The American Dream Creative Writing Essay Research (Essay Sample)

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The American Dream
Over the past century, the definition of the American dream has morphed numerous times since its introduction by James Truslow's in his book, the Epic of America. Initially, the idea was intended to promote a sense of equality, justice and the creation of a suitable environment in which the people in it would thrive regardless of their backgrounds. As such, the American citizenry universally agrees that the concept of the American dream upholds the claims of the Declaration of Independence to assist all people in American society to achieve liberty and happiness. Famous people like Martin Luther King Junior promoted similar ideologies in his coveted I have a dream speech in which he expressed his desire of ending discrimination in America. The initial objective of the American dream was to help individuals attain happiness and satisfaction in their lives regardless of who they are or the abilities they exhibit.
Unfortunately, the intentions promoted in the American dream today do not reflect the aims from yesteryears. In 2017, the Forbes Magazine attempted to elaborate more on the American dream today through the American Dream Index which outlines seven traits of the American dream, all of which are materialistic. The seven indicators of the American dream in the index include entrepreneurship, goods-producing employment, bankruptcy, unemployment claims, building permits, labor participation rate, and layoffs. In other words, the tools used to measure and elucidate the American dream today are all embedded in materialism which is a severe deviation from the original spirit of the American dream that sought non-materialistic prosperity (Shiller).