Originally, the 'Dream' was envisaged to be life in a new world where anything successful can happen and good things might (Hochschild, 1996). In 1963, Martin Luther King Jnr said that he too had a dream "that on the red hills of Georgia the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at a table of brotherhood" Video: The Legacy). Since then, many aspects of Martin Luther King's Dream for the American people have come true, but some remain a dream.

Today, the notion of the 'American Dream' stretches far beyond the idea of political and religious freedom to a more economically oriented base. The United States has increasingly become a consumer-based society, so the idea of 'success' is now measured by material wealth - a white picket fenced house in the suburbs complete with car, dog and two children. The American Dream is still alive, but only in the minds of those citizens who have the resources to fulfil the definition of success, namely, material wealth.

The US is the most influential country in the world. This is seen not only in monetary strength and business power, but also in the choice of music, clothe

Jeffrey Klein states "..that although American society is more diverse than ever before, a charged division still exists; namely the line between blacks and whites" (1997:3). Affirmative action laws were passed in an attempt to redress this situation, particularly in respect to college entry and access to professional institutions. Affirmative action was seen as a vehicle for improving the educational and workplace opportunities of minorities, thereby bringing the reality of the American Dream closer to their grasp.

While the disadvantaged continue to see others around them moving towards a Dream that they can never hope to achieve themselves, material gain by illegal or violent means continues to be a problem.

Skolnick, j & Fyfe, J; Above The Law: Police & The Use of Excessive Force, Free Press, USA, 1993

In Hoop Dreams, the two young basketball players were both attempting to fulfil the criteria of the American Dream. The only way for them to get out of the ghetto, move their families out of poverty and receive a decent education was through basketball. To be selected for a college team meant a chance at the NBA and, therefore, a chance at life. When one boy is not selected you see the heartache in his eyes and the fear that his Dream may not be fulfilled

Sugarmann, J; NRA: Money Firepower and Fear, Washington National Press, USA, 1992 (Reading Pack)

American citizens are continually faced with the rising problem of violence. Streets have become a battleground where the elderly are beaten, terrified women are viscously attacked and raped, teenage gangs shoot it out for a patch of turf to sell their illegal drugs and, innocent children are caught in the crossfire of drive-by and school-yard shootings. For some, the answer to their economic problems is simply to take by force from others what they themselves do not have.

The rural crisis has changed family farmers' expectations of the American Dream. Barlett states that "parents are increasingly urging their children to seek employment away from the farm out of fear of them not reaching the Dream of increased income, financial security and other measures of success that have become dominant values in America's industrialised capitalist society" (1993:6). For the parents, the American Dream is dying, but for their children it is still within reach if they join the exodus away from rural life.

America has traditionally been a land of immigrants and the home to people of many nationalities and cultures, all aspiring to achieve the Dream. Early immigrants have left an indelible mark on American cities and society, from the Italians in New York, the Scandinavian farmers of Wisconsin and the Mid-West, to the more recent waves of immigrants from Asia on the West Coast (Hochschild, 1996). All came to pursue the Dream and entered the great 'melting pot' in the desire to become a successful American.

Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 2554
Approximate Pages = 10 (250 words per page double spaced)