Blog #5: What do you mean there are TWO American Dreams?!

No matter what's going on, Americans seem to hang on to the belief that "America is unique among all nations, because it is founded on the ideals of freedom, equality, and opportunity" (Greenberg Quinlan Rosner Research 2008 qtd. in White and Hanson 8). 

It's kind of crazy when you think about it. Over the course of it's 200-plus-year history, America hasn't actually offered equal opportunities to everyone, even all Americans. 

So why is it that the American Dream endures as a myth (defining belief) in this nation? White and Hanson assert that part of this is because the Dream is continually changing depending on what's happening in the country.  They acknowledge acknowledge that although there is always an element of economic security associated with the Dream, it "has been broadened to include a greater sense of personal well-being and quality of life issues" (10).

In other words, the values associated with the American Dream (freedom and equality of opportunity, per White and Hanson, and individuality, per Althen) have been redefined to include new things like "access to quality healthcare and reducing the harmful effects of global warming" (White and Hanson 10).   

Whatever it is, the American Dream is a state of mind, and while Americans agree on the basics of the Dream, they visualize it differently.  

USC professor Walter Fisher expands this discussion by identifying two American Dreams. The first is the materialistic dream, which emphasizes values such as "persistence, 'playing the game,' initiative, self-reliance, achievement, and success" (118). The goal with this dream is to "reap the rewards of status, wealth, and power" (118).  The second dream is the moralistic dream which values "tolerance, charity, compassion, and true regard for the dignity and worth of each and every individual" (118). He contends that for the American Dream and the nation to survive, these two apparently conflicting beliefs must coexist equally (124).

Your task in this blog is to reflect on Fisher's claims. Identify a few claims, explain them, and apply these theories, developed in 1972, to your own context, 2017.  

As always, you need 500 to 750 words and at least one relevant quotation, presented in context, with analysis. And you need to reply to at least two other blogs. 

Btw, after this, there are only two blogs. (I'm not sure if that is good news or bad news.)