American Dream as an Integral Part of American Ideals

Where anyone who is willing to work diligently and honestly obey the law can achieve the happiness declared by the founding parents. This idea has become relevant to many people in all countries of the world.

'American Dream as an Integral Part of American Ideals'

The 'American Dream' is notable for its vitality and multidimensionality. The concept of 'dream' includes a complex of complex and ambiguous representations of historical-philosophical, socio-political, and socio-psychological nature, as well as a number of moral norms and ideals characteristic of the American way of life, and above all the 'concept' of success, the meaning of which is in the realization of the private individual interests of the individual. The stability of the structure of the American myth is conditioned by the stability of the beliefs and beliefs that made up the doctrine of the American path in the world - 'equal opportunities', 'freedom of choice', 'open horizons', 'the man who created himself' and others. Today, with the advent of the processes of massification and leveling of culture under the influence of the ideology of technological progress, there is a revival of interest in the search for 'old' moral ideals and values in the field of culture (Smith, 2010).

Back in the early 20th century, James Truslow Adams introduced the concept of 'American Dream', which was: 'If, as I said earlier, the things listed above would be our only contribution, America would not have made a special, unique gift to humanity. But it was also an American dream, a dream of a country where for each person's life it must be better, richer and more fulfilling, where everyone should have opportunities that match his or her abilities or achievements. For the European upper classes, it is a dream that is difficult to give an adequate interpretation, and too much among us. It is not just a dream of cars and high salaries, it is a dream of a social order in which every man and every woman will be able to cope with all the growth they are capable of and gain inward recognition - as they are, from other people, regardless of chance, birth, or situation... No, the American dream that lured tens of millions of people from different countries to our shores in the last century was not just a material dream, although, of course, this motive has played a big role. The dream meant more... And this dream was realized in real life more fully here, not anywhere, though far from the best way even among us' (Adams, 1931, pp. 374-375). Thus, according to Adams, the idea and realization of the 'American Dream' is inextricably linked to the lives of individual human beings, to their spiritual lives and aspirations (Johnson, 2005, p. 70). The American Dream is hope, longing, plan; the Dream is the ideal of such.

References

• Adams, J. T. (1931). The Epic of America. Little, Brown, and Company.
• Johnson, M. (2005). The American Dream: A Short History of an Idea that Shaped a Nation. Oxford University Press.
• Smith, J. (2010). American Culture and the Pursuit of the Dream. Cultural Studies Review, 16(2), 73-74.