1. How would you describe the “American Dream?”
In my opinion, the "American Dream" is the fulfillment of the goals of an individual. So for me, living the "American Dream" would mean living a life full of service and purpose, spreading the word of God and living a positive and loving life. There are many ways that I can achieve these goals such as being part of a good church, starting a family (eventually), getting a job in which I can serve others (such as physical therapy which I am very interested in) and overall trying to stay positive in any situation. This may be completely different from someone else's perception of the "American Dream", however, and that is okay. Everyone has different dreams and goals for themselves and that is what creates their "American Dream". Overall, I would say that the "American Dream" is comprised of drive and determination to achieve an individual's definition of success.
2. What is your definition of wealth?
My definition of wealth is having an abundance of material things. When you look up that word, it says practically the same thing. I don't believe material wealth is the most important thing; I think happiness is. However, I think in some cases you can reach happiness (or at least certain kinds of happiness) through material possessions. That might sound bad but whatever, everyone knows it's the truth to a great extent. Yes there are some people who are genuinely the happiest they could possibly be with minimum possessions, but that is not the majority of people. I'm not going to try to lie in order to make myself sound as un-materialistic as possible because that is not true. However, I don't think that I would be unhappy without these material things. Thus, I do think the true definition of wealth has to do with money and material, but I don't think wealth is equivalent to happiness which some do.
3. What are Americans’ attitudes toward wealth and poverty?
Americans' in general have an attitude towards wealth that is the exact opposite than that towards poverty. Wealth is desired, aimed for and admired. Poverty is feared, aimed against and opposed. Both, however, use the other as a platform for certain things they stand against (in a way). To explain this complicated thought (sorry my brain can be confusing) I wanted to talk about politics. Wealthy, conservatives will use poverty to show that those in that situation aren't working hard enough in order to get themselves to the same place as the wealthy (they worked hard to get to the American Dream, so everyone else needs to work harder to get there). As for those not as well-off who have a more liberal viewpoint, they may want to tax the wealthy more and themselves less. These thoughts are just random and I do not have any intention of stating which side I agree with, but this is simply a way for me to connect the two in a real life example. I apologize if that was still confusing.
4. What is your attitude toward wealth and poverty?
