Alonzo

PatriciaAlonzo
Ms.Kleinberg
HEnglish11(4)
9October2015
DissatisfiedAmericans
TheChinesephilosopherConfuciusbelievedthesuperiormanloveshissoul,theinferiorman
loveshispossessionswhenconsideringtheconceptofcontentmentinlife.Itsuggeststhathappiness
existsfromwithin,andthosewhovaluetheirmaterialpossessionsfailtoachievethisgoal.Theideais
notunfamiliarnorperplexingthesayingmoneycan'tbuyhappinessiscommonknowledgetochildren.
Despitethefamiliarity,however,manypeopleareguiltyofmaterialisminAmericansociety.Those
fortunateenoughtoliveinluxuryappearcontent

andplacid.Therefore,themajorityofthepopulation
constantlyseeksthebestandlatestmaterialstheyareabletoafford.Thesituationinitselfpresentsa
perpetualneedforchange.Toaddressthecircumstanceandenhancethesenseofcontentmentofthe
Americanpeople,societymustrealizetheirviceofmaterialism,asConfuciusproposed.Althoughthe
opportunityforeducationandsocialadvancementdoesexist,theAmericanWayisdefinedby
societysconsistentdissatisfactionasdisplayedbytheparadoxestheycreateforthemselves.
ThestoryofAmericaisataleofhopefulimmigrantsseekingabetterlifeforthemselvesandtheir
families.Theamountofimmigrantsstillenteringthecountrytodaysupportstheideabehindthe
foundationofthisuniquenation.Theirmotivationmaylieinthesuccessoftheirchildrenparentswant
[them]tobeabletobeanything[they]wanttobe(Weitz1:28:24).Thehardworkandeffortrequired

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toleaveeverythingtheyonceknewandenteranalienenvironmentprovidesanachievementthatisgiven
insufficientpraise.Immigrantsfrommultiplecountriesreestablishtheirprinciplesandareabletoprovide
alifeofopportunityforthemselvesandtheirfamilies.Still,manyofthesefamiliesarenotabletoachieve
theirgoal.Theroadtocitizenshipormerelypermanentresidencycanprovidealonganddifficult
processacquiringagreencardrequiresthepetitionofanemployerorfamilymember,andapplyingfor
citizenshiprequiresaprocesstakingatleast5years,evenunderthebestofcircumstances.Italso
requiresnaturalizationfeesandotherexpensessomeareunabletoprovide.Forthisreason,many
MexicanimmigrantsresideinAmericaillegally,proceedinginconstantfearofgettingcaught.These
fearsareexpressedinthecharacterCarlosin
ABetterLife
,whowasnotabletoaskforthehelpofthe
policeafterhistruckwasstolen.Althoughsomeoftheirintentionsareinnocentanddirectedtowardthe
wellbeingoftheirchildren,severalpeoplearesentbackandreturndissatisfiedwiththecollapseoftheir
hopes.Thereforethepossibilityofchangeandimprovementstillleavepeopledisheartened.
Americanshavegrownaccustomedtotheirsimplelifestyle,thustakingitforgranted.They
focusontheirownambitionsandignoretheopportunitiesothersdreamofclaiming.Americans
overindulgetheirchildreninregardtohowtheywereraised(Steinbeck3).Childrenaregivencountless
optionsforclothing,food,andactivities.WhencomparedtocountrieslikeCambodiaandthe
Philippines,theyappeartolivealifeofbliss.YetforAmericans,itisthefactthattheyarenotawareof
theseverityofothersconditionsthattheyarestillleftsearchingformore.ThemajorityofAmerican
childrenareaccustomedtoexcess,andthereforeareunawareoftheprivilegedlifetheyexperience
everyday.Inmoreextremesettings,wealthierAmericansmaybenumbtoitall,andatthepoint

