All Americans have an abstract idea of their American Dream. The American Dream is one where there is no poverty, all have jobs, houses, and peace (no war). This dream is affected by each individual person and their contribution to society. The impact that a person has on the world is often affected by their frame of mind. Someone, who is largely motivated to instigate change, will. Those who are not interested in bettering themselves, generally fall short of the American Dream. Barbara Ehrenreich’s article on “The Power of Negative Thinking” clearly outlines the consequences of positive and negative thinking. Ehrenreich argues that by placing emphasis on positive thinking we, as a society, are not being realistic. She claims that, in todays
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For instance, “Americans did not start out as deluded optimists (Ehrenreich, Barbara)”. They were under the impression that wealth was obtained “only through hard work and savings and even then (no promises were made) (Ehrenreich, Barbara)”. These two sentences together allow a clear picture of the argument. How would someone become wealthy by doing nothing? Good things do not come to people who are positive because they are positive. With a change in attitude and frame of mind, generally, comes a change in motivation. Those who are more positive about a situation are often willing to do more to get it done. In the past, people have become successful through their hard work and dedication. These people did not sit and wait for wealth and happiness to come to them. Ehrenreich uses more logic as well as rhetorical statements towards the middle of the article. She states that a common positive thinker believes that “you won’t get a job paying more than $15 an hour unless you’re a ‘positive person’(Ehrenreich, Barbara)”. This rhetorical statement serves to emphasize the absurdity of positive thinking. It is not positive thinking that allows a person to get paid more. It is the manner that a positive person holds themselves in comparison to a negative person. One who is pessimistic will not have good fortune only because they are not putting forth the effort that the optimistic person
For instance, “Americans did not start out as deluded optimists (Ehrenreich, Barbara)”. They were under the impression that wealth was obtained “only through hard work and savings and even then (no promises were made) (Ehrenreich, Barbara)”. These two sentences together allow a clear picture of the argument. How would someone become wealthy by doing nothing? Good things do not come to people who are positive because they are positive. With a change in attitude and frame of mind, generally, comes a change in motivation. Those who are more positive about a situation are often willing to do more to get it done. In the past, people have become successful through their hard work and dedication. These people did not sit and wait for wealth and happiness to come to them. Ehrenreich uses more logic as well as rhetorical statements towards the middle of the article. She states that a common positive thinker believes that “you won’t get a job paying more than $15 an hour unless you’re a ‘positive person’(Ehrenreich, Barbara)”. This rhetorical statement serves to emphasize the absurdity of positive thinking. It is not positive thinking that allows a person to get paid more. It is the manner that a positive person holds themselves in comparison to a negative person. One who is pessimistic will not have good fortune only because they are not putting forth the effort that the optimistic person