Chapter Six American Values

Chapter Six American ValuesI. American National Characteristics:1. A people on the MoveMobility is one of the typical characteristics of American. Called “people on the move”, Americans are restless. There have been three types of American migration: the transoceanic migrations, the migration to new frontiers, and those internal crisscrossing which may be called reshuffling migrations and which are basically migrations to the city and the suburbs. More embracing than the mobility of tourism is the restless movement from job to job, and from home to home. Inside the same city there are constant residence changes with changing jobs and social status. But in the main the internal migrations are opportunity-and advancement migrations for business and profits, for work and mages, for climate, schools, and living conditions.The country has witnessed four massive population movements in history. The first was the westward movement from the densely-populated east coast to the sparsely-populated west between the end of the Civil War and 1880. The second occurred during the industrialization and urbanization period from 1890 to 1920 with population movement from the rural areas to cities. The third took place during the 1920-1960 periods, particularly the war years of the 1940s, with large numbers of blacks moving out of the south to other areas. The most recent, started from the end of the 1960s, is the flow from Northeast and Central North to the West the South, coupled with the outflow of urban residents to the suburbs.The idea of moving is so thoroughly accepted that people tend to remain relatively unattached to the place where they happen to be at a particular time. Most people see movement as a condition and as a symbol of success in life to which they almost automatically aspire. in some states only one house in five has people living in it who have been there fore more than five years.2. Risk-takers and ExperimentersMost Americans, with great vigor and enthusiasm, are prepared to take the initiative, even when there is a risk in doing so. They have courage and do not give in easily. They will take any sort of job anywhere rather be unemployed. They do not care to be looked after by the Government. The average American changes his job nine or ten times during his working life. The nation’s frontier past, followed by the waves of sturdy immigrants, has brought a strong element of risk-taking into the nation’s character. This exploratory element, coupled with what one seemed like limitless raw materials, has also nurtured the American philosophy that it is “cheaper to scrap the old and replace it with something better”, which frequently seems to other people both wasteful and foolhardy.The American view is “No one stands still. If you are not moving ahead, you are falling behind.” This attitude results in a nation of people in a nation of people geared, to a large degree, to researching, experimenting, and exploring. President John F. Kennedy summed up this blend of the old and the new when he called America “a society of immigrants, each of whom had begin life anew, on an equal footing. This is the secret of America: a nation of people with the fresh memory of old traditions who dare to explore new frontier s…”3).InformalityAlthough American informality is well known, many interpret it as a lack of restpect when they first encounter it, especially in the business world. The almost immediate use of first namesupon meeting a stranger, for example, jars on nerves long accustomed to deference or respect from men of lower rank. In the U.S., people of all ages may prefer to be called by their first names, an indication of friendliness. Formal titles very seldom used in the U.S., except in some special occupation---by judges, high government officials, certain military officer, medical workers, doctors, professors and religious leaders. They do not always shake hands; they often just nod or smile instead. Americans often work at office desks without their suit coats or ties, and they do not usually seat an honored guest at a particular place at home or in an automobile.4). Truth vs. CourtesyIn many countries people will tell you what they think you want to hear, whether or not it is true. To them, this implies politeness. However, to Americans, it is considered misleading---even dishonest---to distort facts on purpose, however kind the motive. Elsewhere, courtesy, honor, family loyalty, or many other values come far ahead of honesty, while in the U.S. truth has a higher priority than politeness. With Americans, trust and truth are of paramount importance. One of the most damning statements that can be made about a man is “You cannot trust him.”5). Criticizing authorityThe American pursuit of truth could also be felt from their attitude towards authority. He is trained from childhood to question, analyze, and search. “Go look it up for yourself” a child will be told. School tasks are designed to stimulate the use of a wide search for new ideas. Industry is so aware of this untapped resource that each year, through national competitions, it offers tremendous awards among teen-agers in order to seek out the brilliant, inquiring minds which they find scattered across the country.There are many other characters typical to Americans. They are optimistic, with a belief in progress and a respect for technical skills and material success; they are with a sharp sense of time and its uses, always “ruled by the clock.”They are pragmatic and aggressive. They pride themselves on their independence, their right to make up their own minds, and the way of “Do-it-yourself.”II. Basic American Values and Beliefs1. Personal control over the environment/ResponsibilityAmericans do not believe in the power of fate, and they look at people who do as being backward, primitive, or naive. In the American context, to be "fatalistic" is to be superstitious, lazy, or unwilling to take initiative. Everyone should have control over whatever in the environment might potentially affect him or her. The problems of one's life are not seen as having resulted from bad luck as much as having come from one's laziness and unwillingness to take responsibility in pursuing a better life.2. Change seen as natural and positiveIn the American mind, change is seen as indisputably good, leading to development, improvement, progress. Many older, more traditional cultures consider change disruptive and destructive; they value stability, continuity, tradition, and ancient heritage - none of which are considered very important in the United