The United states culture and American identity

LECTURES 8

The lecture will define American culture and describe its uniqueness as well as:

• its further diversification
• American pluralism: cultural assimilation, multiculturalism, hyphenated Americanism,
• American mass culture, globalization and Americanization,
• American English as a tool of globalization

· American founding beliefs and values

Key Words and Proper Names: allegiance, assimilation, conscience, commitment, contentment, cultural imperialism, cultural pattern, determination, dissemination, exhibit ethnocentric or insular outlooks, globalization, harmonious, homogenous, individualism, liberty, equality and fraternity, loyalty, melting pot, multiculturalism, person’s basic inalienable rights, pluralism, prosperity, psychology of abundance, rags-to-riches stories, rugged individualism, sacred, “salad bowl,” self-identity, self-reliance, self-sufficiency, trend setter, tolerance, uniform, unify, values and belief system; virtues of thrift, hard work, and faith in the free enterprise system; American Dream, Americanization, hyphenated Americans, Rotarian.

The U.S. does not have a homogenous population compared with many Old World nations. American culture dates back to the first permanent English settlement Jamestown of 1607; and since then American history has been regarded as a record of progress and achievement: from wilderness to jet planes to moon rovers.

America’s formative years were in the late 18^th century. The words from the Declaration of Independence about securing life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness; French revolution’s ideals of liberty, equality and fraternity; and the national motto of E pluribus Unum (“From many, one”) found their reflection in what is now known as American culture.

To define American culture as a common set of customs, traditions, behavior and ways of life, e.g. French culture or German culture, is difficult.Itpossesses an unusual mixture of patterns and forms. Its development has been marked by a tension between two strong sources of inspiration: European ideals, especially British; and domestic originality.

American culture is rich, complex, and unique. It is largely based on Western culture and English culture in particular, with influences from the Native American peoples and African s brought to the U.S. as slaves, and to a lesser extent influences from other more recent immigrants from Asia and elsewhere; immigrants many of whom had fled persecution or oppression in their home countries, and were seeking freedom (including religious freedom) and economic opportunity, leading them to reject totalitarian practices.

At first, during the 19th century American culturewas a unique American voice. Later American cultural self-identity became more complex and more diverse as immigrants streamed into the country. American writers of German, Irish, Jewish, and Scandinavian ancestry began to find their audience. Many of these writers focused on the 19^th- 20^th century city life and themes such as poverty, efforts to assimilate into the U.S., and family life in a new country. These ethnically diverse writers included Theodore Dreiser, of German ancestry; Sholem Aleichem, a Jewish writer; and Eugene O'Neill and James Farrell, of Irish background. Thus, European influence changed the core of American experienceby incorporating various immigrant origins into its cultural vision.

In popular music too, the songs of many nations became American songs. In the 1920’s, the blues and jazz began to dominate the rhythms of American popular music. Black musicians such as Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, Ella Fitzgerald, became the instruments of a classic American sound. White composers such as George Gershwin and performers such as Bix Beiderbecke incorporated jazz rhythms into their music, while instrumentalists such as Benny Goodman adopted jazz improvisational style to forge a racially blended American form called swing music.

Cultural assimilation: American pluralism permitted the existence in the American culture of two major trends both playing a very significant role called assimilation and multiculturalism.

Cultural assimilation is an intense process of consistent integration when members of an ethno-cultural group, typically immigrants, or other minority groups, are “absorbed” into an established, generally larger community. This presumes a loss of all or many characteristics which make the newcomers different.

America is widely known as a “ melting pot ” in which immigrant groups used to assimilate. The term “ melting pot ” referred to the idea that immigrants were expected and encouraged to integrate themselves into the general American culture; and the societies formed by immigrant cultures, religions, and ethnic groups were to produce new hybrid social and cultural forms.

Fig.9. American “melting pot”

Popular use of the melting-pot metaphor was derived from Israel Zangwill’s play “ The Melting Pot,” which was first performed in Washington, D.C. in 1908, in which one character declares: “ America is God's Crucible, the great Melting-Pot where all the races of Europe are melting and reforming! Here you stand in your 50 groups with your 50 languages and histories, but you won’t be like that for long, brothers. For these are the fires of God you’ve come to – these are the fires of God… A fig for your feuds (deadly enemies) and vendettas! Germans and Frenchmen, Irishmen and Englishmen, Jews and Russians — into the Crucible with you all! God is making the American…He will be the fusion of all races, the coming superman.”

