Evolution of the American Dream

The American dream is an ideal that sought to offer equal opportunities to all Americans as well as safeguarding their rights and freedoms. When it was first introduced, it served as a national ethos for the country’s ideals such as democracy, equality and liberty. It further encouraged citizens to work hard and practice equality as fulfillment of the American dream would create various opportunities that would allow people to prosper and enjoy a great deal of success with little challenges. Over the years however, the American dream has evolved to accommodate changes in society as well as aspects that were not considered when the American dream was introduced.

In the early stages of introduction, the American dream sought to protect he rights and freedoms of all American citizens and create equal opportunities to enable growth and development for individuals and the community. Most of the policies enacted focused on Americans as a collective and the differences that people share were overlooked in an attempt to promote equality (Schiller 1). Although the main goal was to create equal opportunities for all citizens, the existence of vices such as racial bias and gender inequality created an environment where some individuals or groups benefited more than others. In order to maintain the ideals of the American dream, the focus shifted from American citizens in general and focused on specific areas such as racism and gender equality.

Although the American dream still seeks to promote equality and protect people’s rights and freedoms, it has evolved to accommodate the needs of specific groups and organizations.  Fulfillment of the American dream has evolved to include protection of rights for specific individuals such as African Americans and other minorities (Caldwell 13). Social media influencers use platforms such as instagram and twitter to advocate for equality and protection of minorities as a way to enhance the ideals of the American dream. Rather than advocating for freedom and opportunities, the American dream has evolved to include the right to free movement, freedom from discrimination and oppression on the basis of race and gender among other provisions.

The American dream further evolved to rectify areas that were overlooked when the original ideals for the dream were introduced. Fulfillment of the American dream required people to work hard as this would guarantee success especially because, according to the dream, there were little barriers curtailing their progress (Omara, 2008). Issues such racial and gender discrimination became barriers that made it difficult for women and minorities to achieve the American dream. Movements such as the black lives matter have come up to try and advocate for equal rights and freedoms. The American dream therefore evolved to include protection of women’s rights, equal opportunities in the workplace, protection from harassment by police officers and unequal distribution of resources to mention a few.

The American dream is no longer a general ideal where people exist in a society that offers equal opportunities and promises success for all who work hard with little challenges. The American dream has become a constantly changing ideal where the dream is fulfilled through different approaches such as offering equal opportunities to women and minorities, creating diverse communities and other tangible factors that will help make America better for all citizens in future. Today’s American dream is more inclusive than the general idea of the dream as it recognizes the various challenges that hinder success regardless of how hard people work. Although it still promises success and better opportunities for America citizens, it recognizes the need for hard work and commitment to overcoming the various challenges that exist in today’s society.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Work cited

Caldwell, Wilber. “Cynicism and the evolution of the American Dream” University of      Nebraska Press, 2011

Omara, Richard, “The evolution of the American Dream” The Christian Science Monitor,            2008

Schiller, Robert. “The transformation of the American Dream” The New York Times,        2017