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UNIT 1
TEXT 1. NATIONAL VALUES AND ASSUMPTIONS
The Values Americans Live By
By L. Robert Kohls, Ph.D.
INTRODUCTION
Most Americans would have a difficult time telling you, specifically, what the values are which Americans live by. They have never given the matter any thought.
Even if Americans had considered this question, they would probably, in the end, decide not to answer in terms of a definitive list of values. The reason for this decision is itself one very American value - their belief that every individual is so unique that the same list of values could never be applied to all, or even most of their fellow citizens.
Although Americans may think of themselves as being more varied and unpredictable than they actually are, it is significant that they think they are. Americans tend to think they have been only slightly influenced by family, church or schools. In the end, each believes, "I personally chose which values I want to live my own life by."
Despite this self-evaluation, a foreign anthropologist could observe Americans and produce a list of common values which would fit most Americans. The list of typically American values would stand in sharp contrast to the values commonly held by the people of many other countries.
If foreign visitors really understand how deeply ingrained these values are in Americans, they will then be able to understand 95% of American actions - actions which might otherwise appear "strange", "confusing", or "unbelievable" when evaluated from the perspective of the foreigner's own society and its values.
The different behaviors of a people or a culture make sense only when seen through the basic beliefs, assumptions and values of that particular group. When you encounter an action, or hear a statement in the United States which surprises you, try to see it as an expression of one or more of the values listed in this booklet. For example, when you ask Americans for directions to get to a particular address in their own city, they may explain, in great detail, how you can get there on your own but may never even consider walking a hundred meters with you to lead you to that place. Some foreign visitors have interpreted this sort of action as showing Americans" "unfriendliness". But the self-help concept is so strong in Americans that they firmly believe that no adult would ever want, .even temporarily, to be dependent on another. Also, their future orientation makes Americans think it is better to prepare you to find other addresses on your own in the future.
Americans see all of these values as very positive ones. They are not aware, for example, that the people of many third World countries view change as negative, destructive and threatening. In fact, many American values are judged by many of the world's citizens as negative and undesirable. Therefore, it is not enough simply to familiarize yourself with these values. You must also, so far as possible, consider them without the negative or derogatory connotation which they might have for you, based on your own experience and cultural identity.`
1. Personal Control Over the Environment/Responsibility
Americans no longer believe in the power of Fate, and they have come to look at people who do as being backward, primitive, or hopelessly naive. To be called "fatalistic" is one of the worst criticisms one can receive in the American context; to an American, it means one is superstitious and lazy, unwilling to take any initiative in bringing about improvements.
In the United States people consider it normal and right that Man should control Nature, rather than the other way around. More specifically, people believe every single individual should have control over whatever in the environment might potentially affect him or her. The problems of one's life are not seen as having resulted from bad luck as much as having come from one's laziness and unwillingness to take responsibility in pursuing a better life. Furthermore, it is considered normal that anyone should look out for his or her own self-interests first and foremost.
Most Americans find it impossible to accept that there are some things which lie beyond the power of humans to achieve or control. And Americans have literally gone to the moon, because they refused to accept earthly limitations.
Americans seem to be challenged, even compelled, to do, by one means or another (and often at great cost) what seven-eighths of the world is certain cannot be done.
2. Change Seen as Natural and Positive
In the American mind, change is seen as an indisputably good condition. Change is strongly linked to development, improvement, progress, and growth.
Many older, more traditional cultures consider change as a disruptive, destructive force, to be avoided if at all possible. Instead of change, such societies value stability, continuity, tradition, and a rich and ancient heritage – none of which are considered very important in the United States.
These first two values - the belief that we can do anything and the belief that any change is good - together with an American belief in the virtue of hard work and the belief that each individual has a responsibility to do the best he or she can do have helped Americans achieve some great accomplishments. So whether these beliefs are "true" is really irrelevant' what is important is that Americans have considered them to be true and have acted as if they were, thus, in effect, causing them to happen.
3. Time and Its Control
Time is, for the average American, of utmost importance. To the foreign visitor, Americans seem to be more concerned with getting things accomplished on time (according to a predetermined schedule) than they are with developing deep interpersonal relationships. Schedules, for the American, are meant to be planned and then followed in the smallest detail.
