什么是美国梦

什么是美国梦

一词最早是由詹姆斯·特拉斯·洛亚当斯在他的著作《美国史诗》中提到的。他指出:“美国梦是„梦想的土地，每个人都会有更好,更富有和更充实的生活，并且那些有能力或成就的人总是充满机会。这是一个让欧洲上层阶级无法完全理解的梦想，甚至我们国家中的大部分人对它感到厌倦和不信任。这不仅仅是关于汽车和高薪水的梦想，而且是一个社会秩序，能使男人和妇女都可以获得最充分的地位，并且被他人所认可，无论出生的情况或地点。”

在美国的独立宣言中，创始者提到：“ ...坚持某些真理是不言自明的，所有人，生而平等，他们被造物主赋予某些不可剥夺的权利，这其中包括生命权，自由权和追求幸福的权利。“也许这种想法被认为是美国梦的基础。

是谁离开城市去寻幸福和自己家园，在未知的天地里追求那些不可剥夺的权利？是谁移民来到美国寻他们仅有的生命权，自由权和追求幸福的权利，他们的梦想是什么？ 又是什么原因让二战中的老战士们定居下来，去拥有房子，汽车和家庭-告诉我们这个不断变化的梦？美国梦可以被所有美国人实现吗？是否马丁路德金认为他的梦想可以实现？是否马尔科姆·X实现了他的梦想？

有人说，美国梦已经演变成追求物质繁荣-人们花更多的时间工作，得到更大的车，更理想的家园，更繁荣的成果，这些努力只是为了自己的家庭-但他们很少有时间享受他们创造的成果。也有人说，美国梦不适合那些做两份辛苦的工作的人，他们只是为了确保家人的生活。还有一些人追求一种新的美国梦，较少着眼于金钱利益，更侧重于一个简单，充实的生活。

意思 ：每个人都可以实现自己的梦想，追求更好，更富裕的生活。

The term was first used by James Truslow Adams in his book The Epic of

America which was written in 1931. He states: "The American Dream is "that

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.

It is a difficult dream for the European upper classes to interpret

adequately, and too many of us ourselves have grown weary and mistrustful

of it. It is not a dream of motor cars and high wages merely, but a dream

of social order in which each man and each woman shall be able to attain

to the fullest stature of which they are innately capable, and be

recognized by others for what they are, regardless of the fortuitous

circumstances of birth or position." (p.214-215)

In the United States’ Declaration of Independence, our founding fathers:

"…held certain truths to be self-evident, that all Men are created equal,

that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights,

that among these are life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness." Might

this sentiment be considered the foundation of the American Dream?

Were homesteaders who left the big cities of the east to find happiness

and their piece of land in the unknown wilderness pursuing these

inalienable Rights? Were the immigrants who came to the United States

looking for their bit of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, their

Dream? And what did the desire of the veteran of World War II - to settle

down, to have a home, a car and a family - tell us about this evolving

Dream? Is the American Dream attainable by all Americans? Would Martin

Luther King feel his Dream was attained? Did Malcolm X realize his Dream?

Some say, that the American Dream has become the pursuit of material

prosperity - that people work more hours to get bigger cars, fancier homes,

the fruits of prosperity for their families - but have less time to enjoy

their prosperity. Others say that the American Dream is beyond the grasp

of the working poor who must work two jobs to insure their family’s

survival. Yet others look toward a new American Dream with less focus on

financial gain and more emphasis on living a simple, fulfilling life.

Thomas Wolfe said, "…to every man, regardless of his birth, his shining,

golden opportunity ….the right to live, to work, to be himself, and to

become whatever thing his manhood and his vision can combine to make him."