The American Dream of success and individual opportunity.

One of our most prevalent and dominant ideologies in this country is the American Dream of success and individual opportunity. We can help define this through https://dvc.instructure.com/api/v1/canvadoc_session?blob=%7B%22moderated_grading_whitelist%22:null,%22enable_annotations%22:null,%22enrollment_type%22:null,%22anonymous_instructor_annotations%22:null,%22submission_id%22:null,%22user_id%22:77740000000110305,%22attachment_id%22:6858916,%22type%22:%22canvadoc%22%7D&hmac=7b1056c07e4af2e999c511a01c4ad3ef9a196735
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"Since the first European colonists came to the 'New World' some four centuries ago, America has been synonymous with the idea of individual opportunity. …. For some Americans, the dream of success is the very foundation of everything that's right about life in the United States. For others, the American dream is a cultural mirage that keeps workers happy in low-paying jobs while their bosses pocket the profits of an unfair system. But whether you embrace or reject the dream of success, you can't escape its influence. As Americans, we are steeped in a culture that prizes individual achievement; growing up in the United States, we are told again and again by parents, teachers, advertisers, Hollywood writers, politicians, and opinion makers that we, too, can achieve our dream-- that we, too, can 'Just Do It' if we try. …. We each define success in our own way, but ultimately, the myth of success defines who we are and what we think, feel, and believe." (Colombo et al, p.3).
Questions: Colombo et al argue that success may be defined differently by each individual, but that we cannot escape the larger cultural ideal of the American Dream. How do you see the American Dream present in our society? How is it a part of our larger societal institutions (i.e. education, the justice system, capitalism, consumerism, etc)? How would you expand Colombo et al's definition of the American Dream? Why do you think this is one of the most dominant ideologies in America?