American Beliefs and Values

Due the the geographic reason, Canadian culture is often seen as similar to the United States. For instance, language, political beliefs, food, religion and social well-being. I agree that most part of the American popular culture is being adopted by most Canadians because of the powerful media such as movies, films and books are produced by the American. Massey-Leveque, who is a chancellor of the University of Toronto, argued that “ Canada is cultural dependent in its ‘uncritical use of American education philosophy”(as cited in Gasher, M., Skinner, D., & Lorimer,R., 2012,p.196). Hollywood, one of the biggest and most famous film corporations in the world, is devastating part of the Canadian culture. The reason is that by multi-billion

In this era, the term “individualism” was first used. Unlike in the colonial period, many Americans now believed individuals should pursue their own self-interest, no matter what the cost to the public good, and that they should and could depend only on themselves. Americans more and more saw the realm of the private self as one in which other individuals and government should not

The exporting of American pop culture has been going on ever since America has become a big world power along with other countries. Sometimes we don’t know how westernized we are since it’s all around us. There are some positives to this export to other countries, but there is also negatives. Some negatives to the exportation of American pop culture are the misrepresentation of other societies, teachings of extreme beliefs, and the erasing of other cultures around us.

Individualism is a core value of American culture. It has been influencing all the fields of society, economics, politics and culture. It has played an immense and extensive effect to shape the character and mindset of the American nation. In the colonial period of 1607 - 1776, these Europeans had come to a new land to find new opportunity. The Colonists knew nothing but the rule and culture of England, thus bringing traits of it into their new society in the New World. They did not have a keep grip on societal development until people started to speak up about new ideas and meanings of life. But they feared from straying from the past traditions of England because of a possible chance that England would see that they were not able to thrive and settle in this new place. Thus, when different opinions, ideas, or anything opposing current societal ways, it was to be banished, killed, or in some way rid of before society was able to change in any way other than what the entire group of the community wanted. This time focused on groups of people and the entire population’s views and conformity rather than the individual’s beliefs and principles. The rationalism period between 1750 and 1800 focused on major changes in society especially through religion and government life. Acts and plans imposed by the British government enabled Americans to realize the lack of true freedom and liberty they had being under control of England. This era sparked numerous new mindsets and attitudes

R.E.M. ....Religious, educational and moral values. These are the three values that affect society today the most, I think. Society may look down on people if they do not live by what society thinks is correct. For example if a persons values are corrupt then society will look down on that person, but if a person has real high morals then society will think that they are fake of just a “goodie”. In society today you will be looked down anyway your moral beliefs are.

People take what they see and hear and apply it to their everyday lives. This may lead younger audiences to make poor decisions or develop bad habits. Children who may hear bad words in a movie may repeat them thinking it is okay since their favorite actor said it. American pop culture is becoming more popular in other countries and may one day replace their own cultures. People might begin to adapt to American traditions and forget their distinct culture. Moreover, pop culture is negatively displaying American, as well as, other countries and religions. People from other countries know America by the violent and offensive works they produce. Overall, popular culture should change to positively display all countries and teach teenagers and kids healthy

The editorial “Time to Assert American Values” by the New York Times Editorial staff argues no country has the right to punish its citizens with torture. The first concession its “Western countries value the individual above society; in Asia,he said, the good of society is deemed more important than individual liberties.” The writer concede that one country cannot control the actions of another independent country. The writer argues “dissidents,democrats, and reforms’ do not represent their culture, and therefore, deserve the oppressive punishments and suppressed individual rights” they experience.The second concession is “Americans are committing and active culture arrogance.”This means that they are doing unfair stuff. The writer argues

America is a special country with heavily influenced cultures. The uniqueness that the United States carries shows its individuality, but also its unity.

“No culture is as dedicated to making each individual’s dream come true”. (Lipset, 1996, p. 25). Individualism is a big part of living in America, people believe that they are independent and self-reliant. They believe in working things out as a society rather than relying on outside bodies. This independency is looked at as the ‘American Dream’ in which people have better opportunities in life.

Another important core belief is diversity. America is home to many different people these people come from different cultures, races, and beliefs. The diversity in this country makes this country so much stronger than other countries. My first quote comes from Sandee Bonita, of Washington, D.C. , “We pretty much take the best out of each and every single race that we have in here. And we enjoy it, and we celebrate the diversity that we have” (“What Unites US?”). This is what I truly love about being an American. In America we do not have a normal culture. Our culture is one that has shared characteristics of every culture in the world. Example of celebrating others diversity is in school we celebrate Hispanic month, Chinese New Years, and

American values are seen in different ways by different people and cultures. Some people view American values as religion, culture, and customs. There are some American values that have changed to make things better and there are some that will never change no matter the situation. A value that has changed is freedom and the right of equality. There are two documents that can support this statement and one of them is known as “Common Sense “which was written by Thomas Paine. Thomas Paine was a pro-American writer and author of some of the most persuasive documents of the American Revolution. One document that he was famous for was “Common Sense.” This document argued for American independence from Great Britain and for a republican form of government as superior to hereditary monarchy. This was one very persuasive document that was written and had an extraordinary impact on colonies. (“Thomas Paine.”, edited by Paul Lauter, The Heath Anthology of American Literature, 2006, PP 1046.).

Throughout American history, specifically the period of World War II leading up to the Cold War, the country has had certain core values that they are expected to adhere, often recognized as liberty, equality, and justice. These core values are known as the basic rights that every human being should be guaranteed. Specific moments in the country’s history relating to liberty are the forced internment of Japanese Americans into internment camps, the secret building of the atomic bombs to use on Japan, and the McCarthyism of the 1950s. Moments relating to equality are the exclusion of blacks from the American Dream, voting restrictions in the South before the Civil Rights Movement, and segregation in American schools. Occasions pertaining to justice are the murder of Emmett Till and subsequent acquittal of the men that murdered him, American involvement in the Chinese Civil War, and insufficient payment given to women during World War II. America has, in many cases, failed to adhere to these core values that the country is meant to always stand for.

America is not becoming a universal nation. However, it is in the process of redefining the identity of what an American is. The fault for this is widespread growth of certain ethnic groups caused by immigration, paired with technology that allows for unprecedented connectivity. Consequently, this allows minority groups to rapidly spread their culture and ideas throughout the country and influence the majorities like never before. Nowhere is this more apparent than in pop culture; where Bollywood, Korean dramas, and Japanese animation have had a significant impact on the tastes of America as a whole.

Social media is capable of portraying many different things. American culture is one of the most accurately portrayed aspects in social media and television shows are one of the most frequently used social media tools to showcase American culture. In shows like American Dad!, Family Guy, and The Big Bang Theory, American culture is reflected through the topics of patriotism, family, unity, diversity, and equality. In the television show American Dad!, written by Seth MacFarlane, patriotism of a typical American father is accurately portrayed.

The television is also a very important aspect of popular culture that affects the American Identity. Watching television is such a common part of contemporary society, that most Americans adopted it as a part of their daily routine and watch television for at least an hour a day. Stanley Crouch, a poet, music and cultural critic, writes that whenever people pretentiously and proudly announce, “I don’t watch television,” they should follow it up with “I don’t look at America either” (Masciotra 79). Television has become a part of many people’s lives. When the mass population watches the same TV shows, movies, etc. they can all relate to each other, and thus unite them as an American. We look to TV shows to see how other people like us act