The True Meaning of the American Dream Essay Example for Free

The True Meaning of the American Dream Essay The American Dream has been all about a greater national vision, however as time has progressed, the American Dream has shifted from a greater national vision to individual material success. These cultural aspects of the American Dream complement each other and have an underlying relationship. One often â€Å"†¦winces a bit†¦Ã¢â‚¬  at the phrase the American Dream â€Å"†¦ because it has become such a clichà ©.† (Source 7) Everyone does not know the true meaning of the American Dream because one interprets it in their own way. But the true meaning of the American Dream is that it is the dream of opportunity. The American Dream accentuates a greater national vision because it is the opportunity for something that will not only benefit you, but it will also benefit others. â€Å"It is not a dream of motor cars and high wages merely†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Source 1). A greater national vision gives the American Dream a deeper meaning. For example according to Martin C. Jischke (Source 1)’ James Truslow Adams view of the American Dream is that it is a â€Å"dream of a land in which life should be better and richer and fuller for everyone, with opportunity for each according to ability or achievement.† The American Dream is more than a dream and with â€Å"†¦talent and hard work† (Source 3) one is bound to find opportunity anywhere in the world. For once the American Dream â€Å"had meant something nobler† (Source 7), but over time it has become the want for individual material success. When one comes from a background of having nothing, he/she begins to become eager for success and wants to get something for themselves. This eagerness causes them to work hard and eventually they would be able to â€Å"†¦improve their lot in life†¦Ã¢â‚¬  according to W. Michael Cox and Richard Alm in By Our Own Bootstraps. There has been thousands of people who did not have much, but they soon became very well known around the world. For instance â€Å"Bill Gates in computer software†¦Oprah Winfrey in entertainment†¦Michael Jordan in sports†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Source 3) All of these people had the â€Å"opportunity† to become who they are today and they took that chance, but only to become successful. These cultural aspects of the American Dream complement each other because every person achieves their meaning of the American Dream by first experiencing individual material success, and then seeing that it’s a deeper meaning, which is the greater national vision. Martin C. Jishke would be the perfect example of how the cultural aspects complement each other because after he had completed college, which no one had ever done in his family, his meaning of what the American Dream is became a greater national vision. He had seen that it was more to the American Dream than just achieving your goal to only benefit yourself. The underlying relationship between these two cultural aspects of the American Dream is that in order to know the greater national vision of it, you have to achieve individual material success. Due to how the American Dream is interpreted many people believe that it does not exist anymore. But those people are greatly mistaken because it still exists the meaning has just changed over time. One would agree that as the years continue to pass by the definition of the American Dream will change, but there will always be an underlying relationship between the old meaning and the new meaning. Nothing ever stays the same.