It is hard to define what the quintessential American is. Really, what is an American other than someone who is born in this country or has been patient enough to go through the "wonderfully" administered citizenship process. The fact is that the United States has no culture of its own. It is a country in a constant identity crisis. the U.S. is truly a melting pot with the ideas of real opportunity and the chance for prosperity mixed in like all-spice. I cannot define what is American culture, I'm not even sure of the values that she stands for any more.
The quintessential 21st Century American should be one that is more culturally diverse than most. It doesn't matter is you live in Miami with Cuban refugees or if you live in small town middle America, at some point you will be faced with another culture, ethnicity, religion, and the like. I believe it has become impossible to escape someone that is different than you in one way or another. So shouldn't Americans be accepting of everyone is a greater measure than any other nation? The quintessential American should, but he isn't. He doesn't know what he believes or what he wants to do. I read an article by a sociologist at Harvard that explained the contemporary American is not sure of who they are or what they want form life until they reach 35yrs. old. If this is true, which I hope its not, then the common American is focused on themselves for at least the first 35yrs of his life. It isn't that Americans can't accept others, rather it is a sense of entitlement that has developed. Its a need to get it for myself, to get what mine and screw everyone else. Sure enough, we can see Americans rally behind a cause like the earthquake relief in Haiti, but there is a sense of what is due to me.
The quintessential 21st Century American has potential to bring the greatest impact and influence on the world if only he could get out of an entitlement or welfare mentality. Even with all of the greed and corruption in American politics and big business, I still believe that the U.S. is the greatest nation. That is not to sound nationalistic or ethnocentric, but we have great opportunity and freedoms that other nations don't have the luxury of. But a shift needs to take place, a realization of what it means to be an American, from the humble beginnings to the powerful nation we see today.
Entitlement. I agree. I think Americans, myself included, easily fall into this trap. We're so used to getting and taking whatever it is that we want, that we often believe we have a right to luxuries that should be earned.
ReplyDeleteI think that part of what feeds into this relatively wide-spread lack of identity has to do with the consumerism. The U.S. is a nation of narcissistic, entitled consumers, and we forget sometimes that we are anything else. Make Money. Spend Money. Make Money. Money. I'd bet a large percentage of all our lives could be reduced to this unfortunate equation.