In a country where the right to pursue Happiness is written as a guarantee to all citizens, is it really something attainable for all citizens? The sad reality is that certain factors can prevent people from succeeding in society. The Declaration of Independence was the document that established the United States of America as it’s own free country. A country built on the values of freedom and unalienable rights. The Declaration states “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”. This paper focuses on ‘the pursuit of Happiness’ aspect of this statement. The pursuit of Happiness
…show more content…
For the many American citizens that don’t fit the cis-gendered, straight, white, male body; the pursuit of Happiness can be difficult and the American Dream even harder to fulfill. It is a journey filled with many obstacles, such as discrimination and oppression, to reach that state of ‘Happiness’. For many non-white Americans, hate crimes are a particularly common issue that puts the lives of many people of color at risk. According to the 2015 U.S. census, about 22.9% of Americans are non-white. With an estimated population of 321,418,820 that would mean that there is around 73,604,909 non-white Americans living in this country. According to the FBI in 2014 there were 3,081 single-bias hate crimes committed that were motivated by racism. Of the 3,081 crimes committed, 63.5% of them were against black individuals. There were 1,178 reported hate crimes that were motivated by hatred towards a certain sexual-orientation, and of those 1,178 crimes 58% of them were committed against gay men. 1,092 of the hate crimes reported in 2014 were …show more content…
Poverty is a large problem in America. According to the United States Census, in 2015 there were 43.1 million individuals living in poverty. This is a decrease of 3.5 million from the previous year. Nonetheless, 43.1 million is a large number. Poverty can be an extremely vicious cycle, and while some are able to escape it’s tight grip, others can not. A recent study by Ann Huff Stevens of UC Davis finds that the more time spent in poverty, significantly lowers the chances of that individual exiting poverty. With the chances of exiting at 56% after one year, and then dropping down to 13% for individuals who have lived in poverty for 7 or more years. Thus making it harder pursue Happiness, if one is stuck in this cycle. Living in poverty or in a low-income household subjects children to a variety of negative effects. According to the American Psychological association, living in poverty can have adverse effects on children. Impoverished and low-income children and teens are at a higher risks of things such as poor performance in school as well as even dropping out of school all together, an array of social, emotional, and behavioral problems; and even mental and physical developmental issues. This can certainly change a child’s life and make it that much harder for them to participate in the pursuit of Happiness in
For the many American citizens that don’t fit the cis-gendered, straight, white, male body; the pursuit of Happiness can be difficult and the American Dream even harder to fulfill. It is a journey filled with many obstacles, such as discrimination and oppression, to reach that state of ‘Happiness’. For many non-white Americans, hate crimes are a particularly common issue that puts the lives of many people of color at risk. According to the 2015 U.S. census, about 22.9% of Americans are non-white. With an estimated population of 321,418,820 that would mean that there is around 73,604,909 non-white Americans living in this country. According to the FBI in 2014 there were 3,081 single-bias hate crimes committed that were motivated by racism. Of the 3,081 crimes committed, 63.5% of them were against black individuals. There were 1,178 reported hate crimes that were motivated by hatred towards a certain sexual-orientation, and of those 1,178 crimes 58% of them were committed against gay men. 1,092 of the hate crimes reported in 2014 were …show more content…
Poverty is a large problem in America. According to the United States Census, in 2015 there were 43.1 million individuals living in poverty. This is a decrease of 3.5 million from the previous year. Nonetheless, 43.1 million is a large number. Poverty can be an extremely vicious cycle, and while some are able to escape it’s tight grip, others can not. A recent study by Ann Huff Stevens of UC Davis finds that the more time spent in poverty, significantly lowers the chances of that individual exiting poverty. With the chances of exiting at 56% after one year, and then dropping down to 13% for individuals who have lived in poverty for 7 or more years. Thus making it harder pursue Happiness, if one is stuck in this cycle. Living in poverty or in a low-income household subjects children to a variety of negative effects. According to the American Psychological association, living in poverty can have adverse effects on children. Impoverished and low-income children and teens are at a higher risks of things such as poor performance in school as well as even dropping out of school all together, an array of social, emotional, and behavioral problems; and even mental and physical developmental issues. This can certainly change a child’s life and make it that much harder for them to participate in the pursuit of Happiness in