The Current Value Of America

Individualism: Individualism is the term that refers to the ways in which people identify themselves and focus their goals. Individualism gives priority to personal goals as opposed to the goals of a group or society. Once the men have stepped off the bus on Parris Island they give up every aspect of individualism, they are stripped of all valuables and given the same clothes and haircut which they will wear for the remainder of time. American cultures which are seen almost daily are the ability to voice your own opinion, choosing your personal perspective, and even just the choices you choose to make. Individualism is something that can differ between cultures, but most cultures share certain qualities.

Do you stand alone as a unique and special individual? Since the beginning of American history there have been struggles for individualism. The American Revolution, the American Civil War, and the separation from family life are all examples of individualism in American history. Individualism is an American paradigm designed by the modern societal structure that is an altered idea of the foundation by immigrants. In today’s society the struggle for individualism is more personal and represents how American values have shifted since the beginning of American history.

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

Individualism is the idea that the individual's life belongs to him and that he has an inalienable

“Individualism is the idea that the individual’s life belongs to him and that he has an inalienable right to live as he sees fit, to act on his own judgement, to keep and use the product of his effort, and to pursue the causes of his choosing.” My take on individualism, is basically that we can control ourselves, we can do what we want with restrictions to keep those that stand by us safe. Individualism is a way of a society. Now, on the other hand there is collectivism, “the idea that the individual’s life belongs not to him but to the group or society of which he is merely a part of has no rights, and that he must sacrifice his values and goals for the group’s greater good.” My take on this is “idea” is that you are completely controlled when put under this way of society. Having read the book Anthem by Ayn Rand collectivism is for sure something that I would not want to be a part of.

Over the years, values in American immigrants have changed and so have many characteristics. In the 1600s some of the main motives for early immigration were God, Glory, and Gold; these ideas drove many Europeans to America because there was such a high desire for economic growth and power during that time. First the explorers set sail to find new directions of travel, but soon found America, the New World, a new opportunity for advancement; which thus attracted the Entrepreneurs. More and more Europeans flocked to the New World to gain wealth consisting of land, money, and power. As America grew, it became a land of renewal and soon tempted religious expansion and freedom. Early religious immigrants known as Puritans came to America from England to either teach Native Americans of their religion or “purify” it because many believed it had been corrupted by the English church. John Winthrop, a puritan from this time, wrote a descriptive piece on how they were able to alter the damaged part of the religion, saying, “Our civil Government is mixt: the freemen choose the magistrates every year...and at 4 courts in the year 3 out of each town (there being 8 in all) do assist the magistrates in making laws, imposing taxes, and disposing of lands: our Juries are chosen by the freemen of [every] town. Our Churches are governed by Pastors, Teachers ruling Elders and Deacons, yet the power lies in the whole Congregation and not in the Presbytery [not in a larger council of churches] further than for order and precedence” (Winthrop, Digital Hisotry). These people wanted to

Individualism is not selfishness. However, individualism helps people stand on different position and try to make changes in the society. These changes bring the America new ideas, push the nation make progress. There is not too much emphasis on individualism at the expense of social unity in American culture. Instead, individualism needs to weigh a higher status in this nation.

One of the most important things in America is freedom. In 1787, our founding fathers based our constitution on the idea of of liberty and the pursuit of happiness. In our country there are a lot of freedoms one of them is speech you can be heard on your opinions and never have fear in what you're doing. Another freedom is your religion you can believe in your without fear of persecution of being discriminated against.

Individualism is the act of depending on oneself and acting individual of another individual. Collectivism is the act of depending on society and acting a part of a group. In society today people often practice collectivism more than practicing individualism. People are so obsessed with being accepted into a group they often lose their individuality. It is up to the individual to be collective to individual; however, Henry David Thoreau felt that one should practice individualism. Henry David Thoreau’s thoughts on individualism are still relevant today.

These ideals were passed down and adopted by medieval England establishing both societal norms and policy. Again these ideals traveled with them in the 1600s when the first settlements were established in the new world as so know as America. While America was spread containing different colonies, settlements along with different views on religion and policy It was not until the “1760s, the expansion of farming and commerce had established the foundation for a vigorous national economy” (Henretta 129) that the American people would have to make a decision governing this growth. With this expansion came a movement which caused Americans to establish a new universal value system which would help govern many aspects of their society involving religion and economics creating new political and social order. This new view known to many as the Declaration of Independence was establish “it challenged many of the values and institutions of the colonial social order and forced Americans to consider fundamental changes in their economic, religious, and cultural practices” (Henretta

Many people across the world have their own definition and beliefs of the word individualism. There is nothing selfish to be able to express ones personality and internal emotions. Being an individual alone could value a person’s overall true character. The claim presented would be opposed by many because people like to feel independent and self-reliant. Individualism in today’s society lets people express themselves, and helps create something small into something big. For a long time now individualism has existed since the founding of our country. History was created by those who showed independence and proved that an individual can do it all.

The idea of individualism states that the individual is very important and following one’s conscience and heart is the more important aspect. Henry David Thoreau speaks about individualism in his section titled Civil Disobedience (Thoreau, Civil Disobedience). The concept of individualism is challenged in Fitzhugh’s Sociology for the South. A quote to illustrate this is “He would become an insufferable burden to society. Society has the right to prevent this, and can only do so by subjecting him to domestic slavery” (Fitzhugh, Sociology for the South). No matter what the man or woman does, they will be a burden to society and will become a slave. They can’t follow their conscience or heart because they always must obey their masters, they are continually under the suppression of a dominant force. This slave could be a wage slave which is a person owned by his or her job. Again, these slaves will always be kept under the hand of a master. They can never truly display or demonstrate individualism. A point of disagreement is between Fitzhugh and Stowe. Fitzhugh thought blacks needed to be slaves because they were a burden, but Stowe illustrated throughout her book that blacks are human beings that deserve to be

Many people may think of individualism as being selfish, of only doing things for the benefit of oneself. While individualism puts oneself as above any groups, the philosophy is more concerned with freedom and independence from any group. An individualist wants freedom for all, and lives in society for the benefit of themselves rather than others. In this way, individualists have a stronger sense of personal identity, and are less likely to accept unbalanced power structures and

Individualism on the one side contrary to Collectivism, as a communal, not an individual characteristic, is the level to which people in a society are being combined into groups.

Imagine living a life where everything you do is looked down upon, a life in which your rights are limited even in a "free country", a life in where you are belittled simply because of one choice, the choice of a same-sex relationship. All around the world there is a social struggle between traditional and modern viewpoints pertaining same-sex marriage. Some fight for the advancement of homosexual relationships, while others would prefer they be non-existent. But in the end, as Americans who strive for liberty and justice for all, we should accept each and every individual and treat them as equals in an effort to strive for the greater good regardless of the fact that you do not agree with the life decisions that they have chosen.