Restraint and Innovation in California

The California Dream is in danger of becoming the California Nightmare. Often viewed in the imagination of Americans and immigrants as the optimal dream land within the American Dream, California remains one of the most popular destinations for Americans and immigrants and is one of the very reasons my family came here. However, Maasik and Solomon (2005, p. 3) argue that this dream is heavily tarnished due to a number of pressing social, political and environmental issues: ôOverpopulation has brought environmental degradation and social strife, the specter of a water-deprived future, traffic jams, road rage, and racial divisionùnot to mention sky-high real estate prices and rental rates.ö These issues must be rectified through restraint and innovation in order to prevent the California Dream from becoming the California Nightmare.

There is little to dream about for many CalifornianÆs these days. Locked in gridlock on freeways for hours a day, assaulted by pollution, at risk from water quality, frozen out by escalating real-estate rates, and facing massive budget cuts in a number of social programs, CaliforniaÆs residents have little to dream about despite the mythology of the California Dream. This is particularly true in sprawling metropolises like Los Angeles, San Diego, and the San Fernando Valley among others. As Maasik and Solomon (2005, p. 4) maintain, ôWith the dream so threatened by so many harsh realiti

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ing would-be dreamers into bitter antagonists who denounce the false promises of the California Dream.ö For this reason, especially in the areas of immigration, traffic, and water, restraint and innovation are sorely warranted in California to prevent the California Dream from becoming only a nightmare for millions of its inhabitants. References Carle, D. (2005). Sprawling gridlock. In S. Maasik and J. Solomon, Eds. California Dreams and Realities: Readings for Critical Thinkers and Writers, (3rd Edit.). Boston, MA: Bedford/St. MartinÆs, 403-410. Ling-Ling, Y. (2005). State needs a ætime-outÆ from mass immigration. In S. Maasik and J. Solomon, Eds. California Dreams and Realities: Readings for Critical Thinkers and Writers, (3rd Edit.). Boston, MA: Bedford/St. MartinÆs, 94-96. Maasik, S. & Solomon, J., Eds. (2005). California Dreams and Realities: Readings for Critical Thinkers and Writers, (3rd Edit.). Boston, MA: Bedford/St. MartinÆs. Rawls, J. J. (2005). California: A place, a people, a dream. In S. Maasik and J. Solomon, Eds. California Dreams and Realities: Readings for Critical Thinkers and Writers, (3rd Edit.). Boston, MA: Bedford/St. MartinÆs, 22-30. Reisner, M. (2005). Things fall apart. In S. Maasik and J. Sol
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Approximate Word count = 2767
Approximate Pages = 11 (250 words per page)

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