States. Americans are generally less concerned about history and traditions than are people from older societies. “History doesn’t matter,” many of them will say. “It’s the future that counts.” They look ahead. This fundamental American belief in progress and a better future contrasts sharply with fatalistic (Americans are likely to us that termwith a negative or critical connotation) attitude that characterizes people from many other cultures, notably Latin, Asian, and Arab, where there is a pronounced reverence for the past. In those cultures the future is considered to be in the hands of “fate,” “God,” or at least the few powerful people or families dominating society.3. Time and its controlTime is of utmost importance to most Americans. It is something to be on, kept, filled, saved, used, spent, wasted, lost, gained, planned, given, and even killed. Americans are more concerned with getting things accomplished on time than they are with developing interpersonal relations. Their lives seem controlled by the little machines they wear on their wrists, cutting their discussions off abruptly to make their next appointment on time. This philosophy has enabled Americans to be extremely productive, and productivity is highly valued in their country.For Americans, time is a “resource,” like water or coal, which can be used well or poorly. “Time is money.” “You only get so much time in this life, so you’d better use it wisely.” The future will not be better than the past or the present, as Americans are trained to see things, unless people use their time for constructive, future-oriented activities. Thus, Americans admire a “well-organized” person, one who has a written list of things to do and a schedule for doing them. The ideal person is punctual (that is, arrives at the scheduled time for a meeting or event) and is considerate of other people’s time (that is, does not “waste people’s time” with conversation or other activity with no visible, beneficial outcome).The American attitude toward time is not necessarily shared by others, especially non-Europeans. They are more likely to conceive of time as something that is simply there around them, not something they can “use.” One of the more difficult things to which many foreign businessmen and students must adjust in the States is the notion that time must be saved whenever possible and used wisely every day.4. Equality/FairnessEquality is so cherished in the U.S. that it is seen as having a religious basis. Americans believe that all people are created equal and that all should have an equal opportunity to succeed. This concept of equality is strange to seven-eighths of the world which views status and authority as desirable, even if they happen to be near the bottom of the social order. Since Americans like to treat foreigners "Just like anybody else", newcomers to the U.S. should realize that no insult or personal indignity is intended if they are treated in a less than-deferential manner by waiters in restaurants, clerks in stores and hotels, taxi drivers, and other service personnel.Americans are also distinctive in the degree to which they believe in the ideal, as stated in their Declaration of Independence, that “all men are created equal.” Although they sometimes violate the ideal in their daily lives, particularly in matters of interracial relationships, Americans have a deep faith that in some fundamental way all people (at least all American people) are of equal value, and no one is born superior to anyone else. “One man, one vote,” they say, conveying the idea any pe rson’s opinion is as valid and worthy of attention as any other person’s opinion. This is not to say Americans make no distinctions among themselves as a result of such factors as sex, age, wealth, or social position. They do. But the distinctions are acknowledged in subtle ways. Tone of voice, order of speaking, choice of words, seating arrangements---such are the means by which Americans acknowledge status differences among themselves.5. Individualism/ IndependenceAmericans view themselves as highly individualistic in their thoughts and actions. They resist being thought of as representatives of any homogeneous group. When they do join groups,they believe they are special. Just a little different from other members of the same group. In the U.S. you will find people freely expressing a variety of opinions anywhere and anytime. Yet, in spite of this independence, almost all Americans end up voting for one of their two major political parties. Individualism leads to privacy, which Americans see as desirable. The word privacy does not exist in many non-Western languages. If it does, it is likely to have a negative connotation, suggesting loneliness or forced isolation. It is not uncommon for Americans to say, and almost to believe: "If I don't have half an hour a day to myself, I go stark-raving mad!"The most important thing to understand about American is probably their devotion to “individualism.” They have been trained since very early in their lives to consider themselves as separate individuals who are responsible for their own situations in life and their own destinies. They have not been trained to see themselves as members of a close-knit, tightly interdependent family, religious group, tribe, nation, or other collectivity. It is this concept of themselves as individual decision-makers that blinds at least some Americans to the fact they share a culture with others. They have the idea as mentioned above, that they have independently made up their own minds about the values and assumptions they hold. The notion that social factors outside themselves have made them “just like everyone else” in important ways offends their sense of dignity. Foreigners who understand the degree to which Americans are imbued with the notion that the free, self-reliant individual is the ideal kind of human being will find it easier to understand many aspects of American behavior and thinking that otherwise might not make sense. Many Americans do not display the degree of respect for their parents people in more traditional or family-oriented societies commonly display. They have the conception it is a historical or biological accident that put them in the hands of particular parents. Parents fulfill their responsibilities to the children while the children are young, and when children reach “the age of independence” the close child-parent tie is loosened, if not broken. Closely associated with the value they place on individualism is the importance Americans assign privacy. Americans assume people “need some time to