Materialism In America Essay

This was a bit interesting, because I am from another country and I have been in America for about eight years now. I still do identify with my Ukrainian culture and those roots very much, but I have been in America for long enough to adapt this new culture as well. This assignment really had me thinking about where I identify more, I really never thought about it much before. In my mind I am Ukrainian and I live in America and I am a citizen of U.S., but I feel like I am an American as well. As I think about it more this is how I identify with each culture. I think of myself as a Ukrainian and my roots are from where I was born and lived till I was fourteen. My mind was molded by my Ukrainian family, the way I act, the way I am as an individual is because of how and where I was raised. I still notice myself doing things that I did when I was in Ukraine, or thinking a certain way, as I did when I was in Ukraine. Things that my parents taught me, are still things I do sometimes, my thought process is still centered around those teachings. Mentally I identify with my Ukrainian roots, but the way I live my life now is much Americanized. I do also identify with American culture and I would not change one thing about it. But as a teacher in the future, I know that I will have to explore my American culture and use it in the class more, because a lot of my students will identify with the American culture. I think it is very important to really think about the culture you are in

There were many continuities and changes in cultural beliefs in the Americas during the time period 1450-present. Some changes were, when africans and natives were forced to learn christianity and syncretic religions started by mixing with native and christianity beliefs. Some continuities are, some native beliefs still survived and religion was still important to others.

No matter where you grow up in the United States, there are many American values we all have in common. In particular, you can group several values together to form a cluster value such as Material Comfort and Education. In order to seek the material comforts Americans want such as financial stability, a car, a home and a retirement saving, many feel you need to seek an education. A formal education is believed to help achieve a higher rate of salary and thus making it affordable to achieve the material comforts one seeks. After 26 years, I have returned to college to seek my degree in accounting in order to advance my career, seek higher wages and afford myself the material comforts I want in life.

There are many Americans that spend their money on too many things not essential to the preservation of our lives and health. Money that we spend on upgrading to a new TV or more fashionable up to date clothing could be donated to one of a number of charitable agencies and can mean the difference between life and death for children in need. Peter Singer agrees with these statements and wrote an essay about it. He describes how most of us would rather spend $200 on dining out in one month, and that same $200 could save a child’s life. I agree with this statement, there are too many of us in our own little bubbles and we don’t worry about what’s going on around us. His thesis isn’t based off of facts or true life events but is based off of

Despite the fact that many wealthy people commonly are known to have nice clothes, some choose to spend their money on more beneficial things. Clothing is an essential need for life but many individuals would rather buy food to stock the pantry with. In adult’s lives wealth is based on your job position, in high school it is judged by the clothes you wear. This stereotypical classification does not take people’s personality or personal

Classism in the United States began as soon as it was conceptualized. Slavery was the first glaring example of classism. Obviously based along racial lines, Africans and African Americans were enslaved with essentially no hope of achieving a higher economic status. With exception of slavery of the time, “on the eve of the American revolution incomes in the 13 colonies that formed the United States were more equal than in virtually any other place on the planet” (“As You Were”). As time went on, the industrial revolution took place, and created large gaps between workers and their superiors (“As You Were”). The trusts that helped the wealthy, become richer were eventually made illegal through president Theodore Roosevelt's trust busting (“As

• American culture moves in cycles described as turnings. Discuss the four turnings with their, the generations that shaped each turning, and the role that Generation Xers and the Millennials will play as America continues into the twenty-first century.

America today is no longer a place in which we embrace the uniqueness of every individual, instead, today’s society heavily influences its citizens through the thoughts of other people, media, and by instilling fear of being different; they do so by giving the people the ability to “choose” who they want to be, in other words false choice. Throughout history there have been times in which all individuals in a certain area such as America, have made a drastic change to the way that they live in; the first one being The Great Awakening, followed by the Red Scare, which later is proceeded by World War 2(WW2). With the ability to spread one’s ideas to a large crowd over papers, online, and radio made it easier for their beliefs to spread and influence them. The only thing that prevents us from sticking to our beliefs, from what we desire to do, is the fear to be different.

I’ve spent the majority of my life living in contradictions; I was constantly hoping to be seen as an adequate Nigerian while simultaneously hoping that I was not excessively American while hoping to be seen as an adequate American but not excessively Nigerian. Like other first generation immigrants, I walk the fine line between two cultures. I never truly felt at home in either place, but I found myself continuously striving to be accepted in both worlds. Publicly, I hoped that I was American enough in public to assimilate with my classmates- so much so that for years, I used my middle name when at school.

“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.”

In the 35 years between 1865 and 1900, more social and economic change took place in American then in all of its history prior. The Civil War brought about a huge amount of change in politics and ushered in the Industrial Age. With this boom in industry also came the socioeconomic transfiguration in America from rural dwelling to city living. Population boomed and residency in cities like Chicago increased fifty-fold. This city boom came with the invention of the elevator and new building techniques for building taller buildings. Also, expanding public transportation and super stores like Macy’s and Marshall Field’s provided the means for inhabitants to function.

Social status can be expressed through the value of goods that are purchased, people who are wealthy can demonstrate that they are of wealth and are of a higher class by buying lavish goods. When looking at people identifying with certain sub-cultures material items like clothes can express that they are of that group. This can present a double standard as some sub-cultures like the hippy sub-culture or the punk sub-culture belief’s lie with being non-conformist and having a high level of agency, when the truth is that they may unintentionally dress the same as other people of the same sub-culture, reducing their agency. Although we are not passive consumers we have

Doss, E. (2002, April). Oxford History of Art: Twentieth-Century American Art. Cary, NC, USA: OUP Oxford. Retrieved from ebrary, 289

Although the American image is lost due to different interpretations, to be an American has only one definition. To be an American means to love all people within the one united country. Coming together as one country is what makes the United States the strong country that it is known by today. Americans are people of any race or gender from any background, while loving the country that they reside in. Americans have been known for working hard to obtain what they are given. Americans are known to have trained to get to a certain place in life.

The United States of America being the third largest country in the world with more than 315 million inhabitants, consists of multicultural societies with ethnically diverse population. Since there are a lot of foreigners, the US culture has evolved in such a way accepting and tolerating other foreign cultures. US is very much influenced by protestant work ethics according to which people believe in themselves and their efforts to attain the goal of self-actualization and success. The rich diversity in the culture brought by foreigners, prevailing values of protestant ethics, hard work etc. have helped US to emerge as a superpower in the past years. Nearly every religion had its impact on US culture in one way or the other. The