...What is the American Dream? When describing the American dream, there are endless possibilities. The beautiful thing about the American Dream is that it is different for every single person. One person’s dream may be to be an NFL superstar, making ten million dollars a year. Conversely, someone else’s dream can be making minimum wage just to ensure their family can eat. This alone is what makes America the greatest country in the world. Everyone can have a different dream, but they have every possibility to achieve it. Although, it is not a guarantee the person will achieve their dream, it is a guarantee they will have no unfair regulations stopping them. A neighbor of mine at home has a very sad story that led to his pursuit of the American dream. He was one of the highest regarded Medical Doctors in Egypt. He was making great money, and his family was very happy. Then his life was turned upside down when a family member of his was killed because of his religion. He was Christian, and some radical Egyptians hate Christians, so he had to move to America to keep his family safe. His story relates to a quote on page four, “The idea of the American dream has been attached to everything from religious freedom to a home in the suburbs” (Hochschild). Unfortunately his story does not end like the Hollywood motion pictures, but he is completely happy with his current life. He now lives in a two room apartment with his wife, and two daughters and he is working as a cab driver, and...
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...English 1520 16 May 2013 American Education In the article “American the Illiterate” by Chris Hedges he argues about the growing concern on the American people. In the argument he states that Americans everyday are less and less dependent on their ability to read and write. He explains how society over all is more dependent on image based information. In his first couple of paragraphs he describes this growing epidemic. How literacy affects us as a country and as a nation over all. He brings evidence and proof about his argument from various different creditable sources. He explains that illiteracy is such a minor priority to most Americans that doing things like their taxes or electing a new president doesn’t require them to be experts in illiteracy. Bringing in emotional story and a good slogan with words like pro-life, hope, maverick, war on terror. The American people are easily manipulated and are reeled in to the fight between truth and lies. He explains that America is so blind when it comes to signing a contract, policy agreement, or a legal document. Most if not all the time they barley even start reading. It’s hard to admit but at the end even I agree with Hedges logic. Every time I download a new software or log into my bank account never have I set there and read the agreement start to end. Just the other day I was reading the fine print in my insurance contract and I was amazed at some of the things that we assume are covered like roadside assistance. I always...
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...Ryan Woods English Miss Orenstein April 5, 2011 To be…or not to be an American Separation and more specifically oppression has been a staple of the United States of America ever since it was settled back in the 17th century. As soon as they stepped foot off the boats, the immigrants fleeing Europe immediately saw other people and saw them as different and even as far as calling them savages. All of the native people who were living there before had their land taken from them and were beginning to be pushed west. This oppression of certain races continued long after the Mayflower hit the America’s shores. Next, the white man separated himself apart from blacks. Africans were enslaved because the “New World” needed free labor to jumpstart the economy and also because they were seen as being different than white people. It would have been very difficult to sustain a decent economy if people had to hire workers instead of having free labor with their slaves. It was not until the Declaration of Independence that someone finally acknowledged the idea of every man being equal and having the same rights. It was Thomas Jefferson who wrote that, “All men are created equal” in the opening line of the Declaration of Independence. The only thing wrong with the statement Jefferson made is that it is completely contradictory to the fact that he owned a slave and so did many others of the founding fathers. The Civil Rights Movement was the next significant step in this racial...
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...Blair, Lauri Journal #3 African-American Consumers and the Economic March 30, 2010 202-07 Dr.Ferdnance 1) Create a detailed consumer profile of the average African-American household. Find the average income, wealth, and primary purchases of the African-American household. Compare and contrast the consumption pattern of the African-American with European, Asian, and Hispanic Americans. African-American household Average income- $37,150 Wealth- $6,000 White Household Average income- $55,463 Wealth- $88,000 Comparing African American households to European, Asian and Hispanic Americans, African Americans have the lowest income. Second of all, in response to a lower income theoretically one would think that African Americans would save more and spend less and begin to invest, yet in response to poor financially education, and decisions African Americans spend more than any other race on materialistic things. African Americans spend a large amount and above any other races median in clothing, video game hardware, pc software and shoes. African Americans have been found to be very brand loyal to body soap, sneakers, potato chips, soda, hair products, and cookies and nail polish. African-American/Black Market profile found that African Americans are very persuaded through marketing, such as commercials, music videos, radios, and locals ads to buying cars, car accessories, communication gadgets and cosmetic products, and theses products are not being differentiated...