But Zangwill’s sentiments were not new ones. As far back as the end of the 18^th century one French immigrant and keen observer of American life, described his new compatriots as: “… a mixture of English, Scotch, Irish, French, Dutch, Germans, and Swedes. What, then, is the American, this new man? He is neither a European nor the descendant of a European; hence that strange mixture of blood, which you will find in no other country. I could point out to you a family whose grandfather was an Englishman, whose wife was a Dutch, whose son married a French woman, and whose present four sons have now four wives of different nations. He is an American… leaving behind him all his ancient prejudices and manners.”

Traditionally, the phenomenon of assimilation has been seen as a relentless economic progression. Hard working new-arrivals struggled along with a new language and at low paying jobs in order for their sons and daughters to climb the economic ladder, each generation advancing a rung.

But, in the current immigration wave something markedly different is happening in the middle of the great American “ melting pot.” The U.S. demographics are changing in profound and unprecedented ways, and as immigrant populations reach a critical mass in many communities, it is no longer the melting pot that is transforming them, but they (the immigrant populations) are transforming the American society.

So, the melting pot is no longer an article of faith in the American self-image.

Multiculturalism: The idea of multiculturalism is now put forward as an alternative to assimilation. Walt Whitman, the national poet, wrote of his nation. “ I am large,” “I contain multitudes. ” In 1918, the public intellectual Randolph Bourne called for a “ transnational America. ” The original English colonists, Bourne argued, “ did not come to be assimilated in an American melting pot. They came to get freedom to live as they wanted to make their fortune in a new land. Later immigrants, he continued, did not melt down into some kind of “tasteless, colorless” homogeneous Americanism but rather added their distinct contributions to the greater whole.”

Today’s ideologies of multiculturalism and diversity deny the existence of a common culture in the U.S.; they denounce the assimilation, and promote the primacy of racial, ethnic, and other sub-national cultural identities and groupings.

That’s why the old “ melting pot” metaphor is giving way to new metaphors such as “ salad bowl” or, as it is known in Canada, “cultural mosaic,” i.e. mixtures of various ingredients that keep their individual characteristics, or “ diversity salad.” The idea is that bits of lettuce, celery, carrot, and other ingredients retain all their individual flavor and color, yet are combined into an appetizing dish. This notion is attractive and simplistic. It implies that all the ethnicities that make up the U.S.A. should retain their national features and originality.

Whichever theory is right, the democracy of the U.S. lets both the multicultural and melting-pot approaches to be equally represented and exercised in immigrant communities.

The balance between the melting pot and transnational ideals varies with time and circumstance, with neither model achieving a complete dominance.

Americans have internationalized an American self-portrait that spans a spectrum of races, creeds, and colors. Let’s consider the popular motion pictures depicting American troops in action during the Second World War. It became a Hollywood cliché that every platoon included a farm boy from Iowa, a Brooklyn Jew, a Polish millworker from Chicago, an Appalachian woodsman, and other diverse examples of mid-20th century American manhood. They strain at first to overcome their differences, but by the film’s end all have bonded — as Americans.

Real life can be more complicated, because, say, the African-American soldier could serve in a segregated unit. Regardless such facts, however, these films depicted an American identity that Americans believed in — or wanted to.

Now the time has come to mention the phenomenon of hyphenated Americanism. The term hyphenated American is an epithet from the late 19th century to refer to Americans who consider themselves of a distinct cultural origin other than the U.S., and who claim to hold loyalty to both. The first term typically indicates a region of origin or ancestry, which is generally (but not always) paired with “American” by a hyphen, such as African-American, Chinese-American, Irish-American, German-American, and Japanese-American. The linguistic construction functionally indicates ancestry, but also may connote a sense that these individuals straddle two worlds — one experience is specific to their unique ethnic identity, while the other is the broader multicultural amalgam that is Americana.

Most usage experts recommend dropping the hyphen because it implies to some people dual nationalism and inability to be accepted as truly American.

By contrast, other groups have embraced the hyphen arguing that the American identity is compatible with alternative identities, and that the mixture of identities within the U.S. strengthens the nation rather than weakens it.

