Perspective Of American Culture Today

“A Perspective of the American Culture Today”

The United States of America, The United States, “The land of opportunity,” “the melting pot,” “the land of the free,” “the home of the brave,” and the birth place of baseball, jazz music, and The Constitution. Such terms and phrases are used to describe this North American nation, though they do not necessarily capture the essence of its people. Having been born and raised in the US and after thinking about what makes Americans “American,” the claim quickly came to mind that individualism is the foundation and core value of the American culture. The people’s national pride, social interactions, relationships, and the significance placed on food have their back bone in an individualistic mindset,
This is especially evident in the how prevalent divorce is in the American culture. For example, after walking through the nearest Wal-Mart and Meijer, the most recent magazine covers all appeared to be obsessed with the aftermath of Blake Shelton’s divorce (People, Oct. 2015; In Touch Weekly, Sep. 2015), the divorce of Ben Affleck and Jennifer Garner (In Touch Weekly, Oct. 2015), the crumbling marriage of Beyoncé (In Touch Weekly, Sep. 2015) and Jessica Simpson (Life & Style, Oct. 2015), and more. Livermore explains that the United States’ high and climbing divorce rate is a result of the mindset that “relationships should be something that exist for sheer enjoyment of them – not something to which you’re committed” (74). This quotes also applies to the American idea that the young are not responsible to take care of their aged parents (Livermore 74), making it very common to put them into a nursing home and visit every now and again. Sadly, this idea of wanting relationships with “no strings attached” (Livermore 74) has divided families all across the US and continues to wreak havoc in each and every generation where children are growing up with divorced parents and grandparents are being
Although individualism can be beneficial by encouraging the uniqueness and independence of each individual, it has been the root cause of a number of the American culture’s flaws. In order to reverse some of these not-so-wonderful consequences, it may be beneficial to adopt and apply more of Jesus Christ’s teachings and wisdom to American daily life. This could take the form of humbly thinking that others are greater than oneself, putting a greater emphasis on actually fellowshipping with others, honoring the commitment and unification of marriage, respecting one’s elders to a greater degree, and being more thankful for one’s family and food, which God graciously provides. Not all aspects of individualism bring negative outcomes for the American culture, though choosing to act more like Christ may benefit the United States and its people as a