The American Dream: Still the global

benchmark for success.

 

 

Evenimentul Zilei, Romania

The American Dream and the Romanian Sleep

 

"Whereas 77 percent of young Americans believe that they will go on to achieve the American Dream, 36 percent of young Romanians want to emigrate. … In a country in which politicians feel obliged to present themselves to the electorate as 'the Obama of Romania,' there is a long distance between the American dream and the sleep of Romania … as long as a nightmare."

 

By Sorin Tudor

                            

 

Translated By Alexandra Griffiths

 

May 17, 2009

 

Romania - Evenimentul Zilei - Original Article (Romanian)

Americans call young people born between 1978 and 2000 “The Millennial Generation.” Some of these young people went to the polls for the first time in the November elections, and an overwhelmingly proportion voted for Obama.

 

By 2020, “The Millennial Generation” will represent 40 percent of the U.S. electorate - enough for Americans to begin having some idea of who, from now on, will have the future in their hands. On May 13, the Center for American Progress published a survey concerning American youth. And on May 14, the Romanian Ministry of Youth published a survey concerning the youth of Romania.

 

There are a number of similarities between the two surveys: 77 percent of young Romanians believe that the state should provide jobs and promote business opportunity - 60 percent of young Americans believe that the government should be more involved in the economy to benefit the man on the street; 62 percent of young Romanians say that, for them, the most important thing is success and 38 percent report that they're worried about unemployment - while 48 percent of young Americans say that freedom implies the existence of economic opportunity and some basic level of social security.

Posted by WORLDMEETS.US

 

The differences highlighted by the two surveys are fundamental: most young Americans say that “opportunity” is the political value that they consider of utmost importance - while most young Romanians say that the main “value” of Romanian politics is corruption; most young Americans believe that government ought to do more for the good of the public - while most young Romanians don’t feel helped by any state institution and believe that assistance can only come from those they are close to or from Gigi Becali [a Romanian politician who is a nationalist and businessman, criticized for being xenophobic, anti-Semitic and even fascist]. And, most importantly: whereas 77 percent of young Americans believe that they will go on to achieve the American Dream, 36 percent of young Romanians want to emigrate.

 

In a country in which politicians feel obliged to present themselves to the electorate as “the Obama of Romania,” there is a long distance between the American dream and the sleep of Romania … as long as a nightmare.

 

CLICK HERE FOR ROMANIAN VERSION

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Posted by WORLDMEETS.US May 22, 4:35pm]