It may seem to you that most Americans are completely controlled by the little machines they wear on their wrists, cutting their discussions off abruptly to make it to their next appointment on time.
Americans’ language is filled with references to time, giving a clear indication of how much it is valued. Time is something to be "on", to be "kept", "filled", "saved", "used", "spent", "wasted", "lost", "gained", "planned", "given", even “killed”.
The international visitor soon learns that it is considered very rude to be late – even by 10 minutes - for an appointment in the United States. (Whenever it is absolutely impossible to be on time, you should phone ahead and tell the person you have been unavoidably detained and will be a half hour - or whatever - late.
Time is so valued in America, because by considering time to be important one can clearly accomplish more than if one "wastes" time and does not keep busy every minute. This philosophy has proven its worth. It has enabled Americans to be extremely productive, and productivity itself is highly valued in the United States. Many American proverbs stress the value in guarding our time, using it wisely, setting and working toward specific goals, and even expending our time and energy today so that the fruits of our labor may be enjoyed at a later time. (This latter concept is called "delayed gratification").
4. Equality/Fairness
Equality is, for Americans, one of their most cherished values. This concept is so important for Americans that they have even given it a religious basis. They say all people have been "created equal". Most Americans believe that God views all humans alike without regard to intelligence, physical condition, economic status or rank. In secular terms this belief is translated into the assertion that all people have an equal opportunity to succeed in life. Americans differ in opinion about how to make this ideal into a reality. Yet virtually all agree that equality is an important civic and social goal.
The equality concept often makes Americans seem strange to foreign visitors since seven-eighths of the world feels quite differently. To most of the rest of the world rank and status and authority are seen as much more desirable considerations - even if they personally happen to find themselves near the bottom of the social order. Class and authority seem to give people in those other societies a sense of security and certainty. People outside the United States consider it reassuring to know, from birth, who they are and where they fit into the complex system called "society".
Many highly-placed foreign visitors to the United States are insulted by the way they are treated by service personnel (such as waiters in restaurants, clerks in stores, or hotels, taxi drivers, etc.) Americans have an aversion to treating people of high position in a deferential manner, and, conversely, often treat lower class people as if they were very important. Newcomers to the United States should realize that no insult or personal indignity is intended by this lack of deference to rank or position in American society. A foreigner should be prepared to be considered "just like anybody else" while in the country.
5. Individualism/Independence
The individualism which has been developed in the Western world from the Renaissance onward, beginning in the late l5th century, has taken its most exaggerated form in 20th century United States. Here, each individual is seen as completely and marvellously unique, that is, totally different from all other individuals and, therefore, particularly precious and wonderful.
Americans think they are more individualistic in their thoughts and actions than, in fact, they really are. They resist being thought of as representatives of a homogeneous group, whatever the group. They may, and do, join groups - in fact many groups -- but somehow believe they are just a little different, just a little unique, just a little special, from other members of the same group. And they tend to leave groups as readily as they enter them.
Privacy, the ultimate result of individualism, is perhaps even more difficult for the foreigner to comprehend. The word "privacy" does not even exist in many non-Western languages. If it does, it is likely to have a strongly negative connotation, suggesting loneliness or forced isolation from the group. In the United States, privacy is not only seen as a very positive condition, but it is also viewed as a requirement which all humans would find equally necessary, desirable and satisfying. It is not uncommon for Americans to say - and to believe - "If I don't have at least half an hour a day all to myself, I would go stark raving mad!
Individualism, as it exists in the United States, does mean that you will find a much greater variety of opinions (along with the absolute freedom to express those opinions anywhere and anytime) in this country. Yet, in spite of this wide range of personal opinion, almost all Americans will ultimately vote for one of the two major political parties in the next election. That is what was meant by the earlier statement that Americans take pride in claiming more individualism than, in fact they actually have.
6. Self-Help/Initiative
In the United States, a person can take credit only for what he or she has accomplished by himself or herself without any outside assistance. Americans get no credit whatsoever for having been born into a rich family. (In the United States, that would be considered "an accident of birth"). Americans pride themselves in having been born poor and, through their own sacrifice and hard work, having climbed the difficult ladder of success to whatever level they have achieved - all by themselves. The American social system has, of course, made it possible for Americans to move, relatively easily, up the social ladder, whereas this is impossible to do in many countries.
