What Are the Most Signficant American Values?

What Are the Most Signficant American Values?

American Values
Three Values that I think are common in the American culture are Success, freedom and group superiority. Success, to me, is the direct act of hard work and commitment. Americans praise personal achievements and education, but value getting ahead of others at work and school, attaining power, and wealth to achieve financial success. A lot of times success derives from group superiority, which contradicts the values of equality, and freedom. Freedom is one of the most core values to me, everyone wants to have their own freedom weather it be free from a job, free from neglect, free from defiance, etc. Everyone has their own personal freedom they are wishing to achieve. The core value in itself pervades U.S life. For example the study of Anglos and Indians that JoEllen Shivey investigated in 1991 and 1992. Shivey matched groups of Anglos and Indians on education, age, income, and percentage of unemployment. Anglos and Indians both, considered themselves cowboys, both cultures had a different look on a cowboy. With having the fantasy of being free and independent like a cowboy, Indians find a fantasy in which the important parts of their ways of life triumph and are morally good, validating their own cultural group in the context of a dramatically satisfying story. Whereas Anglos saw the movie as a direct portrayal of the Old West and a justification of their own status is society. A few examples of group superiority have denied equality and freedom to others are the denial of the vote to women, the slaughter of Native Americans, and the enslavement of African Americans. Everyone has their own view on common values some may think it is religion or material comfort, but to me everyone longs for success and freedom, after all that is the “American Dream“ right? To become successful and to have all the freedoms in the world at your discretion, would be the icing on the cake, so to speak. So therefore I have chosen to emphasize on these...

Similar Essays