The United States : An Individualistic Culture

“Are Americans too individualistic?” is a question asked that can be found among popele in the U.S. and it can understandable to respond with a “yes”. People in all over the United States prefer gossiping these days about Brangelina or what creature is captured in their Pokémon Go app rather than discussing about the chaos in this year’s American general election and what can be done within the next four years to come. In today’s U.S. modern society, the problem with being infatuated with egoism is damaging this country by isolating the people from their democratic roles that have a voice in what happens in the United States. For this reason, everyone in the U.S., including the government, must find a proper model that can guide America in the right direction. There are four kinds of democratic models that were explained by William E. Hudson in his book, American Democracy in Peril (i.e. Protective, Developmental, Pluralist) but only one that appears to accept and perceive our present day and its challenges of getting more people being involved in what is happening in this country: Participatory Democracy. To save the future of America, everyone must follow the model of Participatory democracy by being more proactively involved in society, including U.S. politics.

Why has our sense of community weakened? And who or what is to blame? My intent is to answer these questions, and determine what can be done to fix the issue at hand. The above-mentioned communal crisis has affected our ability to connect with others, as well as our means to be self-sufficient. The concept of The American Dream is at fault for the decline of our social state, particularly the basis of individualism and consumerism, both at which reinforce economic inequality. The American Dream is seen as the opportunity to succeed and achieve upward-mobility, but in reality this dream has become a nightmare. The appearance of community has shifted more towards a manifestation of social class, and with all things considered, we are indebted

Many, if not most, of the people in today's generation are constantly judged by others and even themselves based on what their identity comprises of. The concept of racial injustice and inequality among ethnic minorities constantly fills the media. Women's rights issues seem to arise rapidly whenever a single female is mistreated in the slightest way. The debate on homosexuality is also an enormous topic in our social lives today, with millions of supporters for it, but also millions against it. This internal segregation within our own human population is nothing new, since it has been continuing ever since verbal and written communication with each other has existed. All these components, and many more, are a huge part of what identifies a

Social identity theory proposed by Tajfel & Turner (2004) is a theory of group membership and behaviour which has made significant contributions in explaining in-group favouritism, out-group denigration, competition and other interactions of an individual among social groups (Korte, 2007; Brown, 2000; Tajfel & Turner, 2004). Social identity theory can be defined as an individual’s sense of who they are based on the group that they belong to through a process of self-categorisation and depersonalisation (Tajfel & Turner, 2004). In this essay, I will define social identity theory through its three mental processes involved in group evaluation which are: social identification which is a process whereby we are placed into certain

Being identified with a group can shape one’s thoughts on theirself, and what is expected of them within their society. Some things that in one’s mind seem so normal and expected may be far from

Upon reviewing Chapter 3, a key concept that stuck out to me was the Individualism vs Collectivism. Individualism focuses more on the personal freedoms of each individual, while collectivism focuses more on the well-being of the entire society. Political officials play a more limited role in an individualistic society versus a collective society. Historically, the United States has been a nation focused on individualism. Personal freedom is a staple in American society and politics. Within the past few months, the media has extensively covered the presidential election. One candidate, Bernie Sanders, has challenged the typical individualism we see throughout American history. His beliefs, which some consider radical, are beginning to gain traction

Social identity theory states that the ‘in-group’ will discriminate against the ‘out-group’ and show favouritism towards their group to boost their self-esteem. Tajfel also proposed that there are 3 mental processes involved in putting people in to the ‘us’ and ‘them’ groups: social categorisation (putting objects in order to understand them), social identification (adopting the identity of the group we categorised ourselves as belonging to) and social comparison (showing favouritism towards the ‘in group’ and hostility towards the ‘out group’; comparing them).

This quote has great significance because of its explanation of one’s passions. In the context of Judges it talks about corrupt passion, but it can also help us understand our passions.

