Amber Hopelyn
Mrs. Smith
EN 110
25 April 2012 The American Dream The American dream is a dream. A star that shines bright in everyone’s mind, a star because it is unreachable and unattainable for most. We wish, we want all the luxurious things in life. The American people are always looking for something better. We neglect to think that there are people out there that can’t achieve the American dream. People who are set on living somewhere you can’t get shot at every time you walk outside. These people just want a home and a suitable life for their children. We withhold the sinister thought not everyone wants the ultimate goal of a huge house and nice car. We call these people immigrants. Some just want the utter breath of freedom. Looking at the American dream as just wealth is possibly the worst way of looking at it. To some it isn’t just about getting filthy rich, although it would be nice. Most people live in reality of their situation and realize if they give their family a stable life and a education that they have achieved the greatest American dream put forth. We never look at the way outsiders see the American dream. We kind of just assume that its their fault they can’t have what we have. When really it’s our stereotypically ways that put these people where they are now. We have a rich family history derived from years of hard work. Their family could have possibly never made it to see their grandchild or even their own children because of the lack of the amenities that we have in America. Immigrants and the American dream seems impossible to most but these people have spun gold from straw. Immigrants face many hardships when trying to pursue the American dream. The patriot act, 9/11 and Americans stereotypes are causing many to simple look down on immigrants. September 11 2001 changed everyone’s view of any and every Immigrant/Muslim. The twin towels fell and almost every Muslim was looked at as our enemy. When at one point that Muslim was our friend. The patriot act was formed because of that horrible day. Now every Muslim that comes to America is “watched.” We think that just because these people were not born in American that they are automatically terrorist waiting to take down another building. We are seriously paranoid, people want a security blanket but that blanket is suffocating peoples mind with endless banter that each foreign person is a “terrorist.” Not every foreigner is a Muslim either. It truly is stereotyping to the finest. We watch all these shows on drugs and druggies. That’s where our assumptions come into play. Now when we go out, every cashier, waitress or anyone who resembled those people on that TV show, are now druggies and dealers. We stereotype immigrants so much that it makes the American dream a very distant and unreachable star for them.
Imagine like where you’re judged constantly. Your skin color or your accent determines where you go with your life. We stereotype these people into oblivion. They look for housing and because of what you seen on TV that means they’ll probably start a drug ring in that house. Along with stereotyping come assumptions. We then assume every immigrant just wants drug or a way out of something they created. Education is by far the most important thing in life. That’s all they want a shot at achieving something great. A college degree so they can have it all. In some cases we hear a story of a person coming from rages and rising into riches. Immigrants who come to America in search of something better in life and end up making a name for them. Stories like these show that you don’t have to come from a widely wealthy background. Andrew Carnegie is as much as an immigrant as the rest of us. His family is from Scotland and they came to America in search of new opportunities. He was from a poor family just barely surviving on what his father made. “No man will make a great leader who wants to do it all himself or get all the credit for doing it.