In 1915, President T. Roosevelt opposed the idea of " hyphenated Americanism ", saying, “ There is no room in this country for hyphenated Americanism. He continued: When I refer to hyphenated Americans, I do not refer to naturalized Americans. Some of the very best Americans I have ever known were naturalized Americans, Americans born abroad. But a hyphenated American is not an American at all.... The one absolutely certain way of bringing this nation to ruin, of preventing all possibility of its continuing to be a nation at all, would be - to permit it to become a tangle of squabbling nationalities, an intricate knot of German-Americans, Irish-Americans, English-Americans, French-Americans, Scandinavian-Americans or Italian-Americans, each preserving its separate nationality, each at heart feeling more sympathy with Europeans of that nationality, than with the other citizens of the American Republic... He concluded: There is no such thing as a hyphenated American who is a good American. The only man who is a good American is the man who is an American and nothing else. ”

President W. Wilson also regarded those whom he termed “ hyphenated Americans” with suspicion, he went further saying, “ Any man who carries a hyphen about with him carries a dagger that he is ready to plunge into the vitals of this Republic whenever he gets ready.”

But the problem persists. Currently, while some “ hyphenated Americans ” hold to other countries’ loyalties and draw criticism from some Americans, there are many “ hyphenated Americans ” who do not define or desire to define themselves as such, but rather are defined as such by other people. The result is that even if these Americans are, in Roosevelt’s words, “ American and nothing else,” they still may end up having a different experience, and for that reason may develop shared understandings with others of their type, whether they want that or not. This in itself becomes, ironically, a reason for them to be interested in their “hyphenated” identity. There are nowadays many American immigrants or children of immigrants - a rapidly increasing number of them claim dual citizenship - because they cannot sacrifice half of who they are.

Lastly, some Americans do not view hyphenated Americans as having conflicting loyalties because they agree with the “ global citizen ” concept of caring about all people regardless of nationality, a concept that more people are following in the light of increasing globalization.

To sum up, we may say that the U.S. is a pluralistic multicultural society with a unique culture having far more in common than apart. The U.S. is composed of many nationalities, races, religions, and creeds. Through assimilation and transformation into the American society these people, in their turn, are transforming and changing their country and culture.

Some of those who had immigrated to America embraced the opportunity to leave old cultures behind and to free themselves from past traditions and loyalties. Others found that the liberties promised under the Bill of Rights allowed for distinctiveness rather than uniformity, and they have taken pride in preserving and celebrating their origins. And American pluralism adds to the richness and strength of the nation’s culture.

American culture is primarily known as mass culture: Nowadays, when the U.S. population is mainly centered in large cities, it is exposed to a relatively uniform commercial or mass culture which is defined as a set of cultural values and ideas that arise from common exposure of a population to the same cultural activities, communications media, music and art, etc. Mass culture becomes possible only with modern communications and electronic media. A mass culture is transmitted to individuals, rather than arising from people's daily interactions, and therefore lacks the distinctive content of cultures rooted in community and region.

Mass culture produces a homogeneous commercial atmosphere throughout the country. It homogenizes tastes, styles, and points of view among different groups in the U.S. Class and ethnic distinctions in American culture begin to fade; culture becomes more democratic, more uniform and profit-oriented as mass media transmit movies and music to people throughout the country. No wonder, the growing uniformity of mass culture evokes criticism, as it lowers the general standard of taste, because mass media seek to please the largest number of people by appealing to simpler rather than more complex tastes.

During the 20^th century, mass entertainment extended the reach of American culture, reversing the direction of influence as Europe and the world became consumers of American popular culture. U.S. music is heard all over the world. U.S. movies and television shows can be seen almost anywhere. People all over the world view American television programs, often years after the program’s popularity has declined in the U.S.

The U.S. hasbecome a trend setter in many spheres of life. It has become the dominant cultural source for entertainment and popular fashion, from the jeans and T-shirts young people wear to the music groups and rock stars they listen to and the movies they see.

So, American entertainment is one of the strongest means by which America influences the world.

This influence is often criticized and called cultural imperialism or Americanization.

