American values
What are American values?
We have lost our values; that is not the worst of it – we
have also forgotten our values and we do nothing to reestablish our values to
our society. We must remind ourselves
daily, the salvage of our country just might depend upon our ability to
reestablish our values and teach those values to our children and our
children’s children. I believe the
following values will help us prepare a way to restore our American values. Add to your list of VALUES from my list.
Independence
Synonyms for independence include – individuality, freedom,
liberation, unconventional-ism (the opposite of conventional-ism), impartial, and
objective (not subjective). We are proud
of our self-reliance, and observe goal achievement as a result of hard work. Our children tend to leave home earlier than
in other cultures, I was on a train platform in Crystal City VA one afternoon
and a man and woman were talking about their children the man said he was on the 18 and 3 plan; the
woman said she was on the 18 and 6 plan.
I asked the difference between the 18 and 3 plan over the 18 and 6 plan. It was explained to me after the child
reached 18 years of age, that child either had 3 months or 6 months to get out
of the house. We often tout our
individual achievements as being a self-made person, in other words, I did it
without your help. Just listen to
Frankie sing I did it my way!
Privacy
Privacy here means something different than not
displaying a private side or sharing a secret.
We all enjoy a little secret or
perhaps sharing a little too much private information with a close friend. But we still remain private. What is mine is mine and you cannot have it;
for example:
- · We might be private about certain things such as age, how much money we make, or our political, sexual, and religious views.
- We might balk at the idea of discussing these topics for fear of making someone uncomfortable or you might not know how far you can go with the topic or you do not want to be shut down after having caused an embarrassing moment for another.
- We often give people more space in public situations than other cultures. We tend to stay about arm’s length away from others as in ‘do not get inside my bubble’.
In many neighborhoods you will see fences around homes for
privacy (not for fence climbing). Bedrooms are usually considered private
spaces. Neighbors and friends are
entertained in the kitchen, dining room or living room. Adults and their children tend to have separate
and individual bedrooms, and often, children’s rooms are segregated for age or
sex.
Directness
Often direct, we generally speak our thoughts with
assertiveness and without much care about what you think of our opinion.
Equality
It is even in our Declaration of Independence “All Men Are
Created Equal.” Then we say something
ignorant to make us feel better like ‘there is no one like me, there is only
me’. In reality, we do not always treat
all others equally, but many of us have strong feelings about the idea of
equality. Throughout history, issues
such as protecting our democracy from enemies both foreign and domestic many of
us take seriously. We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created
equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights,
that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. — That to
secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just
powers from the consent of the governed, — That whenever any Form of Government
becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to
abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such
principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most
likely to effect their Safety and Happiness (our Declaration of
Independence). We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union,
establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense,
promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves
and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United
States of America (U.S. Constitution – Preamble).
Informality
Generally informal and relaxed. We enjoy casual dress such as wearing jeans
and shorts and have our shirt tails untucked.
Our different and various communities have their own way of greeting
strangers – but, overall strangers are greeted if for no other reason than to
let the stranger know that we are aware of their presence. Most of us prefer to be on first name basis
unless a title, rank, or position would take precedence.
Competition
It is official, the United States is now the most
competitive country in the world. The
International Institute for Management Development has released its data on
world competitiveness according to key factors such as innovation, drive,
effectiveness of infrastructure and business efficiency. The top ten include:
- The United States,
- Hong Kong,
- Singapore,
- Switzerland,
- Canada,
- Luxemburg,
- Norway,
- Denmark,
- Sweden, and
- Germany.[1]
Time and Efficiency
We place great value on time. Generally we all agree that our time is treasured
and feel frustrated if someone or something turns out to be a waste of time. Punctuality is important. Frequently you hear it said that if you are
not at least five minutes early then you are late.
Work Ethic
Americans can be very focused on their work. Sometimes
people from other cultures think Americans “live-to-work” or are “workaholics.”
This means they think Americans work too much. Part of the reason Americans are
work-oriented is because being busy and active is often seen as a good thing. People also tend to identify strongly with
their jobs. For example, when you first
meet someone, one of the first questions they might ask you is “What do you
do?” or, “What kind of work do you do?”
Men or women who work at home taking care of the family
often call themselves “telecommuters” or some kind of “domestic engineer”.
Consumerism
Consumerism is an economic theory which states that a
progressively greater level of consumption is beneficial to the consumers. Since the 1800s and the Industrial Revolution
the world has been consuming at a higher rate than ever. This unlimited access led to the era of Mass
Consumption.
If I was going to put on my hat of academia and endeavor
into the field of psychology for just a moment (something for which I have
absolutely no qualifications) I might philosophize that (many of our) parents
survived the great depression and were just not spenders so we over-compensated. We bought everything in order to have the
best of everything. However, if I philosophized
like that, then I would have to admit that my generation spawned the snowflakes
of America. I Can’t Go For That – No Can
Do! In order to put peace back into my
soul, I think I will go with – we just may be object-oriented and we value
newness and innovation.
Minus just a few individual quirks (after all, we started
out saying Americans are Individuals) this list ought to help get us back on track. Let’s do this!
[1] https://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/news/america-is-officially-the-most-competitive-country-in-the-world-10280956.html
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