American Industry ~ American Dreams Long Gone
By Christine A. Kysely
America always used to be known
But now that all seems like a dream
A wistful dream from way back when
A time before the New World Order
Made slaves of honest men.
For her thriving Industry
It used to be fair wages
Employment gave you a feeling of success and of having good fortune
You could accomplish and own something before you died.
Fair pay for an honest day’s work.
People could live the American Dream
Your job gave you everything you needed
Jobs were plentiful and abundant
They weren’t being sent to countries overseas.
You could work towards owning anything
Life wasn’t just a daily struggle to survive
Life was enjoyable and everything it seemed
You could be anything you ever wanted to be
It gave you a sense of inner pride.
You could have a house, a car, a family
But those days seem to have disappeared
They’re a memory that seems long gone
Just like American Jobs and Security
How long can this go on?
But now that all seems like a dream
A wistful dream from way back when
A time before the New World Order
Made slaves of honest men.
For her thriving Industry
It used to be fair wages
Employment gave you a feeling of success and of having good fortune
You could accomplish and own something before you died.
Fair pay for an honest day’s work.
People could live the American Dream
Your job gave you everything you needed
Jobs were plentiful and abundant
They weren’t being sent to countries overseas.
You could work towards owning anything
Life wasn’t just a daily struggle to survive
Life was enjoyable and everything it seemed
You could be anything you ever wanted to be
It gave you a sense of inner pride.
You could have a house, a car, a family
But those days seem to have disappeared
They’re a memory that seems long gone
Just like American Jobs and Security
How long can this go on?
"Made slaves of honest men" - hyperbole
Security" - simile
Security" - simile
analysis
The poem American Industry - American Dreams Long Gone, by Christine A. Kysely, is about jobs disappearing and people being unable to obtain the American dream. The poem examines the declining middle social class. Ms. Kysely says that America used to have a great economy. Now people are like slaves to their jobs, if they even have one. They are not paid a fair wage that they can live on, and definitely not any wage that allows them to have anything extra or move up in social class. The writer notes, "It used to be fair wages" (Kysely 7). She continues, "Fair pay for an honest day’s work" (Kysely 8). There were a lot of jobs in America. This fact is noted with the quote "Jobs were plentiful and abundant" (Kysely 11). Someone looking for work could find a good job that provided everything they needed to thrive. Ms. Kysely writes, "Your job gave you everything you needed" (Kysely 10). The author writes, "Life was enjoyable" (Kysely 15). She believes that Americans had a sense of success and pride. They could look forward to being happy, living a good life, owning a car, owning a home, and working to be anything they wanted to be. People were not struggling just to barely make enough money to survive. She writes, "Life wasn’t just a daily struggle to survive" (Kysely 14). The days of depending on a job are over. Financial security and having money for the future is just a long gone memory. "But those days seem to have disappeared" (Kysely 21), "They’re a memory that seems long gone" (Kysely 22). Ms. Kysely regrets the declining middle class, the loss of financial security, and the loss of hope Americans once had.