The Americanization of popular taste and habits is not restricted only to entertainment. The growing popularity of hamburgers, fried chicken and other easily prepared “fast food” spread American eating habits all over the world. Blue jeans and T-shirts Americanized the dress of people on every continent. Supermarkets Americanized the everyday experience of shopping for millions and skyscrapers became the solution for many overpopulated cities over the world where a need for more working and living space as well as the cost of land was high.

Currently, American values are often portrayed as global or universal ones. This trend is not only cultural but also a political one. By spreading and dissemination its culture all over the world the U.S. is shaping the perception of the country overseas. So, American culture has become a means of brainwashing and indoctrination.

Certainly this process of Americanization evokes counterforce. Some countries resent the American cultural juggernaut, they see it as a threat to their unique national culture. The French periodically campaign to rid their language of invading English terms, and the Canadians have placed limits on American publications in Canada.

And yet the American talent for making entertainment that appeals to virtually all of humanity is no small gift. In his book The Hollywood Eye, writer and producer John Boorstein defends the movies’ orientation to mass-market tastes in terms that can be applied to other branches of American pop culture: “ In their simple-minded, greedy, democratic way Hollywood filmmakers know deep in their gut that they can have it both ways — they can make a film they are terrifically proud of that masses of people will want to see, too. That means tuning out their more rarefied sensibilities and using that part of themselves they share with their parents and their siblings, with Wall Street lawyers and small-town Rotarians and waiters and engineering students, with cops and pacifists and the guys at the car wash and perhaps even second graders and junkies and bigots (fanatics),...and producing the common human currency of joy and sorrow and anger and excitement and loss and pain and love.”

Alongside with the trend of spreading American culture all over the world, a reverse tendency may be observed in the U.S.: many Americans exhibit ethnocentric or insular outlooks, with little interest in the culture or political developments of other countries. Americans tend to travel abroad less than citizens of European countries or Japan.

Furthermore, comparatively few books from European countries or Japan are translated for sale in the U.S.; and sales of those that are translated tend to be slow. Imported television shows are also rare, except on PBS, although remakes of foreign shows are increasingly common. Imported films are generally less successful than domestic productions. This is emphasized in the American readaptation of such television shows as The Office, Queer as Folk, and Red Dwarf. Popular foreign shows are often rewritten and localized with American actors cast in the place of their foreign counterparts and filmed in American places.

By the way, this process of readapting foreign movies and shows is also called Americanization.

Finally, the term Americanization can also refer to the process of adapting immigrants to the U.S. way of life in order to become American citizens. The process involves learning American English and adjusting to American culture, customs, and garb or dress.

American English as a tool of globalization: By the way, American English is the strongest American cultural export which is conquering the globe. Around 320 million people speak it as their first language and another 250 million or so as their second. A billion people are learning it, about a third of the world’s population is exposed to it, and by 2050, it is reckoned, half the world will be more or less proficient in it.

Today, English is adopting a predominantly American touch, not only because of the prestige of the American lifestyle and pop culture, but because the U.S. is in the limelight as a dominant world power, as a g lobalization leader.

The U.S. dominance is cultural, diplomatic and political. It also dictates a model for the English language, thus making American English the dominant language variety. AE is becoming a code of international linguistic transaction, a medium of worldwide linguistic interaction, its intra- and international functions keep increasing with every coming day. In a foreseeable future, the so-called World Englishes will gradually disappear in the sweeping current of the American variety of English. The presence of the American tongue and voice in many situations of daily life creates a far-reaching in depth and extent cultural presence that is difficult to resist.

To sum up, the U.S. culture encompasses traditions, ideals, customs, beliefs, values, arts, folklore and innovations developed both domestically and imported via colonization and immigration. Through modern mass media and by means of American English, many American cultural elements, especially popular culture, have been exported across the globe where American culture is both accepted and resented.

Princeton professor of politics Robert P. George once pointed out that “it is possible to become a citizen of France…but it’s very difficult, if you’re not already one, to become a Frenchman.” On the other hand, by virtue of committing oneself “to America and to its founding principles,” one can legitimately become “an American in the fullest and most robust sense.”

Even though the American society can be broken down into different ethnicities, as a whole Americans are a culture of their own. A very unique bread of all their own, the values, dedication, hard work, and perseverance, love for freedom, and determination to better their lives, makes them American. And even though they all come from something different they all have the pursuit of happiness. Americans define themselves not be their racial, religious or ethnic identities but rather by their common values or the founding principles in which American identity is grounded.

