D’Souza acknowledges that while there are many materialistic gains to be made in the American society the desire for immigration and the commonly held views of America has a more prominent reason, the American dream is a dream based on freedom. It is not necessarily a literal freedom from oppression but a freedom of choice, a freedom to create one’s own destiny. D’Souza’s most powerful and agreeable argument is that the Americans simply have a better standard of living in comparison to most countries. In many countries throughout the world living conditions cannot be changed. No amount of hard work or experience can change something that you were born into.
People struggle determining what the American Dream is. No one can clearly define what the American dream is but can only describe what it means to them. Many say the American Dream is coming to America to have the many opportunities and live their lives in riches. Others demonstrate that the American Dream is being treated fairly and equally, no matter what race, color skin, and family they come from. Those who are blessed enough to be born in a life of wealth and comfortable livelihood may not be able to grasp the meaning of the American Dream, but others who struggle in life and are restrained by the opportunities that did not come their way, tend to understand what the American Dream is.
Americans believe that success or failure is based on individual efforts and capabilities, which is not entirely true. Looking up to this frontier spirit, go-it-alone mindset and lone wolf point of view holds Americans back from achieving the success they seek. Causes of the success myth This myth stems from the fact that Americans believe that anyone who works hard can become successful. The myth of success implies that any person can be successful through hard work since a majority of people define success by the amount of money an individual is worth. Americans live in a culture that defines human worth by the amount of money an individual owns.
At the same token, many Americans feel negative about Asian Americans. I think that they feel as though they are a threat. No only because of America’s past with them as far as going to war but also because many American’s feel as though many immigrants come to this country and do better than them and it’s at their expense. All and all, one has to admit whether they feel positively or negatively about Asian-Americans they have to agree that they have done very well in America socially and economically. Many Asian Americans are very smart.
Consider what others have to say about the American Dream. Both stories show how the America dream give them the chance to be them self in life. Therefore, "In the minds of others founders, liberty is a way that all of its intrinsic risks was more desirable than material prosperity, if the prosperity was accompanied with despotism or collectivism. So strong was their desire that they were willing to give up the latter in order to procure the former for themselves and their posterity"(G. Edward Griffin). This quote explain how America dream can make a person strong, give them a desire to make there life better for everyone else in the
This doesn’t mean we should all go out and be terrible people just so we will appreciate our good experiences, but rather that we should learn from our mistakes. Lance Armstrong’s view of life is similar to this; he says that sometimes life is fun, and great, and other times it is horrible, but whether good or bad our experiences make us stronger people. It is these experiences which give our lives meaning. Meaning and value however, are completely different issues. So how can the value of one’s entire life and worth be translated into monetary values?
Throughout history America has been seen as the land of opportunities and freedom. Its society is structure so that everyone has the same opportunities and the same chance to achieve the American dream, but as we all know that’s really the idealistic theory. In reality how our society is truly structured is that people with abundance in social capital and economical capital get better opportunities; as oppose to the less gifted. When looking at who gets what in society we tend to focus on race, there is where we see the gaps that separate our social classes. The majority who belong to the lower class, are ethnics groups that have a history of immigrating to the US and having trouble conforming to society.
I hope, sirs, you can understand our legitimate and unavoidable impatience." (King, 1963) Dr. King said the time had come to take a stand and that stand would be non-violent direct action. Through non-violent direct action Dr. King believed that progress would be made. In his letter “Letter from Birmingham Jail”, he writes, "Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere”. In that letter Dr. King also describes that "in any non-violent campaign there are four basic steps: collection of the facts to determine whether injustices exist; negotiation; self purification; and direct action."
He placed these needs into the shape of a pyramid, in which the bottom layer consists of our lower motivational needs such as physiological needs, leading up to the top layer consisting of the higher motivational needs such as self-actualization. He believed that when a person satisfies their basic needs, they can then move up the pyramid to fulfill their higher needs. Abraham Maslow’s theory on human motivation is an accurate portrayal of how human needs affect their behavior. Many people have agreed with Maslow on his theory. In order for people to continue on with their daily tasks or life goals, they need to satisfy their most basic needs.
The Expectancy Theory The Expectancy Theory The expectancy theory is based on the idea that people are motived when they believe they can accomplish a task for which there is a reward, and that the reward will be worth their work. The theory began with Victor Vroom’s formula, motivation=expectancy x instrumentality x valence, and is dependent upon the idea that both intrinsic and extrinsic factors affect behavior. The expectancy theory also holds that behavior is the decision of the individual, and the decision is based on the individual’s perception of the outcome. Vroom’s Formula Broken down, the components of Vroom’s formula reveal what must be present for motivation to take place under the theory. Expectancy is a person’s perception of his or her ability.