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The American Dream

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The American Dream
Amber Humphrey
ENC1101_Online
Essay Two
Professor Van Camp
The American Dream For many years people have immigrated to the United States in search of “The American dream.” But what is The American Dream? Well, I believe that is completely up the individual. The American dream may mean different things to different people, however, to me; the American dream is the right to an education, for all American, without the worry of having wealth, or the means to pay for that education. Shikha Dalmia, “Americans, hit first by outsourcing and then a recession, are becoming deeply pessimistic about their country’s ability to maintain its economic leadership in a globalized world” (83). I have heard it said before, “Knowledge is power!” One benefit to being an American is the right free education. Contrary to popular belief, countries such as India, and China, to name a few, are not as lucky as America, because only the elite are given the opportunity to get an education. We, as Americans, do not realize how lucky we have it, to be able to send our children to school free of charge, until they go off to college, and in some cases are still free of charge due to scholarships, and grants. My father always told me, the two most important things in life are “education and health.” So growing up, my only focus was on school. In the United States, private school is generally a privilege of the rich. Even though I hated it at the time, I attended a private school, grades first through third, and I never really understood how beneficial it was until I was forced to public school, then realizing I was quite a precocious individual. Martin Jischke notes “I believe the American dream is the opportunity to pursue knowledge freely, through a lifetime of learning, growing, changing and evolving” (76) which too I agree. In my opinion, the American dream can still thrive survive. Although I do not know what the future holds for Americans, I hope that America can somehow

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