I believe the American Dream is just a skewed vision of what people think our lives should be like. Most people believe that if they attain all of the aspects of the American Dream, then they will be happy. I feel that in our culture, people are constantly searching for happiness, as if that is what will truly satisfy their longing desire for something more in their life. In reality, happiness is short-lived and usually quite dissatisfying and not all that it has cracked up to be.
Today, I there are many different aspects of the American Dream. One aspect is having a big and beautiful house with granite counter tops, stainless steel appliances, wood floors and of course, the perfect family. Part of the American Dream is to have a perfect little family that is very proper and always happy. However, actually attaining that dream is hardly possible. I believe the American Dream actually is different for different groups of people. As an example the American Dream would look different from a teenager's perspective than it would look from the perspective of an adult. A teenager's American Dream may be to have a perfect looking body and all of the latest and most expensive clothes. It might be to have a lot of friends and be a star athlete. Whereas the American Dream to a forty year old would most likely look different and have to do with family, work, houses and cars.
I think what our culture has defined as being successful is not actually what it means to be successful, however that is a matter of opinion. These days people are successful if they have a lot of money. Success is also defined by happiness. If people are happy, then they are successful. I think happiness is a good thing, but most definitely not the means of which to define success. In my opinion, our culture has become very shallow, and has a skewed thinking pattern on success, but it would take a lot to change that thinking pattern of Americans.
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