Resolved: The American Dream still exists.

I will begin my addressing the remainder of my opponent's case. 1. Framework My opponent spends all of round 4 attempting to skew the original intent of today's debate. He decides to change his framework and state that in order to "prove that the dream does not exist, [my opponent] must first prove that every single person in this country would rather be living in another country". This framework is entirely false. In order for the American Dream to not exist, there must be a group of Americans that are excluded from it and don't believe in it. Whether or not Americans would rather live somewhere else has nothing to do with today's debate. Next, my opponent challenges me to prove that American citizens feel that they will have a better life in another country. I'll respond to my opponent with the example of a friend of mine from 6th grade. As a matter of privacy, I will not name him, but he is actually a member of debate.org and will most likely judge this debate. His family moved to Ireland because they felt they could have better opportunities there. I will go a step further in responding to this challenge. We must remember that in evaluating the existence of the American Dream, we are comparing America today as what America would be if the conditions explained in the American Dream were to exist. We are NOT comparing America to other countries. The American Dream does not state: "The dream of every American is to live in America, which is better than all other countries in the world." An assumption like that is naï¿½ve. The American Dream states that all Americans, regardless of their gender, sexuality, and ethnic and financial background, must have equal opportunities to succeed. Because those conditions set forth in the dream have not been met, it does not exist. 2.More new framework My opponent then states that the pro should win the round if he can simply prove that Americans still believe in the American Dream. As shown in my first contention, however, the American Dream most Americans aspire to accomplish today is a dream of HDTVs and expensive cars; not the true American Dream, which "is not a dream of motor cars and high wages merely, but a dream of social order in which each man and each woman shall be able to attain to the fullest stature of which they are innately capable". My opponent also tells us that we cannot consider statistics in today's round, and that today's round should be evaluated on whether or not Americans themselves believe in the American Dream. I find it funny that my opponent says this, because statistics are the only way to discover if Americans still believe in the American Dream. A poll conducted by ABC News asked, "Do you think The American Dream still holds true, never held true, or once held true but does not anymore?" and found that 50% of Americans no longer believe in the American Dream. Furthermore, "only 46% of those making 25K and under answered "still true"" for the existence of the Dream. Clearly, the poor are being excluded from the American Dream, which adds to my own case.[1] The US Government found that "Two-thirds of the American people say the American Dream is becoming harder to achieve, especially for young families, and they point to financial insecurity and poor quality public education as the most significant barriers, according to a new survey released today by the National League of Cities (NLC)." [2] These statistics make it very evident that fewer and fewer Americans still believe in the American Dream. This point alone refutes everything left of my opponent's case. I will now move onto my own case and examine each of these groups that no longer believe the Dream exists. Framework I have asked my opponent numerous times to show us a point in American history where all Americans, regardless of their race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, or gender, were given equal opportunity to succeed. His response is this: "Clearly this dream has existed in the past because millions of immigrants have flooded our country in order to experience the American Dream." Sadly, my opponent's response is no response at all. As I stated in Round 2, the conditions set forth in the American Dream have never truly been met. Until the 1960s, African Americans were denied their rights and discrimination was rampant. Ever since the 60s, gays, lesbians, and the working class have continually been crushed under discrimination and the thumbs of CEOs who earn 400 times their salary. Washington is constantly caving into pressure from lobbyist organizations representing Wall Street – lobbyist practices which lead to the creation of the Enron loophole, a deregulated oil futures market, established higher cost for prescription medicines under Medicare Part D and created deregulatory practices that lead to the ongoing recession. Because the resolution uses the words "still exists", my opponent must find a time in the past where the conditions set forth in the American Dream existed. He did not provide us with ansnwer, and thus he loses this round by default, because if the American Dream didn't exist in the past, it cannot "still exist". Contention 1: Real Freedom has been replaced My opponent drops all of his responses to this contention. With this contention, I have proven that the "dream" that Americans believe in is a dream of fast cars and HDTVs; not the true American Dream. Thus, if American's don't even believe in the true American Dream, it cannot exist. Contention 2: The Ends Justify the Means 2A and B: Corruption and Lobbying My opponent does not respond to this point. It's a sad day in America when the economy is run by corrupt individuals who pocket government officials and buy out congressional votes for naught but their own benefit. 2C: Disappearing Middle Class My opponent does not respond to this point either. As the middle class gradually disappears, the rich get richer and the poor get poorer, thus making America's classic "rags-to-riches" story ever harder to achieve. Once again, this proves that the American Dream does not exist. 2D: The Environment My opponent does not respond to this contention. A wasteful lifestyle contradicts the foundations of the American Dream, and once again stating that Americans believe the ends (wealth) justify the means (environmental degradation). Contention 3: Gays My opponent cites a New York Times article that states the Pentagon has given gays the right to join the Army. He fails to note that the article also states that the Pentagon and the Justice Department are both working to reverse this situation and implement DADT once again and strip gays of their rights. Contention 4: The Working Poor My opponent places no responses on this contention either, and thus we can extend it. It's clear that the working poor have no belief in the American Dream, and with such a large chunk of Americans in disbelief, it's clear that the Dream cannot exist. Contention 5: Women I refuted my opponent's contention about women by providing vital statistics that show that women are vastly underpaid compared to their male coworkers. This easily proves that "equal opportunity" does not exist in the workplace when employees are paid different sums for doing the same work on the mere basis of gender. This debate boils down to an issue of framework. My opponent's framework states that the winner of the round is the one that can prove whether or not Americans believe in the American Dream. As explained in my response to his fourth case, the majority of Americans do NOT believe in the Dream. I also win under my own framework, since my opponent never showed us when the American Dream ever existed, and since all of my contentions still stand at the end of today's round. Because I've won today's round under both frameworks, it's clear that since the conditions outlined in the American Dream have not been m