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...of Apparel; (Chapter 7) 1) American Apparel is a multinational corporation at the crossroads of profitability and nationalism. The clothing industry is one of the biggest manufacturing sectors with respect to the exploitation of human rights. American Apparel has made numerous landmark moves to get away from the negative connotations of the clothing industry. There are 3 main ways that American Apparel has tried to combat these negative associations; utilization of Vertical Integration, Sweat Shop Free and 100% Made in USA. Vertical Integration allows for AA to know exactly who makes, and how they make it for every input in the manufacturing process. This means that the business is consolidated and every decision comes from the same place allowing for autonomy across business segments. “In the past decades, it has become the norm amongst the majority of US apparel companies to move their manufacturing operations abroad to third party vendors. American Apparel has kept it local. We are vertically integrated, and operate the largest apparel manufacturing facility in North America, right in Downtown LA. Though it's not the easy road to travel, this has always been our business model.” ("Vertical Integration") As outlined on the website, American Apparel prides itself on not leveraging sweat-shops in efforts of higher profit margins. Instead of exploiting a poor country for its low cost labour, American Apparel utilizes thousands of American workers making a competitive wage...
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...What is the American Dream, and who are the people most likely to pursue its often elusive fulfillment? Indeed, the American Dream has come to represent the attainment of myriad of goals that are specific to each individual. While one person might consider a purchased home with a white picket fence her version of the American Dream, another might regard it as the financial ability to operate his own business. Clearly, there is no cut and dried definition of the American Dream as long as any two people hold a different meaning. What it does universally represent, however, it the opportunity for people to seek out their individual and collective desires under a political umbrella of democracy. In the fifties, the 'age of suburbia', the American Dream was epitomized by the ability to own a home, live in safety and in a community of like minded souls. The great exodus from the cities to the suburbs defined the American idea of the good life'. The American Dream was and always will be something that makes America great. It allows those with aspirations to make them come true. In America alone needs is a dream and the motivation to carry out that dream. Ambition is the driving force behind the American Dream. It allows any one that has an aspiration, a desire, a yearning, to carry out the individual dream. It knows no bounds of race, creed, gender or religion. It stands for something great, something that every one can strive towards. A dream can be a desire for something great...
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...Why Asian Americans are facing unfair treatment from U.S society? Xuchen Cheng The Ohio State University Why Asian Americans are facing unfair treatment from U.S society? The term, hyphenated American, is initially used to disparage people who came from a foreign region but were born in America. Asian Americans, which occupy about 4.8% of US population (Wikipedia), are often defined as those Americans who emigrated from Far East, such as China, India. In recent years, it has become common to see Asian American typically as technicians in U.S advertisements and this trend leads to a controversy of Asian American’s stereotype and portray among U.S society. It is not fair to Asian American of being portrayed as a limited and singular cliché for such highly diverse group. In this case, Asian Americans face an unfair judgment from their “hyphen” that should certainly be removed. The more appearance of Asian Americans in visual culture can be a double-edged sword, indicating the consumption and repercussions among U.S society. On the one hand, it’s encouraging to see Asian American faces in the mainstream media being associated with positive traits — intellectual, well-educated, knowledgeable, etc. (P.Farhi, 2011, p14). For example, in Verizon’s 2011 commercial, Belt of Technology, a kid walked in a Verizon store and showed off his amazing hardware, such as PSP, E-reader, and his smirk vanished after the salesman pulled out a smartphone with more than 200,000 apps available...
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...The Civil War brought significant changes for African Americans, as they were freed from slavery. However, rather than achieving complete legal, political, and economic equality during the Reconstruction Era, which lasted from the end of the Civil War until 1877, African Americans continued to be second class citizens. As will be argued in this paper, African Americans experienced hardship and significant discrimination after 1877 due to racist laws, social, economic, and educational inequality; however, as laws and cultural sentiments about blacks changed during the Civil Rights Era, African Americans today have more political, economic, and educational opportunities than ever before. On the following pages, this paper will trace the path of African Americans to equality by discussing salient events in African American history from 1877 to the present. Significantly, as the author believes, while progress has been made since the nineteenth century, complete equality remains elusive even today for many African American men and women. The end of slavery did by no means lead to the immediate equality of African Americans in American society. The years after the Civil War and the Reconstruction Era, were characterized by wide-spread discrimination against African Americans. In the South, so-called Jim Crow laws effectively barred African Americans from having very basic civil liberties. Public and social life in the South but also in other places in the United States, was strictly...