Now I’d like to speak about the American value system or these founding principles. A t the core of the American value system there are some selected values and beliefs; they unite all Americans and shape their culture.

In fact, they are not new, not original; but nowhere in the world they could have reached such heights and sizes and become so overwhelming, attractive and dear to all American hearts. The ideals of individual liberty, individualism, self-sufficiency, equality, free market, a republican form of government, democracy, pluralism, and patriotism and that kind of thing are dear to all Americans.

And the most driving and thrilling concept in the system of Americans’ values and national goals which seems to have penetrated every layer and aspect of American life and culture is the American Dream.

The American Dream is the faith held by many in the U.S.A. that through hard work, courage, and determination one can achieve financial prosperity. These were the values held by many early European settlers, and that have been passed on to subsequent generations.

Today, it refers to the idea that one’s prosperity depends upon one’s own abilities and hard work, not on a rigid class structure.

Though the meaning of the phrase has changed over America’s history. For some, a) it is the opportunity to achieve more prosperity than they could in their countries of origin; b) for others, it is the opportunity for their children to grow up with an education and career opportunities; c) for some, it is the opportunity to be an individual without the constraints imposed by class, caste, race, or ethnicity.

The definition of the American Dream is under constant discussion and debate. The package of beliefs, assumptions, and action patterns labeled as the American Dream has always been a fragile agglomeration of (1) individual freedom of choice in life styles, (2) equal access to economic abundance, and (3) the pursuit of shared objectives mutually advantageous to the individual and society. It teaches Americans to believe that contentment (satisfaction) can be reached through the virtues of thrift, hard work, family loyalty, and faith in the free enterprise system. The American Dream is popularized in countless rags-to-riches stories and in the portrayal of the good life in adver­tising and on TV shows.

Though the term “ American Dream ” is often associated with immigrants, native-born Americans can also be described as “ pursuing the American Dream ” or “ living the American Dream ”.

The concept of the American Dream has also been the subject of much criticism. The main criticism is that the American Dream is misleading, that it is an emphasis on material wealth as a measure of success and/or happiness. This concept also ignores other factors of success such as luck, family, language, and wealth one is born into. It also fails to take into account inheritable traits such as intelligence and physical attributes including height, shape, and beauty. U.S. political leaders defend the concept by all possible means.

Freedom and equality: In the center of all that Americans value is freedom intermingled with the ideas of democracy/equality. The notion that America offers freedom for all is an ideal that unifies Americans and links present to past. Whereas most European, Asian or even African peoples were and are unified by race, language, culture, traditions, and history, America's immigrant population had little in common other than the initiative to get to America. In the first years of the U.S.A. when communication was slow, and the country was too big for a centralized government, American colonists could hardly be called the American nation. Freedom and democracy became their faith, the unifying theme which united them and made them the new nation.

America may be the only country in the world founded on a creed. During the first half of the 19th century, the doctrine of equal rights was developed to mythical proportions. A.A. Bennet wrote in 1827, " We may look forward to the period when the spark kindled in America shall spread and spread, till the whole earth is illumined by its light. "

Americans consider themselves the world's freest people. And they regard their society as the freest and best in the world. They like to think of their country as a welcoming haven for those longing for freedom and oppor­tunity.

Americans’ understanding of freedom is shaped by the Founding Fathers’ belief that all people are equal and that the role of government is to protect each person’s basic integral rights prescribed in the Bill of Rights.

But some people weren’t so equal. In reality, Constitutional rights have been unevenly distributed throughout the U.S. history. Each immigrant group has been subjected to discrimination; the Chinese, for example, suffered from the laws that once prohibited Chinese land ownership, school attendance, marriage with whites, and other rights. Blacks had a long and unique history of discrimination. Women were not allowed to vote until 1920.

Today, all discrimination according to race, color, sex, or creed is illegal, but it continues in subtle forms. Furthermore, no one could seriously think that anyone who grows up poor, lives in a bad neighborhood, and attends an inferior school has an opportunity equal to that of someone more favored.

