Neither statistics nor assorted interviews can give a complete picture, but the image they’re sketching isn’t pretty. Washington Post staff writers Carol Morello and Peyton Craighill, along with research analyst Scott Clement, used both methods to present an up-to-date portrait of the current state of the American Dream. Their report was published in the paper in September 2013.
Read it here: Morello, Craighill, and Clement, "More people express uncertainty in chance to achieve the American Dream”
- Morello and co-authors present divergent views on the current state of the American Dream. What is their own view? Where and how is it expressed most clearly?
- In the first few paragraphs, Morello and co-authors are painting a bleak portrait. Yet some of their interviewees present more hopeful views. What does the inconsistency contribute to the article as a whole? How do the authors balance these opposing pictures? Do they do so effectively? Why or why not?
- The authors offer several types of evidence about the current state of the American Dream. Which piece of evidence is most persuasive to you and why? Did any of the evidence seem unnecessary? Was any important evidence missing? Please explain.
- Read (or re-read) the essays by Cal Thomas and Brandon King in Chapter 18 of your textbook. Which of the two authors would agree more with Morello and co-authors? Why do you think so? Point to specific examples in the essays to support your reasoning.
- A variety of people were interviewed for the article. Imagine that there will be a Part 2 and that you will be one of the interviewees. Using this article and the interview responses in it as your They Say, and write an essay in which you speak to the questions you think were asked of the original interviewees. Imagine you are all sitting together having a conversation. How would you respond to their perspectives and add your own? Explain your reasoning.
They Say I Blog 
The evidences show that the American dream everyone thought they would have wasn’t just going to be achieved through hard work, it wasn’t a guarantee success, Mary Edwards “Her husband, an engineer, was laid off. He took a series of increasingly less-challenging jobs and now works in a factory doing manual labor, she said.”. An engineer who worked hard just to be an engineer and not getting his well deserved job looks very different from the american dream. The American Dream has become more elusive and I think these things also discourage students to get to college.
LikeLike
Although Morello makes the best possible case for the idea that the American dream is dying, I am not persuaded. I am a firm believer in the fact the America is the land of opportunity. Everyone has a shot in the great country of ours, I believe you really just need to put in the work to get there. Morello says that the dream of college has lost some appeal over the last three decades. This, in my opinion, is a result of people realizing there is more to the american dream than just going to college. When you go to college you pay a ton of money to learn or perfect a certain skill, if you are just going to say that you are “going to college” than there is a problem. There are many other paths to success than just going to a public or private university. Success is how I define the American dream, it doesn’t matter how it happens, but being successful is what it takes to fulfill the American dream. This dream isn’t dying, I believe that it takes effort to achieve it and some people aren’t willing to put that effort in.
LikeLike
In the debating article where Marello describes the “american dream “, I feel as though it is more glorified than made out to be. In this article it states that the american dream is the “dream of a land in which life should be better and richer and fuller for everyone, with opportunity for each according to ability or achievement.” This statement can be true but also false. In my opinion the “american dream” is more glorified than what it is made out to be. If a person from another country came over. The hope of a new life and safer environment would be true. Although these new immigrants may be safer and have freedom now, they would have to start from scratch, to build a new life as well as manage debt they may be in. There is also the debate of whether education can make the “american dream” come true for you. I believe that in a sense this statement could be true but it would need hard work and dedication and most importantly you would need connections. And on the opposite of that others would oppose and say that even with the best connections and the top education not everyone makes it to the top.
LikeLike
Anyone that is familiar with the American Dream can say that it’s about being able to retire and sustain a happy lifestyle. As years pass Morello points out that it’s now increasingly difficult to do just that, evidence shows that more people fear being thrown out of their jobs than ever, roughly six out of ten people. Many people believe that it’s because of inflation, others just say it’s how everything rose in price but salaries didn’t. The American Dream is still there but it’s just much much harder to achieve.
LikeLike
According to Morello’s argument about the American Dream, I would point out that most of people in previous generations are for in favor of having the American Dream unlike this generation (mine). I would say for most people in my society, we don’t follow the American Dream. Most of us want to live life and make our own decisions. Very few us want to live the American Dream or any kind of dream. I, however, want to live a life where I’m not dependable on no one nor my family. My family (little 3 brothers and mother) should feel dependable on me. That’s my dream.
