134 TARGETS

BEFORE YOU READ

The American Dream - what do you think it is? Have you seen any films or heard any
music that might give you an idea of what it means?
What does this picture
communicate to you?
The Declaration of Independence, from 4 July 1776, claims freedom for the United
States from political control by Britain. In this document, the founders envision a
land where citizens have the right to "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.
While Americans with inherited wealth often down- play their early advantages and
rather exaggerate their humble beginnings, is this the case with the British
aristocracy and rich people in Europe?
diverse mangfoldig/mangfaldig core values kjemeverdier/ kjemeverdiar
hallmark kjennetegn/kjenneteikn envision se for seg, ha en visjon /sjåføre seg, ha
ein visjon pursuit streben. Jag / strev. Jag seize the opportunity gripe sjansen
self-reliant selvstendig, seh hjulpen/sjølvstendig.
sjølvhjelpen
fame and fortune berømmelse og rikdom/lovord og rikdom run counter to står i
motsetning til/ står i motsetnad til notion begrep, oppfatning/ omgrep, oppfatning
impoverished fattig curiously merkelig nok/ merkeleg nok
The American Dream
The USA is one of the most diverse countries on earth. Still, there are some core
values that keep the population united. Most Americans still believe in some form
of the American Dream. The dream means
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different things to different people, but central to its many versions is the idea
of freedom and the chance to create a better life. Freedom has s always been the
hallmark of the dream. For some, it is the freedom of speech; for others, it is
religious, political, or economic freedom. Many also say that it is the personal
freedom they enjoy.
Seizing on opportunity is at the heart of the American Dream. This pursuit of
happiness and a better life, in American style, is often up to the individual. The
image of the "self-made man" is important, and "the sky is the limit" for Americans
if they are self-reliant, hardworking, and play by the rules. The can-do attitude
("Amer-I-Can") is well known, as are legendary stories of the rise of poor men and
women to wealth and prosperity, like Andrew Carnegie, John D. Rockefeller, and the
popular figures LeBron James and self-made billionaire Oprah Winfrey. The
possibility of achieving fame and fortune continues to fascinate and inspire many
Americans to dream big. Going from "rags to riches" - or at least from "rags to
respectability" - is a central feature of the American character.
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Inheriting wealth and opportunity runs counter to this notion. Being born with a
"silver spoon in one's mouth" doesn't carry the same weight as a successful person
who came to America as a poor immi- grant, for example, or someone who grew up in
an impoverished neigh- borhood and worked their way up from the bottom. Curiously,
those with 25 inherited wealth often downplay their early advantages and rather
exaggerate their humble beginnings. We might call this "self-mythology." Donald
Trump, for example, has persistently claimed that the only help he received when he
started out in real estate was a $1 million loan from his father, which he repaid.
However, investigative reporting by the 30 New York Times disclosed that the amount
was closer to $140 million in today's dollars. In fact, thanks to his father's
wealth, Trump was already a millionaire by the time he was eight years old!
For the average American, though, becoming wealthy - whether self- made or
otherwise - is rare. A YouGov poll from 2018 found that only 51 percent of
Americans aged 18-34 believe that the American Dream is attainable for them. This
is due largely to the reality of harsh income inequality in all parts of the
country. Stagnant wages, student loan debt,
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exaggerate overdrive humble beskjeden
persistently hardnakket/hard- пакка
claim hevde
real estate fast eiendom / fast eigedom
disclose avsløre
average gjennomsnittlige, vanlige /gjennomsnittlege, vanlege rare sjelden/sjeldan
poll spørreundersøkelse/sporje-
undersøking
attainable oppnåelig/oppnåeleg harsh barsk, hard
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survey undersøkelse/under- seking
millennials generasjonen som var ungdommer rundt år 2000 / generasjonen som var
ung- dommar rundt år 2000 minor mindre
heritage her: avstamming
county her: kommune
prosperity velstand
conversely motsatt, omvendt/
motsett, omvendt
response svar
limited begrenset/avgrensa
resilient motstandsdyktig
and rising housing costs have led many young people to lose faith in the dream.
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Other surveys paint a different picture. An American Enterprise Institute /
University of Chicago study showed that 81 percent of millen- nials were optimistic
about realizing the American Dream. The ques- tions asked in this poll focused on
aspects of the American Dream other than material wealth. The poll suggests that
many Americans feel that they are living the American Dream and that what is
important to them is the freedom to choose how to live and the chance to have a
good family life and be part of a community. Generation Z - Americans born in 1997
or later - were less optimistic, but still 73 percent were relatively positive to
these aspects of the dream. In this particular sur- vey, race and ethnicity played
a minor role. There were no marked differences in outlook, despite the fact that
race and ethnicity are often cited as key factors that tend to hinder upward
mobility. Further, 81 per- 15 cent of non Hispanic whites, 80 percent of blacks,
Hispanics, and those of mixed race, and 85 percent of those with Asian heritage
said they had achieved or were on their way to achieving the American Dream.
Thus, much depends on who is asking the questions and how the dream is interpreted
by those answering, as well as where they live. If one lives in an American county
or community where the chances for prosperity and mobility are higher, answers
about the state of the dream will more often be positive. Conversely, the responses
from a person who lives in a county in which the opportunity to move up is more
limited tend to take a more negative view of the dream.
It is therefore virtually impossible to determine whether the dream is dead, dying,
or alive. As economics professor Alec Levenson at the University of Southern
California has said, "The thing about this country, even in the midst of things not
going that well economically, there's this strong spirit," adding, "That's always
been one of the things that made America resilient."
HOW TO MAKE A REFERENCE TO THIS TEXT
"The American Dream". In Balsvik et al. Targets. 2020. Oslo: Aschehoug.
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