American Dream Flashcards
Whether Americans can still believe in the AD
has bcome increasingly questionable given the economic context and the current bleak outlook
asking such a question boils down to wondering
whether there is still room for hope and brighter prospects in today’s America
Undoubtedly, the basic tenet of AD
has been undermined
AD
any individual working hard can make it/cn get head
this is best exemplified by
the results of a poll showing most AMericans no longer believe their children will have a brighter future
Hence
a growing pessimism on life which can be accounted for in several ways
several ways:
Americans have been squeezed by the sluggish economy over the lat few years
it also seems that
they have lost faith in the long-standing basic institutions of society such as:
- the governement
- the churches
- the SUpreme Court
- the banks
this growing pessimism was
echoed in Obama’s speech in his 2014 State of the Union Address
this speech
clearly acknowledges the grim reality most Americans are faced with
he reckons the AD
has been endangered by increasing income inequality and that the gap between the haves and the have-nots has widened
though the economy has started to
recover it has just benefited the 1%
on top of that
social mobility has stagned and Americans find it extremely hard to climb the social ladder
thus the AD seems
beyond their grasp
However, according to another survey carried out in
July, it seems that most people in the US are living the AD even though they don’t recognize it.
Long-time citizens are reported to
be more demanding and set higher expectations for themselves
while earning more
they are no longer able to accumulate wealth
this is due to
a shifting definition of the term
achieving the Dream is no longer
viewed as encompassing all the traditional elements of education, home ownership, opportunity and so on but as relative to wealth
…are seen as key to achieving success
being both Internet-savy creative and determined … as they enable business owners to promote themselves on the job market
the best option to find a decent job
to have a capacity for anticipation so as to adapt to the demand for specific skills in our ever-changing world
All things considered
it appears that there is still a srtong work ethic and much creativity among Americans.
the Dream will be kept alive
as long as people are aware that they have to earn it
principe fondamental
a basic tenant
definition of AD
it is a belief that America is the land of opportunity where everybody can be successful provided they are talented and work hard
american history is
full of success stories and of self-made men who started from scratch and managed to climb all the rungs of the social ladder
petit à petit
gradualy
dépérir
to wither
céder à
to give way to
the belief that US is the strongest nation in world is gradually withering :
- its frailty was exposed on 9/11 it is now regarded as a giant with feet of clay
- hard hit by the economic downturn
- fialure of Obamacare
- other countries are challenging America’s suprmeacy
- the gap between the have and the have nots is widening
the US has been hard hit by the economic downturn
it dealt a severe blow to their morale
opward mobility is running out of steam
devenir rich
to strike it irch
attirer
to entice
l’envers du décor
the seamy side
rêve illusoire
an elusive dream
chimère
a pipe dream
ne jamais se réaliser
to fail to materialiez
être hos de portée
to be beyond sb’s reach
rêve brisé
a shattered dream
the AD has always
held out th epromise that as long as an individual works hard enough in this land of freedom and opportunities he can achieve anything
those already on America soil
may be prone to thinking such a dream has faded and belngs to bygone days when Rockefeller and the like could start from scratch and reach the top by making huge sums of money
the crisis has taught Americans that
wealth can be short-lived and downturns may happen overnight, as many traders have experienced over the last few years
Conversely abroad
the Dream is still alive and kicking with immigration on an upward trend
- sremains a magnet for worldwide brains
for some the Dream has become nothing more than
a pipe dream, for others the dream is as potent as ever, just waiting to come true