themselves” or “some time alone” to think about things or recover their spent psychological energy. Americans have great difficulty understanding foreigners who always want to be with another person and who dislike being alone.6. Self-help InitiativeAmericans take credit only for what they accomplish as individuals. They get no credit for having been born into a rich family but pride themselves in having climbed the ladder of success, to whatever level, all by themselves. In an English-language dictionary, there are more than 100 composite words that have the word "self" as a prefix: self-aware, self-confident, self-conscious, self-contented, self-control, self-criticism, self-deception, self-defeating, self-denial. The equivalent of these words cannot be found in most other languages. It is an indicator of how highly Americans regard the self-made man or woman.7. CompetitionThe pressure of competition in the life of an American begins In childhood and continue until retirement from work. Learning to compete successfully is part of growing up in America. In an opinion poll, 60% of the Americans believed competition and the desire to win are healthy and desirable. The pressure to compete causes Americans to be energetic, but it also places a constant emotional strain on them. Americans believe that competition brings out the best in any individual and in any system. This value is reflected in the American economic system of free enterprise, and it is applied in the U.S. in all areas - medicine, the arts, education, and sports.8. Future OrientationAmericans value the culture and the improvements the future will surely bring. They devalue the past and are, to a large extent, unconscious of the present. Even a happy present goes largely unnoticed because Americans are hopeful that the future will bring even greater happiness. Since Americans believe that humans, not fate, can and should control the environment, they are good at planning short-term projects. This ability has caused Americans to be invited to all corners of the Earth to plan, and often achieve, the miracles which their goal setting methods can produce.9. Acton/ Work Orientation"Don't just stand there," says a typical bit of American advice "do something!" This expression, though normally used in a crisis situation, in a sense describes most Americans' waking life, where action - any action - is seen as superior to inaction. Americans routinely schedule an extremely active day. Any relaxation must be limited in time and aimed at "recreating" so that they can work harder once their "recreation" is over. Such a "no-nonsense" attitude toward life has created a class of people known as "workaholics" - people addicted to, and often wholly identified with, their job or profession. The first question people often ask when they meet each other in the U.S. is related to work: "What do you do?" "Where do you work?" or "Who (what company) are you with?" The United States may be one of the few countries in the world where people speak about the dignity of human labor - meaning hard physical labor. Even corporation presidents will engage in physical labor from time to time and, in doing so, gain rather than lose respect from others.10. InformalityAmericans are even more informal and casual than their close relatives - the Western Europeans. For example, American bosses often urge their employees to call them by their first names and feel uncomfortable with the title "Mr." or "Ms.” Dress is another area where American informality is most noticeable, perhaps even shocking. For example, one can go to a symphony performance in any large American city and find people dressed in blue jeans. Informality is also apparent in Americans' greetings. The more formal "How are you?" has largely been replaced with an informal "Hi". This is as likely to be used with one's superior as with one's best friend.11. Directness/Openness/HonestyMany other countries have developed subtle, sometimes highly ritualistic, ways of informing others of unpleasant information. Americans prefer the direct approach. They are likely to be completely honest in delivering their negative evaluations, and to consider, anything other than the most direct and open approach to be "dishonest" and "insincere". Anyone in the U.S. who uses an intermediary to deliver the message will also be considered "manipulative" and "untrustworthy". If you come from a country where saving face is important, be assured that Americans are not trying to make you lose face with their directness.12. Practicality/EfficiencyAmericans have a reputation for being realistic, practical, and efficient. The practical consideration is likely to be given highest priority in making any important decision. Americans pride themselves in not being very philosophically or theoretically oriented. If Americans would even admit to having a philosophy, it would probably be that of pragmatism. Will it make money? What is the bottom line? What can I gain from this activity? These are the kinds of questions Americans are likely to ask, rather than: is it aesthetically pleasing? Will it be enjoyable? Will it advance the cause of knowledge? This pragmatic orientation has caused Americans to contributemore inventions to the world than any other country in human history. The love of "practicality" has also caused Americans to view some professions more favorably than others. Management and economics are much more popular in the United States than philosophy or anthropology, and law and medicine more valued than the arts. Americans belittle "emotional" and "subjective" evaluations in favor of "rational" and "objective" assessments. Americans try to avoid being "too sentimental" in making their decisions. They judge every situation "on its own merits".13. Materialism/AcquisitivenessForeigners generally consider Americans much more materialistic than Americans are likely to consider themselves. Americans would like to think that their material objects are just the "natural benefits" that result from hard work and serious intent - a reward, they think, which all people could enjoy were they as industrious and hard-working as Americans. But by any standard, Americans are materialistic. They give a higher priority to obtaining, maintaining, and protecting material objects than they do in developing and enjoying relationships with people. Since Americans value newness and innovation, they sell or throw away their possessions frequently and replace them with newer ones. A car may be kept for only two or three years, a house for five or six before buying a new one.。