What are some differences between the real west and the mythic west of popular culture

Life in the real West was gritty, difficult, and often depressing. Settlers who moved out West faced tremendous challenges to eke out a living as farmers or ranchers. Yes, there were families and communities who pulled together to create a livable life. But there were also many who fell victim to disease and hardship and chronic poverty conditions. Those who rushed out to California to find a fortune during the Gold Rush mostly were disappointed and had to struggle to find jobs and basic income. Life in the real West usually didn't live up to the hopes of those who sought a new start in life there.

As for the romantic image of the noble American cowboy doing battle against the violent Indians, that too is a very glossed-over and glamorized portrayal. As Michael Phillips, coauthor of the textbook, The American Challenge: A New History of the United States, has explained, popular books and radio programs and film portrayed a few Native American characters positively, "though in a subservient, patronizing light. ... Indians usually served as the enemies of white progress in these cowboy melodramas. American audiences easily confused myth with reality."  The mythic West became an inspiration for later American imperialism in the Philippines, subjugating a "lesser people."

no

explanation:

not everyone in america is free. it is has always been a unequal society. and yet people come in swarms, in search of better lives. some are brought as children, unaware, unknowing. some arrive and just don’t leave. they build lives, pay taxes, raise families. some enter illegally, fleeing persecution in their home country.

there are many reasons why human beings are so attracted to america, despite its history of bitterness towards immigrants.

there are almost two million immigrants brought to the us when they were children. president donald trump and his collaborators are determined to rid the us of as many undocumented immigrants as they can, and stop others from coming because none of their ancestors were immigrants.

america has so many things and yet it lacks the one thing that humanity needs to fully thrive. and so this country will not be at peace in itself until it resolves the pain at the heart of slavery, attacking immigrants, and crumble the rights of those with less power.