But at least philo­sophically Americans are against prejudice. They do not accept the idea that some people are born inferior to others, and it is not socially acceptable to make impolite contemptuous statements about people on the basis of their race. Americans historically have despised efforts to trade on “accidents of birth,” such as great inherited wealth or social status. Article I of the U.S. Constitution bars the government from granting any title of nobility, and those who cultivate an air of superiority toward their fellow Americans are commonly dishonored for “putting on airs,” or worse.

However, common people in their private conversations are not always as delicate about references to nationality, and jokes about the Polish, the Irish, the Chinese, the Scottish, etc., are widespread. But to dislike people because of their color is considered ignorant and stupid, and in public no responsible speaker makes outright racist statements. We may conclude here though Americans may not have achieved equality, but at least they aspire to it, which is more than many nations can claim.

And the doctrine that all people should have an equal chance of success remains a sacred American belief. We should keep in mind that American equality is the equality of opportunity. Everybody might not win, but everybody had and has a chance. Family and connections are not required. Effort and brains and imagination are. Frankly speaking, opportunity rather than democracy gave America its name as the Land of the Free. In America, all kinds of people have a vast menu of opportunities to make and remake themselves. Americans respect the “self-made” man or woman, especially if he or she has overcome great obstacles to success.

Progress: This idea is directly associated with the value of freedom. The nation’s progress has been measured by the taming of the frontier and industrial expansion. The desire to progress by making use of opportunities is important to Americans.

In this immigrant society, progress is personally measured as family progress over generations. Many Americans can boast that with each succeeding generation, since their first ancestors arrived, the family’s status has improved. The classic American family saga is all about progress. The great-grandparents, arriving from the Old World with nothing but the clothes on their backs, work hard and suffer poverty and alienation so that they can provide a good education for their children. The second generation, motivated by the same vision of the future and willingness to work hard and make sacrifices, pass these values to their children. The attainment of the vision of one's grandparents is part of the American Dream.

Individual freedom and individualism: Since the 18^th century, Americans have defined themselves not by their racial, religious, and ethnic identity but by their common values and belief in individual freedom. Nearly every American would agree upon individual freedom as the cornerstone of American values. It saturates every aspect of the society. Americans’ notion of freedom focuses on the individual; and Americans believe the country has achieved its heights because of dynamic individuals who never stopped seeking a better way.

Individualism has strong philosophical roots in America. T. Jefferson believed that a free individual’s identity should be held sacred and that his or her dignity and integrity should not be violated.

America’s 19th-century philosophers wrote about individual self-reliance. They encouraged individuals to trust in themselves and their own consciences and to revolt against routine and habitual paths of conduct. The 19th-century poet Walt Whitman celebrated the individual in his poetry. In “ By Blue Ontario’s Shore” he writes, “ I swear nothing is good to me now that ignores individuals, the American Compact is altogether with individuals ”.

Early 20th-century pragmatists such as William James and John Dewey insisted upon the individual’s ability to control his or her fate.

Individualism, understood not only as self-reliance but also as economic self-sufficiency, has been a central theme in American history. In the early days, most Americans were farmers whose success depended not on cooper­ation with others but on their ability to confront the hardships of land and climate on their own. Both success and virtue were measured by individual resourcefulness.

Cowboys were never a large part of the population, and they're very scarce now, but in many ways they characterize the American ideal - self-reliant, self-sufficient, tough, risk-taking, and masculine. The cowboy stands alone, opposing his enemies. His strongest tie is only to his horse.

In many countries, people cannot think of themselves apart from the family or group they belong to; their loyalty is to the group and their achievements are for the group. In America, instead, self-reliance is the fundamental virtue. Each person is a solo operation, and independence is considered the birthright of every child. American highest aspiration is self-fulfillment. Many decisions that would be made by the group in other cultures are made by the individual in the U.S.A. Newcomers in the U.S., especially those from tightly knit families, are frequently aghast to discover that American children quite regularly leave home - with their parents' blessings - at the age of 18. From then on, they will make most of their own decisions without their parents help, having already been quite independent during their teenage years. If they linger too long under the parental roof, they will cause anxiety. The child's job is to go out into the world and succeed. The job of the parents is to give the children every opportunity while they are growing up and then get out of their way.

