1. The American Nightmare

2. Contents Contradiction of the American Dream Problems of Brand America
Stance on climate change
Social Welfare system
Problems in education
Immigration
Conclusion
Sources

3. Contradiction of the American Dream
officially the American Dream offers: freedom, liberty, individuality, equality, pursuit of happiness
reality is different
1. job-related success depends on your family background → false promise 'from rags to riches'
2. materialism versus humanism → no individuality
3. personal definition can differ → everybody has different ideals which they want to reach
principles like 'America the beautiful' and 'The dream of the frontier' aren`t realistic

4. 'Brand America' the image is damaged due to:
struggling tourism → lost over $100 billion in tourism since 2001; 150,000 jobs gone
struggling economy → poverty of the youth, cost of living surges as income falls
lack of trust
disfunctional welfare system
problems in education
unemployment

5. Stance on climate change
no common ground regarding climate change → only liberal states start to tackle the problem without being supported by the government
influence by political attitudes → Republicans versus Democrats
causes: economy, courage, faith
climate change as a key topic is subject to controversity

7. Social Welfare System no single welfare program in the USA
health insurance is voluntary but does not cover fully medical services
high health care costs: twice as high as in Germany
only assistance programs (f.ex. Food)
poverty and welfare dependancy in terms of private causes → system is not helpful enough
does not provide enough benefits to eliminate poverty
high number of low income jobs

8. Problems in education
only successful as long as one is from the higher class of society
education has become a “luxury-priced necessity”
lower classes have less chances to achieve a good education and to get well-paid jobs → system of expensive private schools (no standard school system for everyone)
possibilities to climb the internal career ladder are more difficult
companies try to keep their costs as low as possible (part-time workers)
jobs moved to countries like China and India

9. Immigration no acceptance and less tolerance minimal and sporadic pay
illegal → no chance of integration
patriotism
→ Conclusion: In fact the American Dream turns into the American Nightmare because the ideals can not be reached due to lots of different facts which are all connected to exploitation. Exploitation not only refers to the feelings of the people in the USA but also to the surrounding conditions.

10. Sources Material from class http://america.day-dreamer.de/contra.htm
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