The American Dream
Jake Armstrong
12/2/12
Browne
A Dream for You and a Dream for Me In the world today, minimum wage rules millions of people’s lives and is most time the only source of income for many families. So how can someone achieve the American dream; 2 kids, a big 2 story house, and 2 cars? It is not a simple thing to achieve, but the thing people ignore is that it is always possible to attain. The American dream is not gone and can be achieved by anyone and is different for each person. People are in charge of their own destiny so all the speculations in Karen Olsson’s article about Wal-Mart treating its employees unfairly should not be causing the controversies that it is. No one can be swimming in money with two kids while working at Wal-Mart. “Raised by a mother who works in a factory, Jackson always assumed he would find a job after high school rather than go onto college” (Olsson 615). Life plans like these are why some people don’t achieve the American dream. It was that person’s choice to not pursue a further education to set themselves up for a higher paying job. Some people are the lucky ones who can get a job and work their way up in a prestigious company from the lowest position, but in that situation it’s mostly who you know. There are some people who are successful without college but not many successful people working at Wal-Mart for minimum wage trying to feed multiple kids. So, Olsson’s article about Wal-Mart and employees fighting for unions is not helping anything because if that person wanted to provide for their kids they would have gotten the proper job. Another aspect of the American dream is physical appearance. The aspects of one’s body cannot be selected by someone (well really with today’s plastic surgery anything is possible) but the shape of ones body can be. Fast food runs the food industry and is a major contributor to obesity in America today. But, it is not a necessity for people to eat, and is often chosen because of its low price
12/2/12
Browne
A Dream for You and a Dream for Me In the world today, minimum wage rules millions of people’s lives and is most time the only source of income for many families. So how can someone achieve the American dream; 2 kids, a big 2 story house, and 2 cars? It is not a simple thing to achieve, but the thing people ignore is that it is always possible to attain. The American dream is not gone and can be achieved by anyone and is different for each person. People are in charge of their own destiny so all the speculations in Karen Olsson’s article about Wal-Mart treating its employees unfairly should not be causing the controversies that it is. No one can be swimming in money with two kids while working at Wal-Mart. “Raised by a mother who works in a factory, Jackson always assumed he would find a job after high school rather than go onto college” (Olsson 615). Life plans like these are why some people don’t achieve the American dream. It was that person’s choice to not pursue a further education to set themselves up for a higher paying job. Some people are the lucky ones who can get a job and work their way up in a prestigious company from the lowest position, but in that situation it’s mostly who you know. There are some people who are successful without college but not many successful people working at Wal-Mart for minimum wage trying to feed multiple kids. So, Olsson’s article about Wal-Mart and employees fighting for unions is not helping anything because if that person wanted to provide for their kids they would have gotten the proper job. Another aspect of the American dream is physical appearance. The aspects of one’s body cannot be selected by someone (well really with today’s plastic surgery anything is possible) but the shape of ones body can be. Fast food runs the food industry and is a major contributor to obesity in America today. But, it is not a necessity for people to eat, and is often chosen because of its low price
Cited: Murray, Charles. “Are Too Many People Going to College” They Say/I say with readings. Ed. Gerald Graff, Cathy Birkenstein, and Russell Durst. 2nd ed. New York: Norton 2012. 222-242. Print. Olsson, Karen. “Up Agaisnt Wal-Mart” They Say/I say with readings. Ed. Gerald Graff, Cathy Birkenstein, and Russell Durst. 2nd ed. New York: Norton 2012. 606-619. Print. Pollan, Michael. “Escape from the Western Diet” They Say/I say with readings. Ed. Gerald Graff, Cathy Birkenstein, and Russell Durst. 2nd ed. New York: Norton 2012. 434-441. Print. ----------------------- Armstrong 2 Armstrong 3 Armstrong 4 Armstrong 5