[제 2회 드림에세이 수상작] Richard Kim - 'Living in America'

Grade: 11 / High School: Walnut High School

Life in America is different than in any other country in the world. In one of the wealthiest places on the planet, Americans have a high standard of living and they are bound together by certain shared values. The people believe in equality, environmentalism, volunteerism and diversity. This creates a unique country where the people are not identified by race or ethnicity, but rather by their character and way of thinking.

The United States is a prosperous country, where the standard of living is higher than in many other parts of the world. Nearly everybody lives in houses with running water, sewage and electricity. Most people own cars, and the country has thousands of miles of streets and highways. There are large cities with millions of people, such as Los Angeles, New York and Chicago. There is a free public educational system, so most of the citizens have attended at least some school. There are no food shortages, and the people are not starving. In fact, the country is so prosperous that the biggest health problem in America now is obesity. Americans do not usually die from plagues or infectious diseases, like in a third world country, instead the leading cause of death is heart disease and cancer. These are diseases that afflict wealthier countries.

People in America share certain basic values. The most important idea that shapes the culture is the idea of equality. This means that there are no social castes based on wealth or lineage. Nobody receives special treatment just because his family or his father is important or wealthy. Everyone is still expected to work, behave properly and show good character. People who come from a disadvantaged background can still succeed in America. In the 1920’s, there was a fictional character named Horatio Alger who represented this ideal. Alger was a poor boy, but he worked hard, showed good character and practiced good values. As a result, he became the President of the United States.

A major difference between the United States and other countries in the world is that American citizens are not one racial or ethnic group. The people here are mostly immigrants, people that came to the United States to escape religious or political persecution in their original countries. Their home countries are located all over the world, and as a result, the people in the United States are all different races. There are whites, blacks, Latinos, Asians, Indians and Pacific Islanders.

Since everybody comes from different cultural and racial backgrounds, people in America make an effort to respect each other. This philosophy was taught to Americans by a famous civil rights leader in the 1960s, the Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr. Before Rev. King changed America’s attitudes, black Americans suffered terrible discrimination. They were abused, beaten, denied jobs, and forced into separate communities and schools. But Rev. King educated Americans in a famous speech, called “I Have A Dream”. King’s dream was that “every person in America would be judged not by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character”. Since the civil rights movement, people in America have made an effort to fulfill that dream. It is considered very rude to make negative assumptions or impolite comments about a different racial group.

Another important aspect of living in America is people’s commitment to protecting the environment. Usually, the streets and sidewalks of the cities are kept clean, and littering is not socially accepted. Many people recycle their cans, bottles and paper products, in order to reduce waste. Other activists educate people about global warming, and attempt to reduce carbon emissions from cars and factories via political pressure.

Many people in the United States are concerned about their communities, so they do volunteer work to help others. Some help out at local churches, missions or soup kitchens, and others help children or adults learn to read or develop job skills. One organization, the Goodwill, collects used clothes and household items, and sells the goods at a secondhand store. The company provides jobs to the handicapped, and the profits from the business are used to help the poor.

Overall, living in America is characterized by prosperity, diversity and shared values. This is a different experience from living in other countries, since the United States is one of the wealthiest countries in the world. A visitor will enjoy the experience.