Take a look in an English-language dictionary at the composite words that have the word "self" as a prefix. In the average desk dictionary, there will be more than 100 such words, words like self-aware, self-confident, self-conscious, self-contented, self-control, self-criticism, self-deception, self-defeating, self-denial, self-discipline, self-esteem, self-expression, self-importance, self-improvement, self-interest, self-reliance, self-respect, self-restraint, self-sacrifice - the list goes on and on. The equivalent of these words cannot be found in most other languages. This list is perhaps the best indication of how seriously Americans take doing things for one's self. The "self-made man or woman' is still very much the ideal in 20th-century America.
7. Competition
Americans believe that competition brings out the best in any individual. They assert that it challenges or forces each person to produce the very best that is humanly possible. Consequently, the foreign visitor will see competition being fostered in the American home and in the American classroom, even on the youngest age levels. Very young children, for instance, are encouraged to answer questions for which their classmates do not know the answers.
You may find the competitive value disagreeable, especially if you come from a society which promotes co–operation rather than competition among individuals. But many U.S. Peace Corps volunteers teaching in Third World countries found the lack of competitiveness in a classroom situation equally distressing. They soon learned that what they had thought to be one of the universal human characteristics represented only a peculiarly American (or Western) value.
Americans, valuing competition, have devised an economic system to go with it - free enterprise. Americans feel very strongly that a highly competitive economy will bring out the best in its people and ultimately, that the society which fosters competition will progress most rapidly. If you look for it, you will see evidence in all areas - in fields as diverse as medicine, the arts, education, and sports - that free enterprise is the approach most often preferred in America.
8. Future Orientation
Valuing the future and the improvements Americans are sure the future will inevitably bring means that they devalue the past and are, to a large extent, unconscious of the present. Even a happy present goes largely unnoticed because, happy as it may be, Americans have traditionally been hopeful that the future would bring even greater happiness. Almost all energy is directed toward realizing that better future. At best, the present condition is seen as preparatory to a later and greater event, which will eventually culminate in something even more worthwhile.
Since Americans have been taught to believe that Man, and not Fate, can and should be the one who controls the environment, this has made them very good at planning and executing short-term projects. This ability, in turn, has caused Americans to be invited to all corners of the earth to plan and achieve the miracles, which their goal-setting can produce.
If you come from a culture where talking about or actively planning the future is felt to be a futile, perhaps even sinful, activity, you will have not only philosophical problems with this very American characteristic but religious objections as well. Yet it is something you will have to learn to live with while you are here, for all around you Americans will be looking toward the future and what it will bring.
9. Action/Work Orientation
"Don't just stand there", goes a typical bit of American advice, "do something!" This expression is normally used in a crisis situation, yet, in a sense, it describes most Americans' entire working life, where action - any action - is seen to be superior to inaction.
Americans routinely plan and schedule an extremely active day. Any relaxation must be limited in time, pre-planned, and aimed at "recreating" (as in the word "recreation"_ their ability to work harder and more productively once the recreation is over. Americans believe leisure activities should assume a relatively small portion of one's total life. People think that it is "sinful" to "waste one's time", to sit around doing nothing", or just to "daydream".
Such a "no nonsense" attitude toward life has created many people who have come to be known as "workaholics", or people who are addicted to their work, who think constantly about their jobs and who are frustrated if they are kept away from them, even during their evening hours and weekends. And when such a person finally takes time off to go on vacation, even the vacation will be carefully planned, very busy and active.
The workaholic syndrome, in turn, causes Americans to identify themselves wholly with their professions. The first question one American will generally ask another American when meeting them for the first time is related to his or her work: "What do you do?" "Where do you work?", or "Who (what company) are you with?".
America may be one of the few countries in the world where it seems reasonable to speak about the "dignity of human labor," meaning by that, hard, physical labor. In America, even corporation presidents will engage in physical labor from time to time and in doing so, gain, rather than lose, respect from others for such action.
10. Informality
If you come from a more formal society, you will likely find Americans to be extremely informal and, you will probably feel, they are even disrespectful of those in authority. Americans are one of the most informal and casual people in the world, even when compared to their close relative - the Western European.
As one example of this informality, American bosses often urge their employees to call them by their first names and even feel uncomfortable if they are called by the title "Mr." or "Mrs."
