Triumph of Hope Over Self-Interest Term Paper

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Triumph of Hope over Self-Interest, by David Brooks. Specifically, it will identify the central point of the article and respond to the idea in some way. Americans are eternally hopeful, and much of that hope is based on increasing their wealth and moving up the rungs of the income ladder. This is why so many Americans seem to vote according to their hopes, rather than their economic realities.

THE TRIUMPH OF HOPE

The central point of this article revolves around the belief that Americans will always hope to be better off than they are, and so, they tend to identify with those who have more money, rather than those who have less. As the author notes, "Many Americans admire the rich," and he continues, "Americans resent social inequity more than income inequality" (Brooks). Brooks goes on to say that Americans do not see each other as rich or poor, they see each other in common activities and as a community, rather than a social class. "They see society as a high school cafeteria, with their community at one table and other communities at other tables" (Brooks).

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This seems to be the case all over America, from New York to California. Everyone thinks their little piece of the U.S. is better than any other, and they do not want to be convinced otherwise. Brooks believes this is why so many politicians do not understand how to rally the people around their cause. They are too busy pitting one social class against another (Democrats vs. Republicans), when they would do better to pit community against community rather than pit rich against poor. It simply does not garner as many votes.

This seems to be a rather simple explanation for a complex problem, and yet it has credence. Most Americans do not envy the rich; they simply hope to get there too someday. This is the eternal hope that lives in most Americans, and one reason lotteries and gambling are so popular. They are "get rich quick" schemes, and eventually, someone has to win, so why not you, today? This is part of the "American dream," that everyone….....

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