How Successful Is The American Dream?

A friend once told me that he was “living the Dream”. But what exactly is “the Dream”? Now the Dream to my friend may have been waking up late down at the beach, partying all night with girls, living without a care in the world, but nevertheless it was still “living the dream” to him. We all having different perceptions of what “the Dream” really is. Of course my friends dream would differ greatly from, let’s say, my fathers dream, or Tiger Woods dream for instance. That’s the beauty of living in our country; we all get to live the “American Dream”. It is nearly impossible to define the American Dream because we all have our own personal goals, and we all follow different sets of values. One may argue that you must be successful to achieve the American
Success can be measured in so many ways so it is so fitting that success ties into the American Dream. Hochschild uses a quote from Bill Clinton in her essay “The American Dream that we were all raised on is a simple but powerful one—if you work hard and play by the rules you should be given a chance to go as far as your God-given ability will take you” (Hochschild pg 5). Clinton may have done some shady things while in office, but he really hit the nail on the head with this one. I like the use of the words “God-given ability” because in reality, most people tend to follow a path in life that lets them use their natural talents and abilities, such as musical geniuses pursuing a career in music, or someone that is good with numbers pursuing a career in finance or mathematics. Success to a musician may not come in the form of money or some kind of monetary gain, but in knowing that something that they have created has affected peoples lives. I have a deep respect for musicians and music, which is why I am choosing my favorite band to demonstrate the