American Values

American Values: It is, in a sense, what makes up American people. The article we read for homework described 13 major American values that make up our culture. I believe that most of the values do describe Americans as a whole. I completely agreed with the author's point that we as Americans are very concerned with time. If we are not "filling" time, or "spending" time, then we are "wasting" time. People living in America are penalized if they are not on time, being late is considered rude. Especially in professional instances. If you are late for a job interview or a meeting, thats a bad mark against you at your job.
I also agreed with the fact that Americans are always looking towards the next biggest thing, and always looking for change. Americans have always been the ever-changing country. Most countries have traditions and rituals they look to, and they follow the things that never change. I believe that America's tradition is to continually find new technologies and ways to change our country. It has been like that almost since the United States were created. Some other cultures around the world may find it wierd that we don't really have the "traditional values" they think of, and may be surprised or upset that we are constantly changing our society, however we might also find it wierd or different that they have values that have been accepted and followed for hundreds of years. Some may forget that our country is younger than most, and that we are a very diverse country, so we have diverse values through the different ethnic groups living here. As the American society, we are always looking for the next best thing, or how to better ourselves and the place we live in.
The author of the article also gives a good point about how materialistic America is. The list of things the author named off that almost every American owned didn't really surprise me. I would actually find it a bit odd if someone didnt' own a calculator, a washing machine, or a refrigerator, just because it's so common to see them in homes, and its very uncommon not to see them. However, in third world countries such as Sudan, they do not have the luxuries like calculators, washing machines, or refrigerators. I believe that as Americans, we take our material possessions for granted, not realizing how dependent we are on some of them until they appliance breaks or is taken away.
Although the author made some very good points about our values, I think he missed one major value that most Americans hold: appearance. Most Americans believe that if you look stylish, trendy, or business-like you are more likely to get farther in life. That is why, for example, we dress professionally for job interviews. If we didn't think looking business-like would help us get the job, why don't we just come in jeans and a t-shirt? We also believe looking nice and having good hygiene gets others to notice us in a crowd. This may be why girls dress very nice to out to dinner with her friends or go on a date, they think that if they look better than others they will be noticed more. In some cases, this may be true, but in others it may not be true. Some other cultures have the same general idea about appearance, but I think that America can be one of the worst places to be judged by what you are wearing or how you look.
Overall, I think the article we read in class explained very well what most Americans value and hold dear to them. I think that these are very specific to the country, and thats why a lot of other cultures find ours odd, or may even dislike our country because of our culture.