The moral importance of a person or an individual is emphasized by his or her moral stance ideologically, political philosophy and socially. This forms the individualism of a person. Individualists focus on their goals and desires thus value self-reliance and independence. Individual interests take precedence over the interest of the nation or community at large. A community on the other hand has common values and its interests take preference over individual interests. Communities can be small or large, for instance, national community, and international community or even virtual communities. Individualism and community can conflict. According to Less Newman, a middle class American, “American society

Goffman (1963) describes stigma as “an attribute that is deeply discrediting” proposing the idea that a stigmatized person is reduced “from a whole and usual person to a tainted, discounted one” (Goffman. E, p. 3, 1963). Goffman (1963) viewed stigma as a difference between “virtual social identity” (how society characterizes an individual) and “actual social identity” (the true characteristics of the individual) (p.2). This was the fate of anyone born in or near the City of Elizabeth from 1980 onwards. According to Goffman’s (1963) theory, the people of Elizabeth were given a virtual social identity of drug users, welfare recipients, alcoholics and criminals.

Religion is an imperfect savior. Primitive civilizations depended on religion to explain the workings of the world; they depended on gods to protect their crops and homes from disease, drought, and other disasters far out of human control. While this dependency provided comfort, it sacrificed individuality. Recent years has seen the rise of alternative forms of media: novels, digital music, movies. These were not available to previous civilizations. Early Americans only had access to the Bible, which was unreadable to the average illiterate. Newer forms of media have spurned a nation-wide reflection on the old traditions that were largely set by religion. Ever since the founding of the colonies, and ever since more diverse forms of self-expression have become more accessible, Americans have grown in individuality as they have become less dependent on religion.

The stigmatised person can employ ways in which they can compensate for their label such as highlighting a special talent (Goffman, 1963), The stigmatised person can use their difference as an excuse to underachieve in life (Goffman, 1963). They can live in the shadow of their stigma, which can lead to further stigma and develop character traits such as low self-esteem (Palamar, 2017). If it’s within its norms and boundaries, stigma and deviance can still operate successfully (Goffman, 1963). An example of a stigmatised group is outlaw motorcycle bike gangs (Vice, 2014). The targeting of a specific group in society can lead to isolation, hopelessness, and self-stigma and in this case a criminal identity (Uroda, 2016).

Habits of The Heart create a vision of the middle class American life with all its good, bad, strengths and weaknesses. Its examines the conflict that exists between individuality and community in this country, as well as how these conflicts effect our ability to form relationships with others, whether it is in a public arena or our own intimate relationships with family and friends. The very word individualism means to look out for number one, it implies a me society that has lost it’s way from the way it use to be. The title “Habits Of The Heart” creates images of love, faith, hope and commitment to others, a sense of belonging to something larger than yourself. Does individualism really

Social identity is a theory which explains how people develop a sense of belong and membership to a group. Individual’s social identity is part of their self-concept which derives from their knowledge of their membership of a social group together with the emotional significance attached to that membership (Forsyth, 13). People are influenced on the group they belong to. Belonging to the in-group makes a person feel good because they belong somewhere in this group and allows them to feel important. The out-group is where people feel to be, they do not belong to a group and have feeling of exclusion and are often times treated more harshly than someone who belongs to the ingroup. This bias of favoring the ingroup relative to the outgroup leads to false impressions being made and stereotypes forming. Stereotypes help us navigate the world around us by providing a quick representation of what we think a person is like. This does not mean our perceptions are always correct and occasionally, this quick mental shortcut can get us into trouble. For example, the film 12 Angry Men stereotyping was rampant among the jury. When a stereotype is used it can cause a disruption of procedures. Instead, of inspecting all the evidence with an objective eye a bias can allow for systematic

Every individual must have experienced such sanctions like feeling left out, unwanted, or stigmatized. The American society is greatly divided in terms of economic, cultural, gender, racial-ethnic, political, and educational status lines. Disrespect and discrimination have substantial consequences, which deny individuals access to contacts, resources, and information, consigning the minorities to dangerous backyards, low quality schools, and poorly paid occupations (Silver & Miller, 2003).