American Dream Poetry

In This Gary Hess poem it talks about how the american dream is tearing apart the country. It tells how those who are achieving this dream are doing so at any cost no matter who it hurts, as long as they get what they want and we need to change this to save our country. This is good to put in the website due to it being able to put the dream into check and show what’s actually happening. Here is the Poem:

What kind of world is it today
When love for our country
Is tearing us apart
When love for our country
Is taking our freedoms
When love for our country
Is killing our children

So much wrong with the world today
So much can be done
The states need to help those in need
And stop hurting the ones who bleed

Differences between our nations
Are not as great as it seems
We are all hungry
And need to breathe

Countries with growing poverty and hunger
Need our help more than ever
Spend money not on oil
Not on weapons to kill
Spend the money on food
Spend the money to cure cancer
Spend the money to cure aids

We can do this
All we need is to help
Cure the hatred
Instead of pleasing our greed

In the next poem it speaks of the American dream because it tells how it is what everybody desires whether you are rich or poor and how its a dream made a reality by many. It goes on to tell about how not every persons is the same but it’s relatively close. This represents the idea that the website is trying to give very well due to its imagery and explanations. Here is that very poem:

It is the American Dream
What we all strive for and imagine
Indouble-wide trailers to double-wide mansions
In sprouting lakes of fake fish.
Nothing captures its essence
Unbound by time or dust or rot
The thingswe cherish still are lovingly patted
And brought through thecenturies.

It is more than a dream now
It's a reality that the millionshave made
Our heart and soul builds the heaven on earth.
A refuge for thesick,
And a shelter for the needy,
It is everything we desire.

Inthe cherry trucks and laughing children
To indolent teenagers with smokecircling
We see our dream and the actuality
It may not be perfect, but itis our heaven
And so disillusioned we conjure forth our hope.

In thepicket fences we see our childhood
In the sky we see our adulthood
And inthe middle we see our life.
Suspended, but not contained,
It is the dreamthat wakes within us all.

This final Ivy Poem relates to the American dream because it is talking about the path one must take to get to the dream. It says how in order to achieve the American dream, one must work hard and do things they don’t want to do but must. This belongs on the website because unlike others, it talks about what its like to achieve the American dream and not what the dream is.

so this is where all the dreaming takes me
to a cold, empty reality
with sleep still in my eyes
shivering, confused, I must’ve overslept
now it’s time to wake up
one last yawn, then face the lies
I’m barefoot and the streets are rough
paved with broken glass
but that’s okay
’cause the land is flowing
with milk and honey
bread and butter
and justice
if you just keep on going ...

Electronics

This is a picture of a plasma screen television.  In today’s generation a plasma TV is probably included in everybody’s American dream because of its popularity.  When the first TV’s came out they were big and bulky but everyone had to have one.  Now TV’s are wide and thin.  This is a good example of how the American dream has stayed the same in cretian aspects.

The computer is another piece of technology that has become a normal part of a person’s American dream in today’s society.  When computers came out, people couldn’t wait to get their hands on one.  That is when owning a computer became apart of some people’s American dream.  Today, some people can’t even go a day without using a computer.

In the old days the American dream could sometimes include having things like radios, record players, and stereos so that people could be able to listen to their favorite music.  Now a day’s a person’s American dream sometimes includes owning gadgets like the iPod to listen to their music.  This is a only one example of how the American dream has changed.

Two of the Main Components of the American Dream

This is a picture of two things that come up in almost everybody’s American dream.  These two things are a house and money.  A house and a lot of money have been a part of people’s American dreams for as long as the idea of the American dream has been around.

The Dream today Through the Eyes of "The Dream"

This picture gives a person a glimpse of what the American dream is today.  The photo is of rapper Terius "Dream" Nash's Mixtape. The dream today is to have a good-looking partner, a big house, a nice car, and a lot of money.  This picture demonstrates this because of the car, mansion, and beautiful women in the background of the photo. 

1950s American Dream

This is a picture of a husband and wife who would have are living the American dream in the 1930’s -1950’s.  Back then the dream was to have a family and a house to live in.  This picture is a prime example of this because the couple is pictured in their house ready to enjoy a meal.

Barn that Represents American Dream

This is a picture of a farm and barn with the American flag on it.  This picture is significant because it has always been the American dream to own your own farm land since the 1930’s.  However as time progressed people grew out of this dream and into other dreams like owning big houses and cars. 

Before and After American Dream

These two pictures show how the American dream has changed over time.  The dream has gone from farming and having the basic gadgets such as the pitchfork, to golfing and using technology such as cell phones and satellite dishes.  People are not interested in the things that people used to be interested in.  The first picture is of a farmer and his wife on their land holding pitchforks.  The second picture is of the same two people but now the farmers have evolved and developed into business men who are talking on cell phones and holding golf clubs and smoking cigars. 

Cars in the American Dream

People always wanted a new car every decade

Some of these cars included
Corvette
Volkswagon Buggy
Model T
Ferrari


Lamborghini

 

Cars have been apart of the American dream since cars started being manufactured. Everyone wanted a car because it made transportation a lot easier. Cars also made people feel somewhat independent because people no longer needed to count on public transportation for rides around town. As time changed the design of the cars changed but people still desired them. People might have even wanted cars more than they did before when other gadgets like radios and mini TV’s started popping up in cars. This is another example of hw some aspects of the American dream has stayed the same.