LikeLike
According to the authors of “More people express uncertainty in chance to achieve the American Dream” the American dream is deteriorating. In today’s day and age, many people are struggling financially causing them to not be able to provide for their families. I agree with the authors in the sense that people are not working hard enough to achieve the American dream. Anyone familiar with school should agree that some students take their education for granted. If everyone was to work harder and use their resources more efficiently, a greater amount of people would be able to reach this American dream.
LikeLike
In the article “More people express uncertainty in chance to achieve American dream”, Morello portrays a grim future for “the land of opportunity”. The author insists that there is little hope for tomorrow’s American in finding financial security, but some of the interviewees in the write-up seem to have glimmer of faith in the land that people have crossed oceans to get to in search of a prosperous life. Throughout the reading, Morello spits out statistics to support his point that the American Dream is becoming harder and harder to reach; “most people think they are running in place”. According to Morello, many Americans feel that they are making no progress towards their goals. Although, Morello raises an interesting point when he tells the audience, “while slightly more than half of the respondents say their standard of living is better than their parents, just 39 percent believe their children will have a better life than they have”. Based off of the significant difference between the next generation’s outlook on their future, and their parent’s outlook on their children’s future, it would seem that the new generation is able to look more on the bright side. One student at the University of Tennessee sees only what he can do, and nothing that will stop him, “there’s a bright future ahead of me because of the hard work ethics instilled in me by my mom and my dad”. The conflicting ideas in this article from different groups of people in the US shows the author’s uncertainty of America’s future. Morello makes it clear in the beginning how he feels the country is no longer offering people the same opportunities it once did by explaining to the reader with statistics and disheartening quotes from interviewees, but provides the reader with some sense of hope by quoting some optimistic interviewees at the end of the article.This helps to give you some background information on the discussion, while giving you room to imagine happier possibilities.
LikeLike
Both Morello and her co-authors provided many Americans with goals and hope for the future in the “American Dream”. The United States is not what it used to be, and so isn’t the economy. Many common people are not seeing improvement in their lives. They are always paying bills, working at many jobs, and lost their social life. The evidence shows that people under the age of 30 have a better chance at having a good life with a good job than people over 30. It does not help the fact that there are thousands of people who get payed for doing nothing while others struggle to work and get payed nothing. I absolutely agree with the idea of the “American Dream” however, today’s economy is pretty rough.
LikeLike
2)In the first few paragraphs, Morello and co-authors are painting a bleak portrait. Yet some of their interviewees present more hopeful views. What does the inconsistency contribute to the article as a whole? How do the authors balance these opposing pictures? Do they do so effectively? Why or why not?
the inconsistency is not a mistake but a strategy. the authors want to paint a full picture into your mind and show all the different view points. Everyone has a different view of the American Dream and it is important that they show all of them. The authors balance this by showing both sides and the difference of times between now and the future, this is very effect as they can get the whole picture. some may believe that this is not the best idea to do but I believe it is so the reader can look at it from all angles.
LikeLike
Whitney Adams- I agree to disagree with her. I agree that the data they used were not equal on both sides, from the stats to they age group interviewed, however I disagree that this wasn’t effective. When looking at the past it is going to be obvious that you can ask a 30 year old how it was 50 years ago because they don’t know. they needed to ask the older generation, and as the 30 year olds are just off on their own it was best to ask them how they felt now.
LikeLike
I say that Morello and co-authors own beliefs is that the American dream is changing into something that people are having a hard time believing that they can obtain. There was a time when the American Dream meant having a nice and safe environment to raise a family in a standard house. As they pointed out it has changed to where people are worrying about how they will make ends meet and how long they will have their job and if it can support the family for a long time. Also the belief that just owning a house is not a big part of the American dream anymore. People are know worrying about bills and fleeting opportunities. The American Dream is now just a fleeting dream becoming more and more our of reach for this current society.
LikeLike
josh I agree with you. I believe that the point of this article was to show that nothing is the same anymore and times are changing so what used to be the American dream is no more. Morello and co-authors show this be using examples from the older and more recent generations and comparing the two. the American dream is changing and so are we.
