Date Posted:23:45:08 04/24/04 Sat Author: mvd Subject: My argument for American Culture
First of all, we must define culture:
The totality of socially transmitted behavior patterns, arts, beliefs, institutions, and all other products of human work and thought.
The predominating attitudes and behavior that characterize the functioning of a group or organization.
In accordance with the above definitions, I will give some examples of beliefs and commonly known cultural knowledges and expressions of cultural identity specific to America. Keep in mind we are talking about predominating attitudes and beliefs. Just because some people don't have them and other cultures do, does not mean we do not have a unique American culture.
1. You know how baseball, basketball, and American football are played. If you're male, you can argue intricate points about their rules.
2. You don't consider insects, dogs, cats, monkeys, or guinea pigs to be food.
3. You'd respect someone who speaks French, German, or Japanese-- but you very likely don't yourself speak them well enough to communicate with a monolingual foreigner.
4. Once you're introduced to someone (well, besides the President and other lofty figures), you can call them by their first name.
5. If you're a woman, you don't go to the beach topless.
6. You're familiar with David Letterman, Mary Tyler Moore, Saturday Night Live, Bewitched, the Flintstones, Sesame Street, Mr. Rogers, Bob Newhart, Bill Cosby, Bugs Bunny, Road Runner, Donald Duck, the Fonz, Archie Bunker, Star Trek, the Honeymooners, the Addams Family, the Three Stooges, and Beetle Bailey.
7. American art tends to be fiercely individualistic with little thought to social content.
8. You know the major American Holidays.
9. Socialism and Communism are severely frowned upon by the majority of Americans.
10. We believe that we are all "Americans".
11. Americans are in general obsessed with youth and looking young.
12. Ever heard of the "Cultural Revolution"? This was when vast and sweeping changes were made to the what? That's right, to the prevailing ideas of the American Mother Culture.
13. We circumcise our young boys.
14. Apple pie.
15. To be American is likely to be a mixed breed of many cultural influences and to embrace pluralism.
16. Americans put their babies in cribs soon after they are born.
17. Breast feeding is regarded with a modicum of disdain.
18. Women are presented with unhealthy, "touched" images, then taught that they should look like these impossible images, thus creating depression, anorexia, and so on...
19. Americans are plagued by depression, anxiety, sexual dysfunction, and stress.
20. We believe in a strong work ethic, and so only acquire about two weeks average vacation per year.
21. We are obsessed with fighting all diseases, pumping vast amounts of money into medical research.
22. American culture is a consumer culture.
23. We are obsessed with individuality and the expression of this individuality. We ask, "What is your favorite color?" "What are your pet peeves?"
24. Due to the stress upon individuality, Americans are inundated with questions of choice and preference: "How do you want your steak?" "How do you like your tea?" In other cultures, this is a foreign concept.
25. Marriages are seldom arranged.
26. Kids rarely pursue careers outlined by their parents.
27. Americans move out of their parents' house and do not go back there to live.
28. Thanksgiving.
29. We love self-help books.
30. We put ketchup on french fries.
31. Eggs on a pizza is unheard of.
32. Hamburgers.
33. Cowboys, westerns, etc.
34. Should I go on? The best way to discover American Culture is to ask someone who is not a native what he thinks about it. How is it different? What are the general attitudes here? It is very difficult for people to describe their own culture, for it is much like asking a fish to describe water.
