New Brunswick Business Daily

What are American values that are unique to American society?

which you don't find in other cultures?

Public Comments

1. the fact that it is so mixed. you could take someone who lives right next door to another person and have their values, ideas, and lifestyle, completely different. there is no definite AMERICAN culture other than the fact that it is unique =) my opinion.
2. MacDonald's
3. i no of none....
4. If you cannot contribute to our society, then get the hell out of our country!
5. You will hopefully find this in a number of other cultures but for me the signal American value, which is almost worth dying for, is freedom of choice and opportunity. That's what other people are prepared to go through hell for- to get that opportunity! that's why Mexican people, God love them, are quing up at your borders.
6. "Americans... were the people who created the phrase 'to make money.' No other language or nation had ever used these words before; men had always thought of wealth as a static quantity--to be seized, begged, inherited, shared, looted or obtained as a favor. Americans were the first to understand that wealth has to be created." from Francisco D'Anconia's Money Speech in Atlas Shrugged, by Ayn Rand.
7. Americans place a premium on individualism, independence and self-reliance that is not found in other cultures. Granted, this is a question of extent, for certainly all cultures prize self-reliance and individualism to some degree, but I think Americans tend to focus on the ability to individually provide for oneself more than just about any other culture. It could also be argued that Americans are more materialistic than other cultures, but I see this as simply a side-effect of this demand for individual self-sufficiency.
8. White guilt and puritanical modesty White guilt relates to America's obsession with racism. Puritanical modesty relates solely to America's obsession with the appearance of purity over the actual essence of purity.
9. None. While America does have a unique set of values, each of those values can certainly be found in many other cultures. Many of the traditional values of the Revolution, for instance, can be seen in other countries that have gone through a similar process - such as France, or even, to a small extent, Iran. Also, America is so diverse that some of it's 'values' are probably contradictory. That is, you will find Americans who disagree violently about what some of those values are.