LikeLike
I disagree with Gina on some points but I agree with her on others, In this day in age even if you are working your hardest there is still fear of being laid off from your job and then wondering how to support your family if you have one. You can only work so hard for a job and then you have taxes an bills to take care of. Also college debt is a really struggle so when people get that paycheck from work almost all of it goes to paying back their tuition and some to their family. Yes some people in society do take their education for granted and slack off or drop out completely and then all they have to blame for is themselves
LikeLike
The authors offer several types of evidence about the current state of the American Dream. Some evidences are much more persuasive than others, whereas, some are too broad and general. For example, “Half of those polled say they have taken training in the past 12 months to maintain or improve their skills, but among that group, 72 percent say it hasn’t made much difference in their paychecks.” According to the poll’s findings, the author uses statistics to explain how people are struggling to find jobs. I believe that this poll finding is persuasive due to statistics. My own view is that statistics grab that author’s attention. By providing percentages of people who are struggling to find jobs, this persuades the reader to believe the author’s point of view. Although statistics are persuasive, general statements are effective too. For example, “The American Dream is to have your own house with a white picket fence, a dog running around the back yard and a happy family.” The author expresses the image of how the American Dream should be. Even though, the author didn’t use statistics, the author uses figurative language to create a happy image of the American Dream. Although I agree that statistics evidence are much more persuasive, I also agree that general evidences are persuasive too. I say this because both evidences grab the audience’s attention and they both allow the reader to support the author’s point of view.
But who really cares? Who besides me and a handful of recent Americans who cares about the American Dream? At the very least, the Americans who formerly believe that the American Dream is slowly dying should care. People who understand why the American Dream is fading away should read this article.
LikeLike
1.Morello and co-authors present divergent views on the current state of the American Dream. What is their own view? Where and how is it expressed most clearly?
In discussions on the American Dream, one controversial issue has been whether it is alive or long gone. Most believe that you can work your hardest but still get nowhere. The dream is stifled by obstacles and the main issue is financial stability. Others argue that simply with hard work and dedication you make it towards your goal. I would have to agree that the dream is fading due to a troubled economy.
In their article “More Express Uncertainty In Chance to Achieve the American Dream” Morello, Craighill and Clement explain that through education and hard work an opportunity is bred for every citizen . However the light for that opportunity is dimmed their daily personal struggles. Through their research the struggles highlighted were fear of being fired, constant worry of bills piling up, and no room for promotion at work. These fears have reached higher levels due to high inflations and the recession. Most interviewees like Rachel Bryant will agree that the economy is nothing like it used to be. Bryant herself owns a home, has two kids, and has no college debt. However she is very doubtful for her kids. Bryant explains that when her kids grow up they won’t be as lucky to be dealt the same opportunities. She worries that the country is going in a negative direction. One of the main aspects towards the American Dream is owning a home. That dream has faded over the last century. This stems from homeowner owing more on their mortgages than the worth of their property. Another aspect that is also beginning to fade away is college. Education has always been viewed as a way “getting ahead”. This view has shifted because most college students today compared to those in 1986 are finding it more difficult to pay for college. These same students believe that colleges aren’t as efficient towards preparing them in today’s economy. This issue can be stifling because in the career world you need skills, without skills that you should’ve gained in college you block yourself from receiving a well paying job. Also not being able to afford college can stifle one from a job as well. The economy has somewhat limited those of older age as well. Jim Butterwick, 61, and Mary Edwards 56 find it hard to enjoy what most hard working citizens look forward, which is retirement. Once again the underlying issue is the messed up economy.
One may argue that it’s all about hard work and that it’s the key to getting yourself in the right position. However even when one works hard for their whole life that doesn’t guarantee him or her that lavous life that they always dreamed of. In this society most citizens are usually left with nothing but dashed dreams and more debt added on to what they already have. I believe these citizens deserve much more than the bare minimum they are receiving now. Students deserve more assistance from colleges in order to go on and pursue their career. Working people deserve more benefits in order to look forward to comfortable retirement. If even dreams of retirement are dashed or put on hold, what will all this hard work have been for?
Ultimately what is at stake here is the everyday lives of hard working citizens. The American dream isn’t fully dead but needs much improvement. The working class is what keeps this economy going without them we are nothing. We must show more appreciation for them.
LikeLike