Dress is another area where American informality will be most noticeable, perhaps even shocking. One can go to a symphony performance, for example, in any large American city nowadays and find some people in the audience dressed in blue jeans and tieless, short-sleeved shirts.
Informality is also apparent in Americans' greetings. The more formal "How are you?" has largely been replaced with an informal "Hi". This is as likely to be used to one's superior as to one's best friend.
If you are a highly placed official in your own country, you will probably, at first, find such informality to be very unsettling, even disrespectful. Americans, on the other hand, would consider such informality as a compliment! Certainly, it is not intended as a personal insult, and you should not take it as such.
11. Directness/Openness/Honesty
Many other countries have developed subtle, sometimes highly ritualistic, ways of informing other people of unpleasant information. Americans, however, have always preferred the most direct approach possible. They are likely to be completely honest in delivering their negative evaluations, and to do so publicly. If you come from a society which uses the indirect manner of conveying bad news or uncomplimentary evaluations, you will be shocked at American bluntness.
If you come from a country where saving face is important, be assured that Americans are not trying to make you lose face with their directness. It is important to realize that an American would not, in such cases, lose face. The burden of adjustment, in all such cases while you are in this country, will be on you. There is no way to soften the blow of such directness and openness if you are not used to it, except to inform you that the rules have changed while you are here. Indeed, Americans are trying to urge their fellow countrymen to become even more open and direct. The large number of "assertiveness" training courses which first appeared in the United States in the late l970s reflects such a commitment.
Americans consider anything other than the most direct and open approach to be "dishonest" and "insincere" and will quickly lose confidence in and distrust anyone who hints at what is intended rather than saying it outright. Anyone who, in the United States, chooses to use an intermediary to deliver the message will also be considered "manipulative" and "untrustworthy".
12. Practicality/Efficiency
Americans have a reputation for being an extremely realistic, practical and efficient people. The practical consideration is likely to be given highest priority in making any important decision in the United States. Americans pride themselves in not being very philosophically or theoretically oriented. If Americans would even admit to having a philosophy, it would probably be that of pragmatism.
Will it make any money? Will it "pay its own way?" What can I gain from this activity? These are the kinds of questions which Americans are likely to ask in their practical pursuit, not such questions as" Is it aesthetically pleasing? "Will it be enjoyable? or Will it advance the cause of knowledge?
This practical, pragmatic orientation has caused Americans to contribute more inventions to the world than any other country in human history. The love of "practicality" has also caused Americans to view some professions more favorably than others. Management and economics, for example, are much more popular in the United States than philosophy or anthropology, and law and medicine are more valued than the arts.
Another way in which this favoring of the practical makes itself felt in the United States, is a belittling of "emotional" and "subjective" evaluations in favor of "rational" and "objective" assessments. Americans try to avoid being "too sentimental" in making their decisions. They judge every situation "on its own merits". The popular American "trial-and-error" approach to problem-solving also reflects the practical approach. This problem-solving approach, actually invented in the United States, suggests listing several possible solutions to any given problem, then trying them out, one-by-one," to see which would be most effective.
13. Materialism/Acquisitiveness
Foreigners generally consider Americans much more materialistic than Americans are likely to consider themselves. Americans would like to think that their material objects are just the "natural benefits" which always result from hard work and serious intent-a reward, they think which all people could enjoy were they as industrious and hard-working as Americans.
But by any standard, Americans are materialistic. This means that they value and collect more material objects than most of the world's people would ever dream possible to own. It also means they give a higher priority to obtaining, maintaining and protecting their material objects than they do in developing and enjoying interpersonal relationships with people.
The modern American typically owns
* one or more color television sets * a vacuum cleaner,
* a tape recorder and a record player, * a powered lawn mower (for cutting grass),
* a videocassette recorder, * a refrigerator, a stove,
* an electric hair dryer, * a clothes-washer and dryer,
* an electronic calculator, * an expensive camera,
* one or more automobiles, * a telephone.
Many also own a personal computer and electric dish-washer.
Since Americans value newness and innovation, they sell or throw away their possessions frequently and replace them with newer ones. A car may be kept for only two or three years, a house for five or six before trading it in for another one.
NATIONAL CHARACTER COUNTS!
