Download - Two Sides of the American Dream
Antonio Olivo and Oscar Avila
Chicago Tribune; November 26,2006
Two Sides of the American Dream
WHAT IS “THE AMERICAN DREAM” TO YOU?
First, let me ask:
What is the American Dream to you?
The American Dream• "life should be better and richer and fuller for
everyone, with opportunity for each according to ability or achievement" regardless of social class or circumstances of birth (James Truslow Adams, 1931)
• Sometimes the Dream is identified with success in sports or how working class immigrants seek to join the American way of life
• Has a different meaning to every U.S. citizen
Two Sides of the American Dream• Two Mexican immigrants, Carlos Nieto and Fidel
Cortez• Started out in the same place, but careers and
lives took different paths
Two Sides of the American Dream
Fidel Cortez• Butcher • 30 years later, still has
not left the kitchen• $30,000 salary• Speaks broken English• Sent 4 children to
college• Owns 2nd house in
Mexico
Carlos Nieto• Busboy • Learned by watching
French chefs• Opened Carlos’• Owns an award
winning horse• Owns a luxurious,
picture-perfect log cabin
WHO DO YOU THINK IS LIVING THE AMERICAN DREAM?
So . . .
Are you fulfilling your dream with your children in mind? Or more self-oriented?
Do you think your parents are living their American Dream?
Did they start off their lives with you in mind?
DOES “THE AMERICAN DREAM” MEAN ANYTHING DIFFERENT TO YOU?
Now . . .
Los Angeles Times
“The American Dream: Is it slipping away?
September 27, 2010: ABC News/Yahoo News poll50% : believe the American dream
still holds true43% : believe the American dream
had once been true4% : thought there was never such
a dream(Gregory Rodriquez, 2010)
'If you work hard you'll get ahead'
Respondents with high incomes tended to still believe in the dream more than those with lower incomes
College educated were bigger believers than the less educated
Independent voters believe less than either Democrats or Republicans
Nonwhites are more likely to believe in the dream than are whites
(Gregory Rodriquez, 2010)
Trends in Responses
The idea that a family’s material well-being will only get better over time is simply not sustainable
U.S. is not nearly as economically mobileDecrease in the ability of people to
move up the ladder within a lifetime or from one generation to the next
Decrease in the level of income inequalityDiminishes the size of the middle class
(Gregory Rodriquez, 2010)
Reasons in Decline
As college educated students, what reasons would you provide for supporting the American dream?
Why do you think non-whites believe in the American dream over whites?
Where have you seen an increase in difficulty to move up the economic ladder?
Without competition in the workplace, would there be an incentive to strive? Why or why not?
Aside from economic mobility, what reasons could you provide for the decline in the American Dream?
(Gregory Rodriguez, 2010)
Discussion Questions
Gregory Rodriquez, G. R. (2010, September 27). The american dream: Is it slipping away?. Los Angeles
Times. Retrieved from http://articles.latimes.com/2010/sep/27/opinion/la-oe-rodriguez-dream-20100927
Avila, Oscar & Antonio Olivo (2006 November, 26). Two Sides of the American Dream. Chicago Tribune. Retrieved from http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-0611260388nov26,0,4970334.story
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