American values1.docx

American values1.docx

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Americanvalues1

KeyAmericanValues

America’spopulationreflectsremarkableethnicdiversity.Morethan20percentofthepopulationoftwomajorcities,LosAngelesandNewYork,wereborninanothercountry.Insomeothermajorcities（includingSanFranciscoandChicago）morethanoneofeverytenresidentsisforeignborn.Non-whitepeopleoutnumberwhitesinseverallargecities.Newspaperscommonlyusesuchtermsas“AsianAmerican,”“ItalianAmerican,”and“ArabAmerican”toreflectthepersistenceofvariousethnicheritageswithintheUnitedStates.Therearepeoplewhoseskinislabeledwhite,black,brown,yellowandred.

America’spopulationincludesCatholics,Protestantsofmanydenominations,Jewsofseveralpersuasions,Muslims,Buddhists,animists,andpeoplewhobelieveinnosupremebeingorhigherpower.Therearepeoplewhohavemanyyearsofformaleducationandpeoplewhohavenearlynone.Therearetheveryrichaswellastheverypoor.ThereareRepublicans,Democrats,Independents,Socialists,Communists,Libertarians,andadherentsofotherpoliticalviewsaswell.Therearelawyers,farmers,plumbers,teachers,socialworkers,immigrationofficersandpeopleinthousandsofotheroccupations.Someliveinurbanareasandsomeinruralones.Givenallthisdiversity,canoneusefullytalkabout“Americans”?

Probablyso,ifoneiscareful.

HowAmericansSeeThemselves

Americansdonotusuallyseethemselves,whentheyareintheUnitedStates,asrepresentativesoftheircountry.Theyseethemselvesasindividualswhoaredifferentfromallotherindividuals,whetherthoseothersareAmericansorforeigners.Americansmaysaytheyhavenoculture,sincetheyoftenconceiveofcultureasanoverlayofarbitrarycustomstobefoundonlyinothercountries.IndividualAmericansmaythinktheychosetheirownvalues,ratherthanhavinghadtheirvaluesandtheassumptionsonwhichtheyarebasedimposedonthembythesocietyinwhichtheywereborn.Ifyouaskthemtotellyousomethingabout“Americanculture,”theymaybeunabletoanswerandtheymayevendenythatthereisan“Americanculture.”Atthesametime,Americanswillreadilygeneralizeaboutvarioussubgroupswithintheirowncountry.Northernershavestereotypes（generalized,simplifiednotions）aboutSoutherners,andviceversa.Therearestereotypesofpeoplefromthecountry,peoplefromthecity,peoplefromthecoasts,peoplefrominland,peoplefromtheMidwest,minorityethnicgroups,minorityreligiousgroups,Texans,NewYorkers,Californians,Iowans,andsoon.

IndividualismandPrivacy

ThemostimportantthingtounderstandaboutAmericanisprobablytheirdevotionto“individualism.”Theyhavebeentrainedsinceveryearlyintheirlivestoconsiderthemselvesasseparateindividualswhoareresponsiblefortheirownsituationsinlifeandtheirowndestinies.Theyhavenotbeentrainedtoseethemselvesasmembersofaclose-knit,tightlyinterdependentfamily,religiousgroup,tribe,nation,orothercollectivity.Itisthisconceptofthemselvesasindividualdecision-makersthatblindsatleastsomeAmericanstothefacttheyshareaculturewithothers.Theyhavetheideaasmentionedabove,thattheyhaveindependentlymadeuptheirownmindsaboutthevaluesandassumptionstheyhold.Thenotionthatsocialfactorsoutsidethemselveshavemadethem“justlikeeveryoneelse”inimportantwaysoffendstheirsenseofdignity.ForeignerswhounderstandthedegreetowhichAmericansareimbuedwiththenotionthatthefree,self-reliantindividualistheidealkindofhumanbeingwillfinditeasiertounderstandmanyaspectsofAmericanbehaviorandthinkingthatotherwisemightnotmakesense.ManyAmericansdonotdisplaythedegreeofrespectfortheirparentspeopleinmoretraditionalorfamily-orientedsocietiescommonlydisplay.Theyhavetheconceptionitisahistoricalorbiologicalaccidentthatputtheminthehandsofparticularparents.Parentsfulfilltheirresponsibilitiestothechildrenwhilethechildrenareyoung,andwhenchildrenreach“theageofindependence”theclosechild-parenttieisloosened,ifnotbroken.CloselyassociatedwiththevaluetheyplaceonindividualismistheimportanceAmericansassignprivacy.Americansassumepeople“needsometimetothemselves”or“sometimealone”tothinkaboutthingsorrecovertheirspentpsychologicalenergy.Americanshavegreatdifficultyunderstandingforeignerswhoalwayswanttobewithanotherpersonandwhodislikebeingalone.

