Economic faltering, civil unrest and protests, threat of terror activity, and other elements seem to make that dream further from reach. In their work “Long Live the American Dream”, Shikha Dalmia states “Americans, hit first by outsourcing and then a recession, are becoming deeply pessimistic about their country’s ability to maintain its economic leadership in a globalized world.” (Dalmia 83). As a nation we are conditioned to equate financial and material abundance as success, so it is no wonder we feel the American dream slipping away during a financial crisis in the country. Dalmia also points out the importance of the country’s overall view of itself it times of crisis: “a sort of cloud habitually covered their features… they were consistently tormented by the vague fear of not having chosen the shortest route that can lead to… their well-being”…