the American Dream. It would be helpful if you would define the American Dream: Is it accumulation of wealth? Contentment? Hope for the future? Having a house, two cars, 2.3 children, and a cat?</p>
<p>My grandfather lived the American dream. He came over at 11 from Germany in 1906 I believe. They moved to a German neighborhood in Chicago. His father died a few years later, so my grandfather left school and went to work to support his family. Eventually he had his own business making false teeth and fillings for dentists. He married a middle class woman from the suburbs who was a DAR and a doctor’s child. He moved to those same suburbs and sent three kids to Harvard. He retired to Florida and had a cute little house right on the beach.</p>
<p>From the point of view of material wealth, we’re probably going downhill, but we’re happy and productive. Our kids still have a wealth of choices as far as their lives are concerned. We have a house, two cars, 2.0 children, but our bunny recently died.</p>
<p>well I found out bunnies don’t actually live that long. We had a bunny that we were taking care of for the summer when my oldest was in grade school & my youngest was 2. She was a sweet bunny, her name was Lady. Dwarf lop if i remember right. For years my younger daughter after that would sigh " I miss Lady"</p>
<p>Oh am I off topic?
I see immigrants pouring in, so this country must still have a lot to offer them.</p>
<p>You made me laugh emmerald :D, sorry for Lady. Well at least you take time to answer even if you are off topic. I don’t have any definition of the American dream. However, This is how I understood it before I read your post. I thought that it’s just the opportunity for anyone in the US, regardless of his financial ability, his legacy, his cultural heritage to succeed in some way. To me this success, is the opportunity to try to be who you want to be regardless of where you come from socially/ economically/ culturally/ and where you are going. I wouldn’t define the American dream because everyone has their own meaning of success, everyone has different dream. Whether someone is living the “American dream” or not will depend on how the person interpret the American Dream. I believe that this dream can your dream, or the American dream if you want to call it that way. But if you prefer to call it " American Dream", well it’s ok but before you dream of an American dream, you should have your own dream.</p>
<p>We’ve had two bunnies. Both were cast-offs so we don’t know how old they were when we got them, but we had each about six years. </p>
<p>No one in Germany asked me why I didn’t become German, but interestingly many were very surprised that our son wasn’t eligible for dual citizenship although he was born there. We knew plenty who wanted to visit the states, but no one who actually wanted to emmigrate.</p>
<p>Hey I am copying two answers to my thread that I posted in another cafe.</p>
<p>This one is by : pharmakeus01</p>
<p>For me, American dream is having a delicious steak after come to home every evening by my 30000 gallon/mile SUV after a big party from a ultra-easy great paying government job with great pension and having a blue eye blonde hottie geisha wife takes care of the 30 million mansion and three annoying rebellious stupid preppy American kids.
That is my dream, my worst nightmare rejoiced by millions.</p>
<p>This one is by :Ruca</p>
<p>Yeah i am. i take it completely for granted though./</p>
<p>I would say the American Dream is about opportunity. From what I understand, this was the original meaning of it, that if you worked very hard, for a long time, maybe even over several generations, then there were no barriers to what you could achieve. </p>
<p>I think people think it is a lie partly because there are barriers, because of race, gender, money, education, connections, etc, and sometimes those barriers seem insurmountably high and it is hard to find many people who have overcome them. But I also think people think it is a lie because the American Dream is not so much about future opportunity as immediate materialistic things now, as though just by virtue of being in America you get everything and you get it right now.</p>
<p>I came here when I was 6 and I remember how exciting the idea was. Because I knew what America was like, I had seen it on TV. It was big and bright and clean, and you could have a house with a garden and eat an icecream as big as your head every single day. But of course now I know that TV is not life, and we have been here for 12 years and we still haven’t got that house with a garden and ice cream costs money. The sun doesn’t always shine and the good guys don’t always win. </p>
<p>So in some respects, my American Dream has been something of a let down, but I think if I return to the original idea of the American Dream, the idea of opportunity, then I am well on my way to achieving it. I haven’t got rich, and I don’t know if I ever will, but I have worked hard and now I go to a fantastic school and I have a lot of hope for the future. I feel I have a lot of choices, and that is what is important to me.</p>
<p>I don’t know how common my experience is though, because we came here as refugees. In my country of birth my family had a very nice life compared to the normal standards there, but in the end all the nice things we had counted for nothing and we lost them all. So I think I tend to value more the things that can’t be taken from me over more material things.</p>
<p>America is the land of opportunity and freedom. Many of those immigrants that complain about the broken dream, don’t realize that they expect to have everything served in a silver tray; they didn’t work hard enough to accomplish they dreams; they expect the government to provide for them. Opportunity and freedom is there to everyone that has the strength and responsibility to establish goals and make them happen. We came not too long ago with a little bag and our dreams, and no one stopped us to make them a reality; now, we have everything we wanted and much more; it wasn’t easy, many tears went down, many setbacks, but we made it thanks to this wonderful country.</p>
<p>And you may find yourself living in a shotgun shack
And you may find yourself in another part of the world
And you may find yourself behind the wheel of a large automobile
And you may find yourself in a beautiful house, with a beautiful wife
And you may ask yourself-well…how did I get here?</p>
