American Dream Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 1

American Dream - Essay Example The origins of Development of American dream can be traced back to WW2. At that time, the economy had been ripped off due to war and the ultimate objective of any American at that time was to secure a steady income along with an ownership of the house. This goal led to increased ethical values along with hardworking, honest and dedicated individuals. The ordinary focus at that time was on community system where people lived with families and were interconnected with each other. This was the primary source of pride and joy for the people. The nation prospered and wholesome value system developed over the period of time (Geela, 2004). In the 21st Century, the American dream has been commercialized and has become more of a marketing concept. The marketing agencies and politicians have been able to convince the people that having a second home, vacation at least once a month in Europe and then purchasing expensive jewelry and equipment is necessary in order to achieve a status in the society. This had led to development of unethical values in the society and destroyed the ongoing prosperity leaving a materialistic aspect in individuals. These values have been deep rooted in the society and are now becoming a major source of all evils in the society. Individuals have started believing that things can bring happiness and prosperity, rather than values. The example of Christmas holiday fits the best. Christmas has been diverted from family meals towards gifts and shopping. Consumerism is the need of the hour since it leads to increased spending patterns across the society, leading to debt perpetuity. The overall concep t have changed, and Americans have started believing that ones with the most wealth and assets live more as compared to the ones who have more happiness. This has led to borrowing of higher amount of debts more than one’s ability to payback. As a result, most of the Americans defaulted and were not able to payback which led to confiscation of their assets and belongings. These people are now depressed, jobless and homeless. This increased debt borrowing also leads to the collapse of the whole financial system. The Subprime mortgage in 2008 was purely based on this explanation. Mortgage brokers distributed the loans under the banner of American Dream and people with poor credit worthiness borrowed; they were not cross examined by the lending institutions. As a result, they were unable to payback which had a busting effect on real estate industry and collapse of major financial institutions which trickled down across the globe. The American Dream is more of a materialistic appr oach towards achieving success and joy in life rather than a positive approach. Innovation, determination, integrity, community, social and ethical values were the true spirits of American behavior which are now covered in a cloak of fraud, unethical practices, ignoring the family and promoting consumerism among the people (Luttwak, 2010). From the downfall of Enron to huge government deficits and escalating inflation, everything is destroyed due to severity of unethical behavior in government and companies. The educational system has been subjected to degradation and the family system has been broken down. The children are separated from their parents and then