The American Dream

The grass is always greener on the other side. Many people have gone to America in search of “ The American Dream”. Many have succeeded, but even more have fallen flat on their faces. Apparently the grass is greener on the other side, but you need a lawnmower to handle all the grass. What I mean with my last sentence is that you can’t just go to America and get rich. You have to have a skill, something you are good at. The lawnmower is the skill and the grass is America. I have read about lots of people who wanted to get rich and famous and so they thought that they just could go to America and become rich overnight. What they don’t realize is that you have to have a skill because you need to earn your money and earn your respect. In the text about Arnold Schwarzenegger he tells us about his journey from being a little Austrian boy, to being a big American icon. When Arnold was young he said to himself that he wanted to be the best in the world in something. The dream of being the best stuck with him and now he has won the Mr. Olympia six times, and he is even the governor of California. He moved to America because he wanted people all over the world to know who he was. He wanted “The American Dream”. His dream about being the best is exactly what the American dream is all about. Arnold’s story is a success story. He made it and now he is living the American dream. In the text he says that it’s important to have more than one dream in life. You have to keep yourself occupied. I think that deep down Arnold knows he hasn’t reached “The American Dream”. The American dream is an everlasting search for a better life, a way to stand out. “ The American Dream” concept started for many centuries ago. When foreigners came to America, the land of hope and opportunity, they all got settled in. Some earned a lot of money and again some went from poor foreigner to poor American. In America there is so much inequality when it comes to rich versus poor. That is why America is the only land where it’s possible to have a “American Dream” concept. Take for instance here in Denmark. Whether we like it or not the society won’t allow people to stand out. Too much anyway. Because of the Jantelagen. I have often said to myself that when I graduate from gymnasium I will go to America and stay there for a year or so. To experience a different life philosophy. Plus better weather than here in Denmark. Honestly I’m getting a little bit frightened by the thought of going to America. What if I fall in the same trap as I have described? Well I think that television and the internet have clouded my mind. I mean. All the good things come from America. Music, films etc. How can it possibly go bad for me over there? When I think about it it’s actually quite odd this “American Dream” concept. How do you define the American dream? And why is it only the American dream. Why not the Danish dream or the French dream. I don’t know about this American dream. It’s like that funny smell in other people’s refrigerators. It’s there, it always has been but you never ask anyone about it. It’s just something we 16/5 2007 1