newshow do americans define the american dream in 2015?
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8/18/2015 What Is the American Dream in 2015? | Vanity Fair
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T
FROM THE MAGAZINE
MAY 2015
How Do Americans Define the American Dream in 2015?
BY VANITY FAIR
here’s nothing dreamlike about how Americans perceive the American Dream. Nothingsurreal, or vague, or involving harried white rabbits in waistcoats. The American Dream,we seem to feel, is a simple, connect-the-dots matter; it makes perfect sense.
We have nothing against successful careers or wealth or fame, but far more of us believe that theAmerican Dream is about giving our kids a better life. And two-thirds of us think that our lives arebetter than our parents’, which means the system works. (Incidentally, more of those polled saidthat the American Dream is best embodied by Steve Jobs—even more than chose Kim Kardashian.)
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8/18/2015 What Is the American Dream in 2015? | Vanity Fair
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There’s no mystery about how to achieve this American Dream: through education. (So say 47percent, as opposed to the 9 percent who feel “being born wealthy” is the smart thing to do.) Nor isthere anything really mysterious about the political divide in how we view those traditionalaspirants to the American Dream, immigrants: 45 percent of Democrats say immigrants mostlyhelp the United States; 53 percent of Republicans say they mostly hurt it.
Finally, for all the griping, we lean toward the view that the American Dream is more robust rightnow than at any time in the past.
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Vanity Fair features indepth reporting, gripping narratives, and worldclass photography, plus heaping doses ofOscarblogging, royalwatching, and assorted guilty pleasures. @vanityfair
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