The Myth of the American Deam
To many people the phrase American culture represents a set of positive values and beliefs that would be held by any benevolent citizen. In an ideal society this would indeed be the case, however the phrase actually represents a set of values and beliefs that are imposed, reinforced, and become dominant. These beliefs are often presented as being valid when they are actually based on the distortion and manipulation of the truth. Dominant American culture is imposed by various means such as our families, schools, government, and possibly most often by the mass media. Although it is important to realize that cultural values and beliefs are not necessarily positive, it must be noted that they are not necessarily negative either. To discover if a dominant cultural belief is in fact sound, one must examine it critically. To do this is to look at where the belief originated, why it has been reinforced, and who is benefiting from its continuance. In the readings by Rubin, and! Ore several dominant cultural values are investigated and an upsetting connection is found. On the foundation of actual experiences, the authors show how a number of dominant beliefs are presented as truth but
According to the coverage provided by the media, one would think that minority groups in urban areas made up the bulk of the impoverished population. Upon inspection however, its apparent that America is far from an Egalitarian society where all have equal access to power and natural resources. The idea of an enormous middle class sharing wealth and opportunity is not inherently corrupt. When the much larger segment of the population can begin to expose these detrimental beliefs, then we will be able to get back in touch with the values that will serve to promote the welfare of all people. The idea of equal opportunity and the American dream were undoubtedly originally intended to represent the highest of ideals. These are the men and women, by far the largest part of the American work force"(Rubin: 30). The poor may also affected by this misrepresentation by believing themselves tha!t they are part of a minority group that should only be concerned with becoming part of this immense and prestigious middle class. The reason that these false beliefs are so prevalent in our society is because they are distorted meticulously in order to seem virtuous. The truth is "working class families are the single largest group of families in the country. If in truth America represents a society that obviously restricts opportunity to a small number of people, why has the idea of the American dream been reinforced for so long? To answer this question, it is important to first identify where most of this reinforcement takes place. To free ourselves from cultural myths that encourage categories of difference, we must look beyond the surface of our cultural values and examine them critically. On the rare occasion that the poor are the focus of the media, they are portrayed as a small percentage of the population that is responsible for creating financial problems for the middle class. Although hegemonic values in this country often serve to promote inequality, most people don't hold those values for that reason. When identifying dominant cultural beliefs, perhaps the first one that comes to mind is the idea of the American dream. In this case, the media is largely responsible for supporting the myth of equal opportunity in America.
Common topics in this essay:
America Egalitarian,
United StatesOre,
Rubin Ore,
Sexuality Paper,
Dominant American,
equal opportunity,
american dream,
values beliefs,
middle class,
distribution wealth,
cultural values,
serve promote,
dominant cultural,
myth equal opportunity,
positive values beliefs,
america egalitarian society,
examine critically,
dominant beliefs,
society equal access,
serve promote welfare,
|
Acceptance Essays
