Title: The American Dream Is Alive and Well | Fox Business
Headings: The American Dream Is Alive and Well
The American Dream Is Alive and Well
Content: What is the American dream? The term was popularized in the 1931 book The Epic of America by James Truslow Adams. The historian offered several variations on the theme, but the one most often sited is, “that dream of a land in which life should be better and richer and fuller for every man, with opportunity for each according to his ability or achievement.” I couldn’t have come up with a better description myself. It’s important to note that the first part of the sentence compares opportunity in America to that of other lands, particularly European. For the most part, it remains true, although it’s certainly not a bad thing that many other nations have spent the past 85 years catching up. But it’s the second part that many overlook. While the American dream is an egalitarian ideal – equal rights and opportunity for all – it is, in reality, a function of ability and achievement. It’s also determined by other factors Adams failed to mention, most notably upbringing, luck and our own personal choices. Many seem to think that the dream is a promise – a guaranteed outcome for a life of hard work.