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wheremorethingsdidntexcite[them]orsatisfy[them](Hill10).Atthispointpeopleshouldrealize
thattheirgadgetswillnotbringthemhappinessinlife.Theseobjectsarethereasonfortheir
discontentment,andAmericansmustexpandtheirperspectivetofindthefulfilmenttheydeprived
themselvesof.Afterall,peoplewilleventuallyberememberedfortheiractions,asopposedtotheir
belongings.Theymustbeabletoshowgratitudeforwhattheyhaveandseekhappinessinthemselves
andintheiroutlook.
ThematerialismevidentthroughoutAmericansocietyshouldtroublemany.However,people
liketobelievethattheyareincontroloftheirdesiresandthateverythingtheybuyisreasonableand
justifiable.TheirgaragesarepackedastightlyasthestonesofMachuPicchu,withitemsofvarying
value(Boyle41).Americansappeartoobsessivelystuffthemselveswithinsignificantobjects,someof
whichhavenotbeenseenorusedinyears.Theyfadefrommemoryastheirownersacquireevenmore
materials.Also,thefastpacedchangesinAmericanculturemakeitevenharderforpeopletostop
consuming.Thedevelopmentoftechnology,suchassmartphones,significantlyimpactedtheeconomy
in2013,61percentofAmericansownedasmartphoneand91percentownedamobilephone,
accordingtoABCNews.Becauseofitsrelevance,peopleareconstantlydeterminingtheirvaluebased
onthepossessionstheybear.Furthermore,itistruethattheseitemsprovideitsownerwithjoyfora
shortperiodoftime,thoughtheyactuallydistractonefromrealizingthatthebeststuffinlifeisntstuffat
all,andthatrelationships,experiencesandmeaningfulworkarethestaplesofahappylife(Hill27).As
aresultofthisunderstanding,manyturntohobbiesandotheractivitiestheyfindenjoyable.Through
thesenewexperiences,peopleinteractwithoneanotheranddiscover

afeelingtheirpossessions

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deprivedthemof.Ifmorepeoplecontinuetograspthisconcept,societywillbeabletoachieve
happinessandsuccess.Finally,theconsumerismevidentintheUnitedStatescanonlybecombattedby
therecognitionthatitdoesnotresultinlifelongcontentment.
ManymayperceivetheAmericanlifestyleasbeingthemodelandaspirationforothercountries.
Itscitizensfeeltheyaresuperiorintheaspectsofindividuality,influence,andimportance.Afterall,many
findinspirationinthegenerosityandhospitalitytheyappeartopractice.Yet,howfardoesthis
perceptionextendwhenpedestrianswillmakeawidecirclearoundthemandyingonthepavement,
andagirlscreamingforhelpinthestreetdrawsonlyslammeddoors,closedwindows,andsilence
(Steinbeck3)?AsasocietyAmericanssaytheyhopeforthesuccessandachievementofoneanother,
yettheyrefrainfromdirectlyinfluencingthesituationsasindividuals.Thisdilemmaleavesthenation
disappointedinitscondition,hopingsomeoneelsewilldothejobforthem.Furthermore,thesuccessof
theirmodelgovernmentisatriumphmanyAmericansareproudof.Theirexperimentalapproachat
democracyimplementedatalargescalewasthefirstofitstime.Yettherewerestillflawsinthatpeople
thenandnowproceedtobreakeverylaw[they]canif[they]cangetawaywithit(Steinbeck5).
Humannaturedemandsflawssuchasthese.Still,theissuesthatweshouldbeabletoaddressaremet
withconflictinginterestsandopinions.Peopleareappalledbycrimesthatoccureveryday.Theylook
downuponotherswhodriverecklessly,yetmanycanadmittospeedingortryingtobeattheredlight
whentheyarelate.ThesefactorscontributetotheAmericanWayanditsparadoxicalflaws.
Americancitizensmatureinaworldinwhicheverythingisprovidedforthemmechanics,
farmers,andmerchantsfocusontheirownprofessionforthebenefitofthecommonpeople.Still,

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societyshowsdependencyinthat[they]liveourlivesinmotorcars,yetmostof[them]donot
knowenoughaboutacartolookinthegastankwhenthemotorfails(Steinbeck4).Althoughit
providesapositiveideaofkindnessandcommunity,peoplearetemptedtoexhibitalackof
selfreliance.Theybecomefrustratedbeforeattemptingtolearnbasictasks.ThusAmericahasstrayed
fromitsoriginalidealsofindependence.Yet,thereisstillanamountofprideandhopeinthesepeople.
Asasociety,theydisplayinterestinimprovingtheirhabitsthepoorconditionofpublichealthisbeing
combatedbyprogramsandadvertisementsthatprovidecitizenswiththeknowledgetomakebetter
choices.Peoplearetryingtodotheirbestinarapidlychangingsocietyofmisconception.Inconclusion,
thedissatisfactionthatdefinestheAmericanWayurgesAmericanstoproceedwithcontentmentand
gratitudeforthethingstheyhaveandenjoytheopportunitieslifeprovidesforthem.

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WorksCited
ABetterLife
.Dir.ChrisWeitz.Perf.DeminBichirandJosJulin.SummitEntertainment,
2011.Film.
Boyle,T.Coraghessan."FilthyWithThings."
NewYorker
15Feb.1993.Print.
Hill,Graham."LivingWithLess.ALotLess."
TheNewYorkTimes
.TheNewYorkTimes,
09Mar.2013.Web.02Sept.2015.
Steinbeck,John."AmericaandAmericans."
AmericaandAmericans
.NewYork:Viking,
1966.Print.