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The American Dream: A Hard Road to Success Jeff Leong English 5 January 2002 Jeff's 20/40 Anchor: Jeff Reporter: Jeff Jeff: Immigrants have been arriving in America for centuries - from when the first pilgrims came in 1607 to our current time. In search of a land of opportunities, their hopes were based on an intangible feeling-that everyone could succeed and no matter what situation you were in now, everyone had a chance. With the recent terrorist attacks and the predicted recession, is the American Dream living up to its hype, or does it merely lead to failure?
Jeff: The American Dream can be traced back to when America was first founded. It is the idea that "anyone in the United States, regardless of background, can 'make it.'" Because this feeling of freedom and security spread to overseas nations, immigration rose quickly, as people wanted political freedom, religious tolerance, and economic opportunities (Lee & Siemborski, 1996). Even then, in colonial America, conflicts arose between the foreign immigrants and the Native Americans. Many of those seeking the American Dream found disease and ethnic hatred from the Indians (Daniels, 1990).
As America grew larger, anti-immigration protests arose, making life difficult, if not impossible, for the newcomers. Protests grew more violent, as groups such as the Ku Klux Klan came to power. Congress implemented numerous restrictions, making the immigrant's journey over a treacherous and sometimes futile attempt.
Why futile? An example is the German boat St. Louis that came so close to America, it could hear the music from Miami hotels (Daniels, 1990). So close it could see the sandy beaches. The INS turned it all the way back to Germany without so much as a stop. With all of these conditions in effect, the American Dream dissolved into an abstract concept, hard to grasp and difficult to achieve.
Today, a survey shows that 71% of Americans say the Dream is owning a house; 24%-access to newest technologies; 17%-availability of different products or services; 70%-freedom of how to live; and 69% the fact that everyone has an equal chance (Lee & Siemborski, 1996).
How many of today's immigrants are able to actually claim that the Dream is working for them?
"Very slim to none (Kleiman, 2000)," says Robert Perrucci, a professor of Sociology at Purdue University. "The children of today's immigrants go for knowledge-driven jobs, whereas the first generation are focused upon labor intensive jobs. When the cost of universities goes up, which it is presently, the number of immigrants that can afford getting an education go down, and therefore America loses IQ points (Kleiman, 2000)."
What about those "instant computer millionaires" who come as poor immigrants and suddenly become rich? According to Perrucci, the percentages of becoming a high tech millionaire are similar to becoming a NBA star (Kleiman, 2001). In the twenty-first century, the American Dream and the ability to become rich has taken a severe beating because of the downsizing of organizations, globalization, and the high cost of a quality education, just to name a few (Kleiman, 2001). Take a look at one of America's immigrant families, the Trans. After running from Vietnam, they settled in England, when a job opening in America spurred their immigration here. Hai Tran was then laid off at Boeing in Seattle, found a job at the Honda plant in Ohio, got fired, and eventually ended up in Texas, specializing in computer design. After moving numerous times and losing his job, he is doubtful whether the American Dream still exists (Leong, 2001). Tran: "Though I believe that the American Dream still exists outside of this country, I think once you've been in it, it seems to disappear because of the way people are treated in this country (Leong, 2001)." He is referring to his firing at Honda, where he suspects that his bosses were racially motivated. Tran: "Why else would I be fired? I was hard-working, I never missed a day, and I could even say that I was the best in my field (Leong, 2001)." When asked about the recent terrorist attack and how it has affected the Dream, Tran replies that he "bets people are rethinking about immigration here (Leong, 2001)." If you look at the past statistics, immigrants have always struggled to be on top. Take for example the process of getting a green card. According to the Immigration and Naturalization Service, an application to register permanent residence costs $220 (INS, 2000). Tran remembers it to be much less when he got it, an indication that fees have been on the rise. Even getting a job that requires a college education is getting tougher. According to the 1990 census, about one fourth of all "high education" jobs, such as pharmacists, dentists and engineers, went to immigrants (Steinberg, 2000). The 2000 census, however, indicates that now only one out of every six high education jobs go to immigrants (U.S. Census Bureau, 2001). In today's world, immigrant life has steadily been on the decline. With higher technological demands of immigrants, it is almost a necessity to be a part of the highest quality university just to get somewhere (Kleiman, 2000). Perrucci: "I'm not terribly optimistic . . . what we need is free or low-cost quality education for everyone (Kleiman, 2000)." Occupational difficulties have also led to the destruction of the American Dream. In the 1920's, jobs were plentiful, and so more immigrants came seeking these easy opportunities. During the roaring twenties, one could be hired easily and at a good wage too. Perrucci: "It used to mean getting a good job at GM with lifetime job security, stable wage growth, pensions, health benefits, and life insurance (Kleiman, 2000)." Now, many of the small businesses of immigrant entrepreneurs that were so successful 80 years ago have been disappearing because of big businesses. Take Jacob Engler, a Jewish immigrant, for example. After emigrating from Israel in 1949, his parents started a grocery store right in downtown Columbus. After taking over the store for his parents, he soon found out that the competing markets of big businesses were devastating to his small business (Leong, 2001). Engler: "My dad worked very hard just to start up this store. We didn't have lots of money to begin with. We still don't have a lot of money. Just enough to stay afloat, I guess (Leong, 2001)." And how have big corporations affected his business? Engler: "When my dad first opened this store, business was booming . . . until they opened that Kroger across the street. I guess people would rather go to Kroger and big places like those than a little shop (Leong, 2001)." Corporate monopolies show a trend of destroying small business owners, especially ones within a very close proximity. Engler's grocery store is just across the street from a large Kroger store. He says that his sales have dropped considerably since the opening of the supermarket, which promotes daily sales and a larger selection of foods (Leong, 2001). Jeff: Are opportunities that existed in the 1950s still achievable in the beginning of the 21st century? Engler: "Business opportunities aren't really that great and I heard the unemployment rate is rising." As a member of the Jewish communities, Jacob is also very concerned about racism towards immigrants, both in and out of the workplace. Engler: "Sometimes the racism will get to me-this is downtown Columbus, you know! I've heard talk about making workplaces non-discriminatory, but I don't think that's going to happen. Some things are just going to stay (Leong, 2001)." There are those people who say that all immigrants who come here have the opportunity to work their way up to the top. No matter what situation they were in before - poverty, sickness, even fugitives - they can become successful. How do Hai Tran and Jacob Engler reply to this? Tran: "That is completely untrue. Sure, there are some who have the luck to become successful. Most of us immigrants don't have the opportunity though. I worked seven days a week and I have a college education, and where am I now? Still stuck in the same lousy job (Leong 2001)." Engler: "When my parents came, it didn't matter whether you were poor. You could get a job very quickly. Today, I'm struggling just to keep my shop open. There's no chance for me to make it to the top. With not enough money, I'm pretty much stuck here." This is not a surprise since many immigrants come to America without an education or occupational field. The INS reports that almost half of all immigrants coming into America say they do not have a specialized field, and many of them only have a high school education (INS, 2001). With all the disadvantages immigrants have today, it's no wonder the American Dream doesn't have the powerful influence it once had. Today's statistics show a decreasing immigration rate because America isn't what it used to be. The recent terrorist attacks and ethnic hate groups only add to the further degradation of the Dream. As we head into the future, we can only guess at what will further happen to the American Dream. One thing is for certain: the immigration debate will continue at a fervent pace, but a consensus is not likely to be near.



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