Nearly half of all high schoolers say they steal. Seven in 10 admit to cheating on an exam within the previous 12 months.
These are among the results of a survey released during National CHARACTER COUNTS Week, October 18-24, 1998. Conducted by the Josephson Institute of Ethics, the survey is one of the largest ever to focus on the ethics of young people, with over 20,000 middle and high school respondents.
"This report card shows that the hole in our moral ozone is getting bigger", says Michael Josephson, president of the Institute, which organized similar, though smaller surveys in l992 and l996. "In terms of honesty and integrity, things are going from very bad to worse".
More highlights: Forty-seven percent of all respondents admit they stole something from a store in the previous 12-month period (with more than a quarter of high schoolers saying they had committed store theft at least two times). In the Institute's l996 survey, the reported theft rate was 39 percent.
In l998, seven of ten high schoolers admit they cheated on an exam at least once in the past 12 months. In l996, the cheating rate was 64 percent.
Almost all teenagers admit to lying. Ninety-two percent of the high schoolers say they lied at least once in the past year; 78 percent say they lied two or more times. In l996, 85 percent said they lied at least once and 73 percent said they lied repeatedly. More than one in three high schoolers say they would lie to get a good job.
"If we keep in mind that liars and cheraters may lie on a survey it's clear that the reality is even worse than these numbers indicate", Mr. Josephson says.
Curiously, 91 percent report that they are 'satisfied with my own ethics and character". Mr. Josephson finds this "especially troubling". He explains: "Young people know what they're doing is wrong. There is an inconsistency in what they say they believe and how they act".
For instance, alongside admissions of frequent lying and cheating, 78 percent of high schoolers and 87 percent of those in middle school say "it's not worth it to lie or cheat because it hurts your character".
Ninety-severn percent of both groups say "it's important for me to be a person with good character" and 95 percent say "it's important to me that people trust me".
Only 69 percent of the high schoolers - compared to 98 percent in middle school - say they are satisfied with the ethics and character of their generation.
Young people say they know their parents and teachers expect them to be honest and ethical: 83 percent say "my parents always want me to do the ethically right thing no matter what the cost" and only 7 percent say that "my parents would rather I cheat than get bad grades".
Reading Comprehension Check
Discuss the following problematic issues with regard to American values and assumptions.
Tasks and Exercises
responsibility privacy informality delayed gratifications competitiveness
productivity self-confidence efficiency individualism free enterprise
equality self-reliance assertiveness acquisitiveness self-control
2) Complete the right-hand column of the chart given below. Match the US values with their counterparts from a mere traditional country
Personal control Over the Environment/Responsibility
Time and Its Control
Equality/Fairness
Individuality/Independence
Self-Help/Initiative
Competition
Future Orientation
Action/Work Orientation
Informality
Directness/Openness; Honesty
Practicality/Efficiency
Materialism/Acquisitiveness
3) Look through the following word-combinations and make sure that you can use them correctly
To consider smth normal and right
to have control over smth
to look out for one's self-interests
to lie beyond the power of humans
to be strongly linked to progress and growth
to achieve some accomplishments
to be concerned with getting things accomplished
to be late for an appointment
to keep busy every minute
to work toward specific goals
to have an equal opportunity to succeed
to differ in opinion on (about) smth
to have an aversion to treating people in a deferential way
to be individualistic in one's thoughts and actions
to have a strongly negative connotation
to vote for a party
to take pride in claiming individualism
to pride oneself in doing smth
to take credit for one's accomplishments
to climb (move up) the difficult ladder of success
to bring out (the best/worst) in an individual
to devise an economic system
to foster competition
to devalue the past
to be unconscious of the present
to direct energy toward doing smth
to culminate in smth worthwhile
to schedule an active day-to day dream
to be addicted to one's work
to identify oneself wholly with a profession
to engage in physical labour
to be (dis)respectful of people
to call smb/ by his/her first name
to be honest in doing smth
to be shocked at American bluntness
to save (lose) face
to soften the blow of directness
to lose confidence in smb
to have a reputation for being practical and efficient people
to be given highest priority in making a decision
to contribute inventions to the world
'trial-and-error' approach
to list solutions to any given problem
to result from hard work and serious intent
to collect material objects
to value newness and innovation