No other nation on the face of the earth uses the words "Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness" as the basis for their foundation in government. America does, however, and tons of Constitutional laws have been written and re-written and debated and considered, because many years ago, the Founders decided to base everything on the absolute necessity of those three concepts. America is, and has always been, a nation of immigrants, because the promise of these simple standards has attracted millions of people from all over the world.

These words, "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness," is the basis of the American Dream. A concept that is so simple, yet so huge, remains nearly impossible to define. How does anyone summarize the concept of "the pursuit of happiness" when we live in such a diverse nation? The answer to this question depends on the interpretation of the word that comes before it, "liberty." Above all, and most importantly, is "life." Americans have the right to be alive and free. We have the right to pursue fulfillment in whatever way suits us, as long as that pursuit does not interfere with the life, fre

False assumptions made by certain people are, what I feel to be, one of the leading causes to the acceptance of segregation and inequality. For example, if you are older and/ or you have a family and live in a rented apartment, some people may view you as being a loser. If you live in the country or out in the woods, you may be viewed as being a hick. Those who live in urban areas are, often times, referred to as a “ghetto dweller.” And, if you even mention the fact that you live in a manufactured home, it is likely that you will be labeled as “trailer trash.” The list could go on forever. So, for the most part, the only people who really seem to count at all are the middle-class, European descended suburbanites. Everyone else is in a pack of their own, or even worse, invisible. It is absolutely ridiculous, in my opinion. There should be no labels for people living in certain areas, and regardless of where you live, there should be fair treatment amongst us all.

It is difficult to determine the difference between the media world and the real world. The difference is surprising, especially when you go somewhere that makes some lousy attempt to imitate something that you could, just as easily, scrape out of the tube. Malls today, for example, have been carefully designed in order to disorient the shopper and temporarily "trap" them within their walls. This is true of grocery stores, too. Companies buy shelf space and carefully place items where they know that certain people will look. A perfect example of this is when parents get suckled into buying the heavily sugared cereal because they are placed at the eye level of their children.

I would have to say that it is almost impossible to live a week in the United States and not hear anything about the American Dream. It is as much a part of our cultural lives as is baseball, apple pie, rock and roll music, politics, etc. Although, there are not many people who really closely examine it discover its true meaning. Is it a dream, or a vision? Or is it some heartlessly advertised ideal penetrated upon us by the media that has been brilliantly disguised as our own dreams?

This idealistic dream has always had a substantial material base. Concepts such as equality, freedom, and individual dignity were significant in themselves, but they took on deliberate meaning for most people in certain, often materialistic, ways. If every average American was promised to live a life in which he or she could strive for success, then a substantial improvement in his or her economic condition is what may end up being the best way to measure success. Immigrants come to America for many reasons, but the most important reason to most them was the hope to move from rags to riches. And, if they do not necessarily make it from rags to riches, then they would have hopes of moving from rags to respectability, at least.

What is happening to the American Dream? Why is it that people continue to call upon it and attempt to pursue it? The middle class is vanishing, leaving only the richest people to own homes.

Of course, we have never achieved, nor will we ever achieve the exaggerated goals set by the Founders. Just as John has shown me, you can go your entire life without knowing what it is that you want to pursue, but it is still possible to be extremely successful. In the case of “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness,” liberty is still denied to many, and the pursuit of happiness is impossible for citizens treated unequally; therefore, these “goals” seem to be somewhat outlandish nowadays. Although, at its lowest point, the American Dream seems t

Some topics in this essay:
American Dream, Alfanzo Jamison, Pursuit Happiness, James Dean, TV Creating, Founders John, Immigrants America, American Dreams, Somolian Dream…it, american dream, pursuit happiness, liberty pursuit, liberty pursuit happiness, words life liberty, throughout life, rags riches, happiness basis, people continue, dream own, pursuit happiness basis, nation nation, life liberty pursuit, life feel,