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...Ribar English 1101 14 January 2016 The American Dream The “American dream” is what we all strive for. Immigrants come to the States in hopes of trying to achieve their dreams and better themselves for their families. But in all honesty what is the American dream? It was once said that you could come to America and go from rags to riches; you could come with nothing and achieve everything. So, is the so-called “American dream” dead, alive, on hold, or is the definition of the said dream changing? This has been a searing topic and a widely debated discussion since the recession started. Brandon King seems to think the American dream is in fact alive and is simply just changing it’s meaning due to our economic hardships. He “would redefine the American Dream today as the potential to work for an honest, secure way of life and save for the future” (611). King believes now people are tolerable with a middle-class lifestyle and just want to have a stable employment. To him, the American dream is very much alive; it’s just morphing and changing the meaning due to prolonged economic circumstances. King uses logos to adapt a form of credibility and prove he is knowledgeable. He quotes study after study and provides statistics from the year 2005 to 2010 which all makes his argument very convincing. King starts both ethos and logos for the essay when he gives a background for the American dream. “The original term ‘American Dream’ was coined during the Great Depression...
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...Asian Americans Lequyen Tran Grand Canyon University: NRS-429V December 20, 2015 Asian Americans The United States (U.S.) is a diverse nation it is comprised of people from different countries all over the world. According to the U.S. Census Bureau report as of July 2014, approximately 36% of the population belongs to a racial or ethnic minority group (U.S. Census Bureau, n.d.). As the country continues to become more diverse it also impact changes in health care needs. Patient populations are becoming more diverse and complex with many different health barriers. Minority groups are mainly affected when it comes to health care because of the cultural, language, socioeconomic, and sociopolitical barriers that can burden their health. This essay will focus on one minority group in particular, Asian Americans. It will explain and provide information towards the groups’ current health status, how they define health promotion, and what health disparities exist in this group. Most Asians in America originate from countries in the Far East, Southeast Asia, or Indian subcontinent including countries like: Cambodia, China, India, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Pakistan, the Philippine Islands, Thailand, and Vietnam (U.S. Census). This minority group is diverse within itself. Many originated from nearly 50 different countries and have over 800 languages and dialects spoken among them (Asian American Health Initiative (AAHI), n.d.). They are also one of the fastest growing minority...
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...Visit the American Express Web site (www.americanexpress.com) to learn more about the different cards that American Express offers. Discuss the target market and positioning strategies for each. * How has American Express been able to maintain a competitive advantage throughout the many years of existence? * How has American Express been able to help consumers shift their attitude toward usage of the card? Is American Express taking a proactive approach to managing its marketing environment? How? Halfway down the homepage of the American Express website, there are four credits cards offered. The ones that are offered include personal cards, small business cards, corporate cards, and prepaid cards (American Express, 2015). There is actually a short quiz you can take with only three questions. I took it in less than 10 seconds and it told me that the Blue Cash Everyday Card as well as the TrueEarnings Card from Costco would be my best fit. In my wallet, you will actually find the Blue Cash Everyday Card. There are three featured personal cards available, but when you click on “View All Cards” there are a lot more with company partners and features. The quiz asks about preferred benefits, what form you’d like the rewards, and your total annual income. Until this assignment, I did not know there was a difference between a charge card and a credit card. Whatever card a consumer chooses would depend on their spending habits, what they prefer as their rewards, and which...
