The American Dream is a construct which many people the world over believe is true. Refugees flee to America in search of a better life, and, given some of the countries where refugees come from, America can offer a vastly improved way of life, but not a dream. The reality is that a lot of American people never find that dream, and end up falling into the dissonance created by the reality of the construction of American society, a society built on exploitation, imperialism, and arguably injustice. People feel short-changed by the society they felt would be a new world for them, and this breeds its own malaise that feeds into the tensions already present in American Society.
Al Jazeera has a great overview of The American Dream in the 20th Century, video excerpt courtesy Al Jazeera.