Hello!
I was speaking to one of my friends back home and she said I should be happy that I am in the US, known to be the land of opportunity, specially for people of my age group. I have many work options, etc etc.
I started to read to find out the reasons the US termed as a land of opportunity. The one reason that came up the most important reason was that people are free to do what they want to do. In many other countries, people are bound by social boundaries and cannot do simple activities. Women cannot do a simple activity as drive and go out alone in some countries. In the US Declaration of Independence, it states all men are created equal. It was the American Dream to be in the US. However, the meaning of this American Dream has changed over the course of history. Historically the Dream originated in the mystique regarding frontier life. As the Royal Governor of Virginia noted in 1774, the Americans "for ever imagine the Lands further off are still better than those upon which they are already settled". He added that, "if they attained Paradise, they would move on if they heard of a better place farther west.
This brings me to the question - is the US actually a land of opportunity in today's scenario? Quoting from the Internet,
"Blanden et al. report, "the idea of the US as 'the land of opportunity' persists; and clearly seems misplaced." According to these studies, "by international standards, the United States has an unusually low level of intergenerational mobility: our parents' income is highly predictive of our incomes as adults." Intergenerational mobility in the United States is lower than in France, Germany, Sweden, Canada, Finland, Norway and Denmark. Among high-income countries for which comparable estimates are available, only the United Kingdom had a lower rate of mobility than the United States." "This challenges the notion of America as the land of opportunity."[46][47][48] During a TED conference on the social ills associated with economic inequality, social researcher Richard G. Wilkinson said that, "if Americans want to live the American dream, they should go to Denmark."
I found a blog when I was searching for this topic - see if anyone wants to read it.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/bill-ayres/america-the-land-of-oppor_1_b_5208374.html
What do you think? Is US a land of opportunity?
I was speaking to one of my friends back home and she said I should be happy that I am in the US, known to be the land of opportunity, specially for people of my age group. I have many work options, etc etc.
I started to read to find out the reasons the US termed as a land of opportunity. The one reason that came up the most important reason was that people are free to do what they want to do. In many other countries, people are bound by social boundaries and cannot do simple activities. Women cannot do a simple activity as drive and go out alone in some countries. In the US Declaration of Independence, it states all men are created equal. It was the American Dream to be in the US. However, the meaning of this American Dream has changed over the course of history. Historically the Dream originated in the mystique regarding frontier life. As the Royal Governor of Virginia noted in 1774, the Americans "for ever imagine the Lands further off are still better than those upon which they are already settled". He added that, "if they attained Paradise, they would move on if they heard of a better place farther west.
This brings me to the question - is the US actually a land of opportunity in today's scenario? Quoting from the Internet,
"Blanden et al. report, "the idea of the US as 'the land of opportunity' persists; and clearly seems misplaced." According to these studies, "by international standards, the United States has an unusually low level of intergenerational mobility: our parents' income is highly predictive of our incomes as adults." Intergenerational mobility in the United States is lower than in France, Germany, Sweden, Canada, Finland, Norway and Denmark. Among high-income countries for which comparable estimates are available, only the United Kingdom had a lower rate of mobility than the United States." "This challenges the notion of America as the land of opportunity."[46][47][48] During a TED conference on the social ills associated with economic inequality, social researcher Richard G. Wilkinson said that, "if Americans want to live the American dream, they should go to Denmark."
I found a blog when I was searching for this topic - see if anyone wants to read it.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/bill-ayres/america-the-land-of-oppor_1_b_5208374.html
What do you think? Is US a land of opportunity?