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...Instructor: Jiang Xiying 2011.5.29 American Dream At the very beginning of movie "The legend of 1900", several words --" He'd look up for a second. A quick glance out to sea and he'd see her. Then he'd just stand there rooted to the spot, his heart racing. And every time every damn time, I swear, he'd turn to us, towards the ship, towards everybody and scream. America!"-- was said to portray how exciting a man felt when he first saw America. It is the "American Dream", as we all know, that keeps attracting different people from different countries to chase their dreams in America. James Truslow Adams once defined the American Dream in 1931, " life should be better and richer and fuller for everyone, with opportunity for each according to ability or achievement" regardless of social class or circumstances of birth. The meaning of the American Dream, however, does not remain the same over the course of history. Nowadays the American Dream, despite its contribution to building a cohesive American experience, has been blamed for over-inflated expectations, because it has done nothing to improve the situation in which the working class is hard to get ahead. Therefore a issue has been raised: Do we still need American Dream? This issue over whether the American Dream is dead is complex and controversial, and different people may hold different views due to their distinct backgrounds. As far as I am concerned, I believe that the American Dream is as significant as it was before...
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...American Ways American Ways A Guide for Foreigners in the United States GARY ALTHEN with Amanda R. Doran and Susan J. Szmania First published by Intercultural Press. For information contact: Intercultural Press, Inc. Nicholas Brealey Publishing PO Box 700 3-5 Spafield Street Yarmouth, Maine 04096 USA London, EC1R 4QB, UK Tel: 207-846-5168 Tel: +44-207-239-0360 Fax: 207-846-5181 Fax: +44-207-239-0370 www.interculturalpress.com www.nbrealey-books.com © 1988, 2003 by Gary Althen Production and cover design by Patty J. Topel All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission from the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews. Printed in the United States of America 06 05 04 03 02 1 2 3 4 5 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Althen, Gary. American ways: a guide for foreigners in the United States/ Gary Althen.—2nd ed. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references (p. ) ISBN: 1-877864-99-4 (alk. paper) 1. United States—Guidebooks. 2. United States—Handbooks, manuals, etc. 3. Visitors, Foreign—United States—Handbooks, manuals, etc. 4. Aliens—United States—Handbooks, manuals, etc. 5. Intercultural communication—United States—Handbooks, manuals, etc. 6. United States—Social life and customs—1971– I. Title. E158.A46 2002 973—dc21 2002032741 ✰ ✰ ✰ Table of Contents Preface to the Second Edition........................................
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... Have you ever started a conversation about American football? I did. I was so embarrassed because I did not know what my friend was talking about. I thought he was talking about soccer; instead, he meant American football. I remember he said “it is okay” for not knowing about American football. I guess it might be “okay”, but I wish I knew about it and could talk with my friends. American football is more popular than soccer here in the United States because it is very challenging and interesting. First, American football is very challenging. It requires speed and power. Most of football players are fast runners: therefore, they can score a touchdown or pass the ball to their teammates easily. For example, a football player who plays as quarterback has more responsibility for passing the ball to his or her teammates accurately. This requires speed because if he or she holds the ball for a long time, opposite team players could easily block the quarterback. In addition, American football is very challenging because it requires power. Most of American football players are very muscular. It helps them to block or defense the opposite team’s players. Even though American Football is very aggressive and requires power and speed, it has rules and regulation; which maintain a safe game between American football’s teams. Moreover, each player uses protective equipment such as shoulder pads to avoid any injuries. Second, American football is interesting. It is a very attractive...
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...Essay One: What is an American? Gregory Coryell American Literature I Dr. Joseph Walker January 19, 2011 What is an American? America has always been based on the precept that it was formed as a melting pot. This term means that different religions, cultures, traditions and countries were blended together to create the “New America.” Europeans from various areas have fled their countries for many reasons and settled on American soil, “the land of the free.” Religious persecution, war, famine, and the hope for economic prosperity have enticed individuals to pull up their tent poles in their native lands and move to a bold new world, known as America. This new world, America would be a starting point and a birth of a new civilization and a new breed of people who all share one common goal. What does it actually mean to be an American? There are many definitions that have existed and that have helped us understand and shape our interpretation of this term. This paper will compare and contrast two separate views of what the new American is and what it means to be called an American citizen. In William Bradford’s, “Of Plymouth Plantation,” he accounts for his journey to the new world by describing the intent of his voyage, his first impression of his surroundings, and the things and people he encounters. Our text verifies Bradford’s hopeful spirit and passion for his beliefs when Bradford uses the term, “Pilgrims” to describe the “community of believers who...
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