The American Fantasy
Greavu 1
John Greavu
WRIT 1301
Mr. Anderson
18 OCT 2011
Reading Response # 4: The American Fantasy
The American Dream is still widely advertised, but can no longer live up to its hype. Too many people find out the hard way that The Dream does not exist like it once used to. From the readings in The Changing World of Work, my doubts are steadily confirming that the United States of America is splitting into two perceptions. The large majority of us (thanks to the increasingly overwhelming media culture) see the U.S. as a global superpower, one of the best (if not the best) countries in the world, and a role model for other countries to idolize upon. Sadly, this could not be further from the truth. Images of the poor and subsidies and/or help for those in need are replaced by the newest episode of Jersey Shore and tax cuts for the rich. The false prophecy of The American Dream is fading into only an illusion that no politician or millionaire would care to unveil. The American Dream now days is represented by a small portion of our population that have a non-proportional amount of power within our country. According to the reading, it’s estimated that around two-thirds of the United States Senate is composed up of millionaires. Now, this seems very odd since the percentage of the entire population in the U.S. that are millionaires is just under 3.5% (according to the U.S. Census Bureau and the Economist Intelligence Unit). How is this representative, yet alone ethical? Figures like these make some political moves seem understandable sadly. For example, “In 2001, President George W. Bush actually proposed cutting $200 million from the Child Care and Development Block Grant to help pay for his massive tax cut for
Greavu 2 the rich.” (page 75). The ridiculousness and immorality of this lead me to form the belief that this proposal alone is grounds for impeachment. Our government today is made up of the very wealthy who cannot possibly represent those who are in
John Greavu
WRIT 1301
Mr. Anderson
18 OCT 2011
Reading Response # 4: The American Fantasy
The American Dream is still widely advertised, but can no longer live up to its hype. Too many people find out the hard way that The Dream does not exist like it once used to. From the readings in The Changing World of Work, my doubts are steadily confirming that the United States of America is splitting into two perceptions. The large majority of us (thanks to the increasingly overwhelming media culture) see the U.S. as a global superpower, one of the best (if not the best) countries in the world, and a role model for other countries to idolize upon. Sadly, this could not be further from the truth. Images of the poor and subsidies and/or help for those in need are replaced by the newest episode of Jersey Shore and tax cuts for the rich. The false prophecy of The American Dream is fading into only an illusion that no politician or millionaire would care to unveil. The American Dream now days is represented by a small portion of our population that have a non-proportional amount of power within our country. According to the reading, it’s estimated that around two-thirds of the United States Senate is composed up of millionaires. Now, this seems very odd since the percentage of the entire population in the U.S. that are millionaires is just under 3.5% (according to the U.S. Census Bureau and the Economist Intelligence Unit). How is this representative, yet alone ethical? Figures like these make some political moves seem understandable sadly. For example, “In 2001, President George W. Bush actually proposed cutting $200 million from the Child Care and Development Block Grant to help pay for his massive tax cut for
Greavu 2 the rich.” (page 75). The ridiculousness and immorality of this lead me to form the belief that this proposal alone is grounds for impeachment. Our government today is made up of the very wealthy who cannot possibly represent those who are in