George F. Kennan's Essay 'Training For Statesmanship'

Peggy Kern
Mrs. Derrow
AP English III
25 November 2014
Revised ICE Although America gives first amendment rights of freedom of speech to all citizens and celebrates individuality, people still are inclined to conform to idealistic goals. In the excerpt from “Training for Statesmanship” by George F. Kennan, the most captivating argument made is that American citizens are often disposed to conform to societal expectations, and these societal expectations have immense power over people. This argument holds completely true for Americans; through matching standard definitions of beauty, and the reliance on and pervasiveness of technology, Americans reveal their conformist tendencies. Be it plastic surgery, extreme weight loss, or expensive fashion
trends, Americans will do almost anything to conform to society’s values of beauty. Throughout the years society’s values of beauty have changed from realistic women to unreasonably thin supermodels, with Marilyn Monroe idolized as the most beautiful woman of the twentieth century, to Candice Swanepoel as the most beautiful of the twenty-first century. Arguably one of the most famous celebrities of all time, Monroe stood at 5 ft 5.5 inches and 140 pounds. Swanepoel on the other hand, a Victoria’s Secret Model, stands at 5 ft 9 inches and 120 pounds. The new idea of beauty is unreachable for the majority of American citizens, yet women across the country still try to achieve the goal of looking tall and tremendously thin. Trends such as the thigh gap have caused teenage girls across the country to starve their selves in order to be skinny, beautiful, and loved. Stress on looking perfect has resulted in eating disorders amongst America’s youth, all trying to lose weight to conform to beauty standards. Although America preaches that each and every individual is beautiful, there are advertisements on television and the radio everyday about plastic surgery such as liposuction and how being ‘fat’ is embarrassing. Thousands of dollars will be spent on tummy tucks, spray tans, corsets, and even diet pills in order to look skinny; through engaging in this behavior Americans are conforming to the standard idea of beauty rather than appreciating and accepting their own appearances. This ideal of being thin and conforming to it holds power over a great amount of Americans; through conforming they are adding to the strength and impact of beauty standards. Skinny is the new beautiful for this nation, and women will do whatever it takes to achieve that. In present times technology has become an enormous part of our lifestyle, if not dominating it completely.
Technology has replaced what was once common for people to engage in, such as manually washing clothes and dishes, face-to-face communication, and using candle powered light. People of the United States feel compelled to possess all kinds of technology so as to make their lives more convenient. Having a smartphone is now viewed as a necessity, and something that people assume everyone owns. Even in schools those who do not have smartphones are somewhat outcasts when a teacher asks the whole class to pull out their phones. Part of the American Dream is materialistic—owning the finest of things, such as the best technological devices. The conformity of United States citizens since World War II to seek materialistic pursuits has given technology power over the lifestyles of Americans. Nowadays people cannot live without their technological devices, they have become weak and dependent upon technology, consequently giving it all the power over them and the American lifestyle. Without technology, people are unable to do the most colloquial of tasks, such as using a dictionary to look up a word, travelling without the luxuries of a car or airplane, and not rely on running water. By conforming to society’s materialistic goal of acquiring the best technological gadgets, Americans have given technology complete power over their selves and would not be able to function without
it. Although some may argue that America is not a society of conformation, George F. Kennan is ultimately and utterly correct. Something as outrageous as unrealistic beauty standards are strictly followed by many of America’s citizens, consequently giving these standards power over how they live their lifestyle. Americans’ reliance upon technology has given it ultimate control over them, as through conforming to technology Americans have given up their abilities to live without it. It is easily seen that Americans tend to conform for a multitude of reasons: longing for acceptance, keeping up with trends, and not wanting to stand out negatively. Despite the fact that some believe America is a society based off of individuality and not conformity, conformity is in the long run evident through the daily action of all.