American Reality

Ivan Sepulveda
Analytical Review: 1278 Words
Dear Reader: 264 Words

As publisher F.F. Woodycooks & Company has requested of me, I have reviewed
a handful of articles regarding the American Dream. As a college student myself, I have
come to realized that understanding the concept of the dream as well as its relevance
today is vital to all Americans. College instructors especially need to know this because
they are teaching the next generation of adults; these adults, for better or for worse, will
shape Americas economy. This is why college students would also benefit from this
review.
Ever since Christopher Columbus came upon the Americas, people from all
around the world have left everything behind for a fresh start in this new world. Over
time, the aspiration of achieving success in America was called the American Dream.
We should always hold on to our dreams, but some would argue that our current
economy has made the American Dream impossible. Writers Cal Thomas in his article
Is the American Dream Over? and Bob Herbert his article Hiding from Reality
explore the idea of hope for the American Dream in what seems like a doomed economy.
Herbert argues that one of the biggest issues is that our society doesnt see how bad the
economy is with regards to the wealth gap and other factors. On the other hand, Thomas
claims that the dream is still within reach, but in order to reach it we must follow the
footsteps of our ancestors. So the true question is, is the American Dream still achievable
today?
Herbert begins his article with his pessimistic look on our economy, stating that it
is in all-around bad standing and claims our American society is in denial about how bad
it is. Herbert identifies as part of this society he looks down on, stating Were in denial



Ivan Sepulveda


Analytical Review: 1278 Words


Dear Reader: 264 Words
about the extent of the rot in our system. By system, Herbert means our economy. He
fundamentally states that as a society, Americans have not accepted how bad we have let
our economy consistently worsen. In the third paragraph of his article, Herbert uses a
labor statistic.
Consider this startling Information from the Pew Hispanic Center: in the
year following the official end of the Great Recession in June 2009,
foreign-born workers in the U.S. gained 656,000 jobs while native-born
workers lost 1.2 million. (But even as the hiring of immigrants picked up
during that period, those same workers experience a sharp decline in
earnings.
What this shows is not that we should discriminate against foreign-born
workers, but that the U.S. needs to develop a full-employment economy
that provides jobs for all who want to work at pay that enables the workers
and their families to enjoy a decent standard of living. In other words, a
resurrection of the American dream.
Right now, nothing close to that is happening
Herbert believes that we as Americans have many misconceptions about foreign
workers; they are not taking the jobs of native-born Americans, they are taking any jobs
they can to support themselves. In these three short paragraphs, Herbert manages to apply
both ethos and logos.
By introducing shocking statistics and a fact while identifying the source of this
information, Herbert establishes his credibility someone who has a more than competent
insight on the American economy. This newfound credibility eliminates doubt the



Ivan Sepulveda


Analytical Review: 1278 Words


Dear Reader: 264 Words
audience might have towards Herbert. Herbert follows by analyzing what these facts and
numbers mean. He states that the loss of jobs and the decrease in earnings signifies that
America needs to restructure its economy so that every hardworking individual can
support their family comfortably, regardless of race, origin, or ethnicity. This is then
followed by a Herberts own strong opinion that currently Americans are not even trying
to work towards this goal.
In addition to theses ethos techniques, Herbert also used pathos for an emotional
appeal to the audience. He brings up the fact that state and local governments are
reducing services in order to adapt to the deterring economy and subsequently states
these measures are punishing some of the most vulnerable people, including children,
the sick and the disabled. These measures often times include reducing governmentfunded services for those that need it most such as Medicare, unemployment checks, and
food stamps. By revealing that these fiscal nightmares are hurting the people that often
times cannot defend themselves, Herbert brings a sense of pity to the audience. In this
rhetorical technique, Herbert is successful. Herbert uses all three appeals successfully to
persuade the audience to follow his call to action, which is that Americans need to strive
for economic equality. After reading his article, even I wanted to do something about this
injustice in America. I would undoubtedly recommend this article to college instructors
and students since not only can they see a new perspective on Americas fiscal situation,
but they can also benefit from reading these successful uses of rhetorical techniques.
Although Herbert seems to be rather concerned with the recognition of the
problem that is our economy, Cal Thomas focuses his article on his own personal
solution for success and achieving the American Dream.

Ivan Sepulveda

Analytical Review: 1278 Words

Dear Reader: 264 Words
Thomas begins his piece by defining what the American Dream used to mean and

what it means to most people presently. He states that originally this dream meant to
build a life based on the foundational principles that crate and have sustained American
for over 200 years. So its apparent that Thomas has a conservative point of view, this is
why Thomas blames the increasing challenge of attaining the American dream on liberal
policies and criticizes the people who sincerely need government help.
First, Thomas declares that liberals have a different version of the American
Dream, which is a government-dependent one. He states
the eclipse of liberalisms American dream has been largely caused by
expanding, encroaching, over-taxing, over-spending and over-regulating
government. This has produced a country of government headaches with
an entitlement mentality
Through this series of hyperboles and exaggerations, Thomas gets his message across. He
even goes so far as to say that believing that politicians and government officials will
solve everything is something of a cult-like faith, which can never be fulfilled. To Cal
Thomas, the American Dream is suffering because of over-dependence on government,
but it is not impossible. Thomas lays out a what is, to him, a logical means to attain this
dream: achieve an undergraduate degree, avoid drugs, get married before you have
children, save and invest for your retirement (so that the taxpayers do not have to pay for
it), do not overspend, and live morally. To Thomas, people who follow these rules will
attain success. Although it is a good plan, Thomas fails to connect on everyones level.
Some of these factors are inevitable, many times children are raised in a drug-using
household and grow into the life, sometimes students cannot afford college because of



Ivan Sepulveda


Analytical Review: 1278 Words


Dear Reader: 264 Words
their parents financial situation, and more than often, teens/young-adults are not careful
and babies happen.
Living by Thomass rules is not as cut and dry as Thomas makes it out to be. This
is an unsuccessful use of logos because logos should appeal logical to everybody, not just
the author. This section of the passage causes the audience to view Thomas as a narrowminded conservative. Although Thomas starts off his article well, it seems that he let his
own personal opinion take over. I would not recommend this article for that specific
reason; it is not beneficial to anyone except Thomass alter ego.
In conclusion, I recommend that Bob Herberts Hiding from Reality be
published in F.F. Woodycooks & Companys anthology the article has deep significance
and stimulates thoughts on the relevance and possibility of the American dream in our
well-damaged economy while also successfully using rhetorical devices; thus, this article
would be extremely beneficial to college instructors and students. Unfortunately, Cal
Thomass article Is the American Dream Over is frankly much too opinionated, so this
article would not be significantly beneficial to college instructors or students.