The American Dream is the ideology that every citizen has an equal opportunity to achieve success. It can be described by James Truslow Adams, who coined the term, in his book ‘ The Epic of America’ by "that dream of a land in which life should be better and richer and fuller for everyone, with opportunity for each according to ability or achievement." (p404). Important because it originally gave the Americans a hope for the future, especially during the Great Depression (1929-1941). Throughout history the American Dream has changed its goals, voting rights, owning a car, having the typical 2 child family, and so on.. The American Dream is a harmful reality because of false promises, discrimination, and romanticization of war. The American
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This means fighting for your freedom, going into battle and witnessing those next to you die. In america, going into war is seen as a heroic and brave action, with patriotic music, crisp uniforms, and people cheering.Shows such as BAnd of brothers and games such as Call of Duty help to spread the idea that war is good and should be encouraged and fought in, During World War 1 romanticization of war was at a high. One example of this is Alan Seeger's poem “I have a Rendezvous With Death”. Seeger, originally from new york, offered to fight on the French side of the war. In his poem he recalls says “ God knows ‘twere better to be deep / Pillowed in silk and scented down,/ Where love throbs out in blissful sleep,/Pulse nigh to pulse, and breath to breath,/Where hushed awakenings are dear”. In other words, seeger is saying that god isn't punishing him, yet god is going to let him die in a more peaceful way. Instead of saying how, he may die because of the violence of war, he paints the picture that god is going to save him from suffering a painful death and help him die peacefully. It makes it seem that if you fight for your country and believe in god, you will not be hurt. However, this is the opposite of the truth at the end of WW1 204,002 soldiers were wounded having their quality of life severely decreased. Romanticizing war is not beneficial, it causes those who want to be honored with bravery to risk their lives. It relates back to the american dream because feeling pressured to go to war to earn respect will cause the chances of being prosperous goes down. One cannot obtain the american dream when trying to be an american and fight for the
This means fighting for your freedom, going into battle and witnessing those next to you die. In america, going into war is seen as a heroic and brave action, with patriotic music, crisp uniforms, and people cheering.Shows such as BAnd of brothers and games such as Call of Duty help to spread the idea that war is good and should be encouraged and fought in, During World War 1 romanticization of war was at a high. One example of this is Alan Seeger's poem “I have a Rendezvous With Death”. Seeger, originally from new york, offered to fight on the French side of the war. In his poem he recalls says “ God knows ‘twere better to be deep / Pillowed in silk and scented down,/ Where love throbs out in blissful sleep,/Pulse nigh to pulse, and breath to breath,/Where hushed awakenings are dear”. In other words, seeger is saying that god isn't punishing him, yet god is going to let him die in a more peaceful way. Instead of saying how, he may die because of the violence of war, he paints the picture that god is going to save him from suffering a painful death and help him die peacefully. It makes it seem that if you fight for your country and believe in god, you will not be hurt. However, this is the opposite of the truth at the end of WW1 204,002 soldiers were wounded having their quality of life severely decreased. Romanticizing war is not beneficial, it causes those who want to be honored with bravery to risk their lives. It relates back to the american dream because feeling pressured to go to war to earn respect will cause the chances of being prosperous goes down. One cannot obtain the american dream when trying to be an american and fight for the