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Joe Fercho Professor Janene Thomas English 102 11 February 2013 The American Dream What do you think is the American Dream? The American Dream is often defined as upward mobility, or the possibility to pick yourself up by your bootstraps and create a rags to riches story for yourself, but to everyone its a little different. To one person the American Dream might be a big house or a fast car. To another, simply four walls and a roof. To me, it is the ability to get a steady job, a comfortable home, and a little extra time and money for fun. For 200 years our forefathers and ancestors have done just this. While today that dream seems to be in the rearview mirror for the average American due to innumerable obstacles, both personal and societal, I argue that the American Dream is still obtainable for the poorest members of our society. As a disclaimer, I feel that I need to make it clear that throughout this essay I will be equating income and success. Although wage is not a true measure of happiness or success, there is a strong correlation. No matter how high a persons potential is, they cannot succeed if they allow their personal faults to create barriers to success. The most common obstacle that people have trouble overcoming is simple laziness. I can personally attest to this. Last term I took a history class at CWI. I would show up most of the time but occasionally I would skip a class period because I didnt feel like going. The night before I had been up late hanging out with some friends, so I decided to skip class that day. Little did I know that was the day my professor went over an upcoming test. He told the class that we could bring a study guide to the test to help. Since I

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wasnt there to hear that, I spent the night before the test studying. Since I stayed up late studying, I didnt do too well on the test when I could have just used some old notes and gotten plenty of sleep. This one instance of laziness almost made me fail the class; which would have been a waste of an opportunity to assist with my dream. Another hindrance to the poor is the use of drugs. For example, proof of drug use while using federal aid for higher education will automatically have that aid revoked either temporarily or permanently (Students). Another more colloquial example is the fact that many companies will not hire applicants who test positive for drugs, eliminating the possibility for higher paying jobs. No matter how the American Dream is defined, ignorance and philistinism are the greatest obstacles to anyone hoping to achieve the American Dream. Simply put, nobody can succeed without some form of education whether it is formal or informal education. It is common knowledge that the more educated a person is, the higher their wage is. It doesnt have to be formal education though. Many very successful businessmen and women have succeeded without a truly formal education. Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, and Mark Zuckerberg all dropped out of school before graduating but they all had their informal education proven in their workshops or hobby spaces. Not all obstacles to achievement of the American Dream are personal problems and character flaws though. Some of the largest obstacles to acquirement of the American Dream are put in place by our culture and society. To continue a previous point, in some areas and subcultures of American culture, education is explicitly looked down upon. None is more evident than the anti-intellectualism in some rural areas of our nation. Hofstadter discusses this in his book Anti-intellectualism in American Life. He discusses how rural folks are embattled against the encroachments of modern life, made its most determined stand against

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cosmopolitanism, Romanism and the skepticism of the experimentalism of the intelligentsia. The most notable example of rural anti-intellectualism is the Scopes Monkey Trial. In a small town in the state of Tennessee, John Scopes was charged and taken to trial for teaching his high school students the theory of evolution, a widely known and accepted scientific theory. Another major obstacle to obtainment of the American Dream is the way our economy and financial systems work. Frankly, its expensive to be poor. To prove this I would like to provide an example. If you dont have a bank, like 17 million of the poorest Americans (Ellis), then you have to go to a check cashing firm to cash your paychecks. These firms take approximately two percent of every check cashed. If you make and cash $22,000 a year, it costs between $800 and $900 a year in check-cashing fees. That figure tops $1,000 annually if you include the fees the people without banks pay for money orders and the bill-paying services that they must purchase (Rivlin). Compare that cost to practically zero cost for those with enough money for a bank/debit/credit card. Although there are many obstacles to accomplishment of the American Dream, it is still possible for the poorest members of our society. One vital aspect to achievement of the American Dream is hard work. Looking back to my previous example of my work ethic in my history class; I could not have passed that class if not for my hard work. After I botched the test, my grade dropped to a failing mark. Recognizing this, I put more effort into my studies for the final exam. This included not seeing my friends and going to sleep much earlier than I had before the previous test. I have covered another aspect of success rather heavily and that is education. Without an education, whether it is formal or informal, you cannot achieve the American Dream. It is as

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simple as that. There is a strong correlation between education levels and unemployment rates. There is approximately a 10x higher unemployment rate for high school graduates and dropouts than there is for doctorate degree holding persons (Working Poor). The most important aspect for any amount of success is sheer passion for whatever it is that someones dream is. To truly to be successful one must discover the passion inside them. Passion cannot be taught, cannot be measured, and cannot be given. This aspect of success has to be created on ones own with ones own ideas and beliefs. My passion is just creation and improvement. I want to provide my share of help to build this world up to be more sophisticated and monumental than anyone has ever believed possible. This is the American Dream to me; forward progress and the constant improvement of ones self and ones surroundings. The American Dream is a little different for every person but there is one central tenet of every Americans Dream; life will always improve given enough work. This idea is absolutely true. Sure there are some obstacles, both internal and external, but they can be overcome. With a bit of hard work and a lot of passion anybody can achieve their dream. As I embark on my own dream I pose you this question, what is your American Dream?

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Works Cited Ellis, David. "17 Million Americans Have No Bank Account." CNNMoney. Cable News Network, 02 Dec. 2009. Web. 06 Feb. 2013. <http://money.cnn.com/2009/12/02/news/economy/fdic_survey/index.htm>.

Hofstadter, Richard. Anti-intellectualism in American Life. New York, NY: Vintage, 1991. Print.

Rivlin, Gary. "America's Poverty Tax." The Daily Beast. Newsweek/Daily Beast, 08 Sept. 2011. Web. 06 Feb. 2013. <http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2011/09/08/america-spoverty-tax-how-the-working-poor-get-stiffed.html>.

Students Convicted of Possession or Sale of Drugs. Bellamarine University, n.d. Web. 6 Feb. 2013.<http://www.bellarmine.edu/Libraries/consumer_docs/Students_Convicted_of_Poss ession_or_Sale_of_Drugs.sflb.ashx>.

"Working Poor and Education in 2004 : The Editors Desk : U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics." U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 21 June 2006. Web. 06 Feb. 2013. <http://www.bls.gov/opub/ted/2006/jun/wk3/art03.htm>.