Many of the aspects of American life, that seem most bewildering to foreigners, make sense in the light of the individual freedom principle. Aged parents as well as children remain independent. If you want to be a salmon fisherman in Alaska, you go. You don't have to stay home to take care of your elders. In fact, sticking around your home town could suggest a lack of backbone, a failure of imagination and courage. American psychiatrists are quick to conclude that their patients' problems stem from "inadequate separation" from parents.

The individual comes first. Americans do not consider this selfish. A person serves society by living up to his potential. The classic American hero is someone who succeeded on his own, pulling himself up by his own bootstraps. The finest American literature praises the rebel: Huckleberry Finn, Walden from Walden; or, Life in the Woods, Gatsby, his independence and self reliance. Frank Sinatra sang in a classic popular song " I Did It My Way ".

In the U.S.A., accomplishments or success are likely attributed to hard work, perseverance, and innate abilities of the individual. Americans give respect for self achievements not achievements based on rights of birth. This positive spirit of individual resourcefulness enables Americans today to take risks in areas where others might only dream, resulting in tremendous advances in technology, health and science.

In the industrial age, the idealization of the self-reliant individual translated itself into the celebration of the small businessman who became a financial success on his own. It is a part of the American Dream to “be your own boss,” and being an entrepreneur is one of the most appealing ways to improve one’s economic future.Individual proprietorship in business is still thought as the ideal. Government regulation is often resisted in the spirit of individualism. “Right to work” laws, which discourage union activity, are defended on the grounds that they protect the independence of the individual worker.

Individualism has made the U.S. a No-Status Society. In a status society, people learn their places and gain some dignity and security from having a place in the social order. Americans, however, are taught not to recognize their places but to constantly assert or defend themselves. This can manifest itself in positive ways - hard work, clever ideas - but also in ongoing dissatisfaction.

As an American is always striving to change his lot, he never fully identifies himself with any group. Americans have no expressions such as in China where "the fat pig gets slaughtered," or in Japan, where "the nail that sticks out gets hammered down. " In the U.S., everybody is trying to stick out, which limits closeness between people. Americans say, "It's the squeaky wheel that gets the grease."

According to Alan Roland, author of In Search of Self in India and Japan,in the U.S. " a militant individualism has been combined with enormous social mobility," leaving very little group identity. Roland psychoanalyzed Americans, Indians, and Japanese and discovered that the two Asian cultures had no concept of the strong inner separation from others that is characteristic of Americans. Because American society is so competitive, Americans feel in the end that they can only rely on themselves.

Americans praise those who take initiative and do what they want. If you want to put on your jogging shoes and run non-stop across the country from South Carolina to California and back, that‘s great! Quit your job as an executive and sail around the world with your family? Why not? That doesn‘t mean that all Americans live such daring lives, but they admire those who do, and highly value individual differences.

This freedom from the group has enabled the American to become " Economic Man " – the one directed almost purely by the profit motive, mobile and free from family or community obligations. It's a personality type well suited to national development, but one that leads to identity problems for the individual himself.

Now to American patriotism which as said differs from nationalism. A consequence of Americans’ mobilityis that Americans develop relatively little attachment to place. In the U.S.A., national pride has become generally stronger than regional pride. Foreign visitors to America are quick to observe the prevalence of patriotic symbols: flags fly in suburban neighborhoods, bumper stickers announce “I’m proud to be American,” the national anthem is played at every sporting event, at schools and in churches. National holidays such as Thanksgiving and Independence Day intensify the sense of national identity.

Patriotism in America is in some ways distinct from patriotism in other countries. American patriotism is expressed in its national icons: the U.S. flag, American family, apple pie, the Statue of Liberty, etc.

In many nations, patriotism is essentially the love of the land. Songs celebrate the scenery of certain rivers, valleys, and forests. In America, however, this specific sense of place, this identification with a particular geographical region as the homeland, is generally not developed to this extent. American patriotism has a sort of abstraction about it: it is a devotion not to a specific physical place, gene pool, cuisine, or cultural tradition, but to a political and social vision, a promise and the idea of freedom.

From the above said I may conclude that American identity is, as B. Franklin understood, grounded in actions and attitudes rather than racial, religious, or ethnic identity; Americans differ from many other peoples both in how they define themselves and in the kinds of lives they choose to lead.

Andwhat distinguishes America and her people is a shared set of political and philosophical commitments—those commitments which animated the founding of the United States.

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