The Dream in 2011: Ted Williams

Earlier this year, a reporter from the Columbus Dispatch saw a homeless man on the street. The man on the street was holding a sign that he had the go given talent of a voice. The reporter went up to the man and paid him money to speak. The man had a smooth voice that did not match his face. The man, Ted Williams, was living on the streets because of addiction. He now has had offers for jobs from Kraft, MSNBC, the Cleveland Cavaliers, and many others.  Here is the talked about video clip:

Ted Williams Voice


Overnight he was turning into a sensation and no longer looked like a pan handler. He was flown to New York to reunite with family and is in the process of getting his life back on track. Estergoldberg.com has provided a before and after photo of Ted where it shows how much his life had changed. Here it is:

Jay-z's song on the American Dream

Sean "Jay-z" Carter is a well know rap artist who has been known for producing multiple hits. He was been very popular in America. A Brooklyn native wrote a hit song about his view on the American Dream. Here are the lyrics to this song "The American Dream."

American Dream Poems

Poet Gary Hess wrote a poem about how he sees the American dream. His American Dream Poem gives a positive view to start, but later on talks about his negative stance of the dream as well. Hess is usually known for writing romantic poems, shows how he sees the dream.
The poem goes:

America America
The land of the brave
I love you so dearly
But they treat you so bad
The politicians and business men
Treat you like mad

What we once loved is suddenly fading
Our dreams won't come true
Our lives broken for you

We need to preserve the great nation
And turn it from bad
For you are our hope
And everything for we stand.

Here is another link to Hess's poem below:
American Dream
Another Poem by Gary Hess:

Serious anxiety flowing
Crashing through my mind
Blood rushing through my veins
Muscles tightening upon compression

The moment is soon to come
Where losers will not win
The masks come off from posers
And winners show their skills

The death of one has come quickly
Another soon to fall
The abilities matched between us
Strength, quickness, stamina
Just the same

I choose the weapon I know best
To fight off the evil souls
Outnumbering my foolish hatred
They strike quickly

This moment of oppression
Only seen by some
It’s the time to attack
My weapon swung but too soon

They move quickly to retaliate
My arm struck, bleeding
My opponent strong but still foolish
I use my mind to strike back
Weakening their hope to win

Seeing the passion within my eyes
They settle into fear
Victory will soon come
Victory will soon come

This Poem relates to the American dream because this is the mentality that they say one must have inorder to achieve the american dream. It tells how this person will emerge victorious while others will not and will fail because of this ideology. It is good to put in the website because it shows how one is able to achieve the American dream.

A final Gary Hess Poem:
This poem takes a different view by looking at the idea of the American dream who has not achieved it. This person tells how they are not able to achieve what everyone is said to be able to get and how America is unjust to the poor. This is good to put in the website because it gives the idea that not   everyone can achieve this dream.

Hundreds of dollars spent on time
Money wasted for every being
Getting hurt every moment
Losing faith this very second

What is there to do in this life?
Knowing I won't have what I need
Not the house or secure job
Not the right life to live

America the great
Or injustice
That's the way it is
In this great nation

The poor can't succeed
The poor can't live
The poor can't live love
America is misery

What is the American Dream?

Definition

 Horatio Alger’s idea of the American dream revolutionized the goals of Americans from the 1930s to present day.  Compared to now, the 1930s American dream was very basic. People just wanted to make just enough money to get by.  Due to the great depression Americans in the 1930s tries to cope through it by investing their stocks in stocks and auto mobiles.  The basic American dream in the 1930s is a simple life, a dream of owning a farm and having a family.        

            Later in the 1940s, World War 2 was upon many countries and influenced the American dream because the majority of the money in America’s economy was out towards the war.  The American dream advanced from people just supporting themselves to supporting a family as well as themselves, and obtaining a well-paying career after the war. 

            In the 1950s, not only did families start to gain better lives, but the economy and industry grew exponentially as well.  People started purchasing goods that were not available during the war, because of this the American dream shifted from a simple family life to owning luxuries materials such as a television and new automobiles.

            In the 1960s the hippie era had a big upturn on the American dream. The dream in the 60s was enjoying life without any concerns or worries, while not conforming to society.

Jimmy Hendrix and The Beatles had a huge influence on this era due to their music that inspired people to live a nonconformity lifestyle.

            In the 1970s people wanted to party. Disco clubs along with attire of bellbottom pants, t-shirts, earth shoes, and gypsy dresses became of rage. Nontraditional shoulder length hair   became the norm as the American shifted to having an RV, going on vacations and just living to party

            In the 1980s sports and technological advances had a major influence on the new era. Basketball and baseball were the biggest sports of this new era.  It seemed like everyone dreamed of being a professional athlete and making millions. People during this time had intentions of having things like office computers, camcorders and video games.

 The 1990's was the year of electronics. One major invention of the 1990's was the World Wide Web, in 1992. By 1998 100 million people were online which was an improvement from 3 million in 1994. During this time the American dream went mainly back to the more contemporary way of having a good job and house with a family.