In this digital collage I included things that represented the American Dream to me. I used the classic 50's "white picket fence family" and the photo of Homer Simpson to draw contrast to how we see a generic American family now, compared to how we did then. I had the label of "Job Opportunity" go across the photos representing college and career, and right in center to show that it is the controlling theme. I felt that Rosie the Riveter showed a classic and older representation of an equal opportunity job in America. The purest definition of the American Dream cliche we all know was written in 1931 and it's values still hold true today, it states “that 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...but a dream of social order in which (person) shall be able to attain to the fullest stature of which they are innately capable, and be recognized by others for what they are, regardless of the fortuitous circumstances of birth or position” this core concept is what gives life to everyone’s personal ideals of the american dream, and connects them all. Now a study done in 2000 by Public Agenda states that most Americans see higher education as the way to achieve the American Dream, a necessity to succeed. My dream as an American is for myself and anyone else to be able to climb whatever ladder they want to by hard work and perseverance, this can include college, but it could just as easily not. It's about personal choice and where you want to go in life. We live in a place that was known to be the land of opportunity for everyone, and I still think that is true, even for those not planning for a 4 year college. Over time I think people have gotten a lot more specific about what the American Dream is, one of those very specific things being college, and our parents perception of it definitely has an effect on where we end up going in our life. For most of my classmates they are going to a four year college after graduation, because it is the commonly expected thing to do, and we have lost touch with the value of jobs that require other kinds of training. Yes, too many people can go to college, and we are facing that problem now. Another effect of the specificity of our newer widely accepted american dream is that people placed more value on material things, instead of dreaming to be happy and healthy, people dreamed of having a big house and a nice car.
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AuthorCaity Cattolica Tittle Archives
January 2019
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