The Destruction Of The American Dream

The American Dream has always been an aspect of life in America, but it could be dying. There are three aspects to the American Dream. First is the idea that America is “the new eden”. Second aspect is that “progress is a good thing”. Last aspect is that “everything is possible”. Not all of these are completely true however, and the American Dream is not going to last much longer. Progress is not a good thing, more specifically progress in technology. It, in a way, limits the American Dream itself. There are ways that progress is good, but a vast majority of the time this is not true.

A part of the American Dream that goes hand in hand with progress that is considered good is the idea of ever expanding opportunities. Walt Whitman
This is supported with the statement, “Unfortunately, there are some technologies that are inherently harmful. Machine guns made modern warfare more deadly, starting with WW1. Later, conventional bombers made carrying high explosives, incendiary bombs, and finally, the first, primitive, atomic bombs, caused the deaths of more civilians than soldiers” (Unger 1). These examples of advancement in technology are thought of as dangerous and can be considered negative, but they are often overlooked when considering whether progress in technology is good or not. The fact that considering these technologies could easily sway someone’s thoughts on whether progress is good or bad makes it very important to not overlook them. It is suggested that “…there are other applications of technology that are intended for benign use, but which have well known major harmful side effects”, one of these being the “automobile” with statistics brought up in support such as “…autos kill about 1.2 million people annually” and “are the leading cause of deaths of people between the ages 10 and 24” (Unger 2). Many people consider cars to be great advancements in technology and do not consider how dangerous they actually are as shown by statistics. Still
Technological progress has benefits such as “The benefits of automation, application of technology to perform tasks normally carried out by humans… It can reduce or eliminate tedious or dangerous work” (Unger 2). This is describing ways technology is advancing for the better. Robotics are being further programmed to complete more and more complex tasks. This has the potential to make it so that work related injury and death is completely gotten rid of in the world. Technologies being developed to be used in the workforce have the ability to, and actually are to the point where it “…Significantly lowers labor cost…” and can “…lead to most people enjoying increased income and more leisure time” (Unger 2). This is showing how advantageous the progresses in technology can be. As these technologies progress further, there will be no need for any physical work to be done by people as all the work will be automated. This is a great advantage considering how it will make everyone’s lives better and more enjoyable, and that is the American Dream, for life to keep getting better and better, continuing progress to be good, and endless opportunity with everything being