Resolved: The American Dream still exists.

Today's debate is about whether the American dream still exists. We have provided you definitions of the American dream, but at the end of the day, what is, in essence, the American dream? The American dream is the dream that a person can have the best opportunity to fulfill his or her desires by being in the United States. This is the truth because of an overlying fact that has been avoided in the debate. The American Dream only exists because of the conditions of the outside world. What I mean is, if it were not for people's aspirations to come to the United States, the American dream would not exist. The dream is merely the belief of foreigners that they can have a very good life by coming into this fine country. My opponent claims "today's debate isn't about comparing America to other nations. " This could not be further from the truth. Today's debate is only relevant by comparing life under the United States to life under other countries. Unless my opponent can prove that life under other nations is not as fruitful as life in America, then you must vote Affirmative. The American dream's existence is based off of what the public believes. The dream is, after all, a dream that is instilled in the hearts and minds of the people. Thus, the most accurate way of gauging whether the dream still exists today is by looking at what the public believes. As I stated in my case, the United States remains the #1 immigration destination, and 165 million people worldwide wish to move into to the United States from their country of origin. These are 165 million people that firmly believe that they would have a better life in the United States and thus believe in the American dream. Clearly the American dream exists today. In order for my opponent to prove that the dream does not exist, he must first prove that every single person in this country would rather be living in another country, since, after all, the American dream only exists in American when the people want to be in America. Once the people stop wanting to be in America, the dream then will cease to exist. I challenge my opponent to prove in his final speech that the citizens of the United States believe that they have a better opportunity in another country. As you can see, the American dream is still alive today. Although things may not be perfect for some people, the way things are in the Unites States are the best in the world. The women here are able to hold jobs, get healthcare, vote, run for office, and do every single thing that a man can do. These women are experiencing the best lives that they can in the world because they live in the Unites States, and thus, they are experiencing what is known as the American Dream My opponent asks me to prove that gay people are given opportunity in the army. According to the New York Times just last week on October 20, 2010, "The United States military, for the first time, is allowing its recruiters to accept openly gay and lesbian applicants. " This completely refutes my opponent's argument that Gay's do not have equal opportunity in the military. The article goes on to state that "President Obama has said that the ‘don't ask, don't tell' policy will end [under his] watch. " Clearly Gays are being given equal opportunity and so you must vote affirmative because the American dream does exist. My opponent claims that the dream has never existed. Clearly this dream has existed in the past because millions of immigrants have flooded our country in order to experience the American Dream. My opponent is exhibiting pure folly by trying to argue that the American dream has not once existed in the past. Had the dream not existed in the past, this debate would not be occurring. For this reason you must disregard my opponent's argument that the American dream has never existed. In my response to my opponents argument that the working poor does not experience the American dream I say this. Under the guidelines for which I have set forth, the working poor are in fact in the American dream. They may not be living the best lives, but they are definitely living the best life possible, because in other countries their life would be worse. My opponent also asks me to prove that there is no corruption. My opponent is asking me to prove an impossible task. Where there is money, there is corruption, but this does not negate the American dream. There may be some flaws in the system, but every system in the world has flaws, and in the United States corruption is at least under control. All of my opponent's arguments are merely trying to prove that there are nitty-gritty problems in America. Yes, there are some problems. No, this does not prove that the American dream does not exist. The standard of living in America is the best in the world and this alone proves that the America dream does in fact exist. In order for my opponent to win today's debate, he must prove that the life in America is not attractive to many people, that people in America do not want to live in America, and that America does not offer the best opportunity in the world for people. My opponent will come up in his next speech and challenge the framework for the American dream that I provide that is: the dream is only existent because America is better than other countries, and thus the dream is still alive today. Anything he says is not relevant because the only way to gauge whether or not the dream exists. My opponent will try to statistically tear apart the American dream. This is not a valid refutation because the American dream is not a statistic that exists, but rather, it is a belief, a hope, or a dream that is instilled in the people. Since this belief has always, and will always, be in the hearts and minds of the people, you must vote affirmative. In my opponents 3rd speech he stated that "unless my opponent can prove to us in his next speech that the American Dream ever existed, that it is indeed accessible to the working poor and to gays, and that the rich can't buy out Congress, it's clear that the American Dream does not exist. " I have proven to you that the American dream has existed and does exist. I have proven to you that the working poor and the gays are living the American Dream. I have lastly proven to you that corruption can coexist with the American dream. Under what my opponent has said, I see no other option but an affirmative vote on today's debate. Thank You.