One of the problems I have been facing for some time now is grasping what the United States culture truly is. That having been said, a point has come up recently that makes identifying this both easier and yet much more difficult. The notion being that the United States has had a different mentality from its creation than other countries have had. I am of course talking about our old world counterparts who felt a greater need for a critical factor in their state formation, collectivization. Until about 300 years ago, the world had mainly employed a system where by every one was undeniably interconnected with one another, the feudal system being a prime example of this where even the serf could be connected to the local blacksmith, knight and tavern keeper. More recent, economic, trends seem to have set apart the American model of culture apart from the rest of the world. Let me explain? The United States, as a country, was founded more on the principle of individualism; which does not disqualify it from establishing a culture, but instead set the stage for a culture to become more difficult to form (or at least one which would become large enough to truly define the country as a whole). I am not saying that capitalism and individualism have destroyed culture, but am instead implying that it made culture a more individually centered process, which I realize is a paradox but let me continue. Instead of one large culture, we instead see small pockets of cultures (sub cultures) form throughout the United States, and the World as a whole, thanks to more modern ideology and practices such as immigration, globalization and, what I?m using to convey this message to you, the internet. These sub cultures seem to form mostly around what our excess and modernity has been able to provide in the areas of social phenomenon such as music, entertainment, alternative life styles, nationalism, general interest, etc. One may prescribe to one or more of these subcultures, turning our modern world into what could almost be identified to a High school lunch room (an over used comparison but it does hold some weight here). In summary the main points of this are:
1) Culture used to be a collective mentality out of necessity
2) Modern times have altered the requirements for a culture and reduced its effect on overall populations
3) Modern sub cultures are the result of individualism and excess
I will leave it to you to decide if this is a bad thing or not?. Please discuss here: I would love to hear your input!
1) Culture used to be a collective mentality out of necessity
2) Modern times have altered the requirements for a culture and reduced its effect on overall populations
3) Modern sub cultures are the result of individualism and excess
I will leave it to you to decide if this is a bad thing or not?. Please discuss here: I would love to hear your input!