American Values

[glasseye]

What are they? Gimme a list.

[ruckman101]

Pop quiz? No fair, gimme time to study.


neal

[Sylvester]

Give back to those less fortunate than yourself.

[glasseye]

Give back to those less fortunate than yourself.

Impressive that that one appears first. =D>

More, please.

This isn't a troll, btw, this is an attempt to promote discussion.

[Cindy]

Two words: Horatio Alger.

Cindy

[BellePlaine]

Instant Gratification.

[dingo]

Optimism and determination

Restlessness for change

what are Canadian values ?

[hambone]

Oh man. Well, the pot hasn't quite melted that clearly. You have many ways to define "value" itself. Moral? Spiritual? A Hindu American has a different diet than Amish, eating itself can be a moral act. Values, too are fleeting. Evolving, we is.
I think we have ideals of ourselves baked into an apple pie, but how much of it is authentic? How true are we to even our own internal story about what a great person we are? The impossible perfect person.
Our dollar says "in God we trust" I suppose that's good enough. Covers all bases.

[ruckman101]

Honesty, integrity, compassion, tolerance, liberty, freedom, come to my mind. Of course there's a difference between the ideal and then the reality.


neal

[Sylvester]

Two words: Horatio Alger.

Cindy

I don't get it.

[Cindy]

Alger was a nineteenth-century American author who wrote novels with a rags-to-riches theme. He clearly believed (as did many of his readers) that anyone could succeed if he simply worked hard enough. The trouble with that theory (which is still a problem in our culture today) is that it places the responsibility for both success and failure solely on the individual. This means a rich man will be credited for his accomplishments, and a poor man will be blamed for his lack thereof. Regardless of the flaw in Alger's logic, he was wildly popular, suggesting that most Americans agreed with him. His work was a reflection of the prevailing American value--one steeped in a pick-yourself-up-by-your-bootstraps mentality.


Cindy

[Amskeptic]

What are they? Gimme a list.

We value:

*individual initiative*

*charity*

*freedom from persecution*

Colin

[ruckman101]

Alger was a nineteenth-century American author who wrote novels with a rags-to-riches theme. He clearly believed (as did many of his readers) that anyone could succeed if he simply worked hard enough. The trouble with that theory (which is still a problem in our culture today) is that it places the responsibility for both success and failure solely on the individual. This means a rich man will be credited for his accomplishments, and a poor man will be blamed for his lack thereof. Regardless of the flaw in Alger's logic, he was wildly popular, suggesting that most Americans agreed with him. His work was a reflection of the prevailing American value--one steeped in a pick-yourself-up-by-your-bootstraps mentality.


Cindy

So he's to blame for that myth.


neal

[Amskeptic]

Alger was a nineteenth-century American author who wrote novels with a rags-to-riches theme. He clearly believed (as did many of his readers) that anyone could succeed if he simply worked hard enough. The trouble with that theory (which is still a problem in our culture today) is that it places the responsibility for both success and failure solely on the individual. This means a rich man will be credited for his accomplishments, and a poor man will be blamed for his lack thereof. Regardless of the flaw in Alger's logic, he was wildly popular, suggesting that most Americans agreed with him. His work was a reflection of the prevailing American value--one steeped in a pick-yourself-up-by-your-bootstraps mentality.


Cindy

So he's to blame for that myth.


neal

There are people who have risen above their circumstances with breathtaking grit and determination ... no myth there. But I sure as heckity ain't letting the country-club Republicans co-opt them.
Colin

[ruckman101]

Alger was a nineteenth-century American author who wrote novels with a rags-to-riches theme. He clearly believed (as did many of his readers) that anyone could succeed if he simply worked hard enough. The trouble with that theory (which is still a problem in our culture today) is that it places the responsibility for both success and failure solely on the individual. This means a rich man will be credited for his accomplishments, and a poor man will be blamed for his lack thereof. Regardless of the flaw in Alger's logic, he was wildly popular, suggesting that most Americans agreed with him. His work was a reflection of the prevailing American value--one steeped in a pick-yourself-up-by-your-bootstraps mentality.


Cindy

So he's to blame for that myth.


neal

There are people who have risen above their circumstances with breathtaking grit and determination ... no myth there. But I sure as heckity ain't letting the country-club Republicans co-opt them.
Colin

True dat. Lookit that skinny Barack kid. He's done pretty good for himself.


neal