Equality

Americansarealsodistinctiveinthedegreetowhichtheybelieveintheideal,asstatedintheirDeclarationofIndependence,that“allmenarecreatedequal.”Althoughtheysometimesviolatetheidealintheirdailylives,particularlyinmattersofinterracialrelationships,Americanshaveadeepfaiththatinsomefundamentalwayallpeople（atleastallAmericanpeople）areofequalvalue,andnooneisbornsuperiortoanyoneelse.“Oneman,onevote,”theysay,conveyingtheideaanyperson’sopinionisasvalidandworthyofattentionasanyotherperson’sopinion.ThisisnottosayAmericansmakenodistinctionsamongthemselvesasaresultofsuchfactorsassex,age,wealth,orsocialposition.Theydo.Butthedistinctionsareacknowledgedinsubtleways.Toneofvoice,orderofspeaking,choiceofwords,seatingarrangements-sucharethemeansbywhichAmericansacknowledgestatusdifferencesamongthemselves.

Informality

TheirnotionsofequalityleadAmericanstobequiteinformalintheirgeneralbehaviorandintheirrelationshipswithotherpeople.PeoplefromsocietieswheregeneralbehaviorismoreformalthaninAmericanarestruckbytheinformalityofAmericanspeech,dress,andposture.Idiomaticspeech（commonlycalled“slang”）isheavilyusedonmostoccasions,withformalspeechreservedforpubliceventsandfairlyformalsituations.Peopleofalmostanystationinlifecanbeseeninpublicwearingjeans,sandals,orotherinformalattire.Peopleslouchdowninchairsorleanonwallsorfurniturewhentheytalk,ratherthanmaintaininganerectbearing.

TheFuture,Change,andProgress

Americansaregenerallylessconcernedabouthistoryandtraditionsthanarepeoplefromoldersocieties.“Historydoesn’tmatter,”manyofthemwillsay.“It’sthefuturethatcounts.”Theylookahead.ThisfundamentalAmericanbeliefinprogressandabetterfuturecontrastssharplywithfatalistic（Americansarelikelytousthattermwithanegativeorcriticalconnotation）attitudethatcharacterizespeoplefrommanyothercultures,notablyLatin,Asian,andArab,wherethereisapronouncedreverenceforthepast.Inthoseculturesthefutureisconsideredtobeinthehandsof“fate,”“God,”oratleastthefewpowerfulpeopleorfamiliesdominatingsociety.

GoodnessofHumanity

Thefuturecannotbebetterifpeoplearenotfundamentallygoodandimprovable.Americansassumethathumannatureisbasicallygood,notbasicallyevil.Foreignvisitorswillseethemdoingmanythingsthatarebasedontheassumptionpeoplearegoodandcanmakethemselvesbetter.”Wherethere’sawill,there’saway,”theAmericanssay.Peoplewhowanttomakethingsbettercandosoifonlytheyhavestrongenoughmotivation.

Time

ForAmericans,timeisa“resource,”likewaterorcoal,whichcanbeusedwellorpoorly.“Timeismoney.”“Youonlygetsomuchtimeinthislife,soyou’dbetteruseitwisely.”Thefuturewillnotbebetterthanthepastorthepresent,asAmericansaretrainedtoseethings,unlesspeopleusetheirtimeforconstructive,future-orientedactivities.Thus,Americansadmirea“well-organized”person,onewhohasawrittenlistofthingstodoandaschedulefordoingthem.Theidealpersonispunctual（thatis,arrivesatthescheduledtimeforameetingorevent）andisconsiderateofotherpeople’stime（thatis,doesnot“wastepeople’stime”withconversationorotheractivitywithnovisible,beneficialoutcome）.TheAmericanattitudetowardtimeisnotnecessarilysharedbyothers,especiallynon-Europeans.Theyaremorelikelytoconceiveoftimeassomethingthatissimplytherearoundthem,notsomethingtheycan“use.”OneofthemoredifficultthingstowhichmanyforeignbusinessmenandstudentsmustadjustintheStatesisthenotionthattimemustbesavedwheneverpossibleandusedwiselyeveryday.

Achievement,Action,Work,andMaterialism

“He’sahardworker,”oneAmericanmightsayinpraiseofanother,or“shegetsthejobdone.”TheseexpressionsconveythetypicalAmerican’sadmirationforapersonwhoapproachesataskconscientiouslyandpersistently,seeingitthroughtoasuccessfulconclusion.Morethanthat,theseexpressionsconveyanadmirationforachievers,peoplewhoselivearecenteredaroundeffortstoaccomplishsomephysical,measurablething.Foreignvisitorscommonlyremarkthat“AmericansworkharderthanIexpectedthemto.”（PerhapsthesevisitorshavebeenexcessivelyinfluencedbyAmericanmoviesandtelevisionprograms,whicharelesslikelytoshowpeopleworkingthantoshowthemdrivingaroundinfastcarsorpursuingmembersoftheoppositesex.）Whiletheso-calledProtestantworkethicmayhavelostsomeofitsholdonAmericans,thereisstillastrongbeliefthattheidealpersonisa“hardworker.”Ahardworkerisonewho“getsrighttowork”onataskwithoutdelay,worksefficiently,andcompletesthetaskinawaythatmeetsreasonablyhighstandardsofquality.Generally,Americanslikeaction.Theydoindeedbelieveitisimportanttodevotesignificantenergytotheirjobsortootherdailyresponsibilities.Beyondthat,theytendtobelievetheyshouldbedoingsomethingmostofthetime.Theyareusuallynotcontent,aspeoplefrommanyothercountriesare,tositforhoursandtalkwitho