American Values

This week we are studying culture and what a society as a whole values. We were asked to read an article which stated the 13 main values Americans live by. As I read this, I was shocked at how accurate the portrayal of Americans were. After you have lived in this culture for your whole life you find yourself ethnocentric and think, "Wait, everyone doesn't do it like that?" A few values really stuck out and I could relate to though. One was the value of time and its control. I see myself always busy! If I'm not at school, crunching homework in so I don't have to do it later, I am at the gym practicing gymnastics for an average of 4 hours per day. I have a strict schedule I follow throughout my day, then I wake up and do it all over again. Another value I relate to is Individualism and independence. As a teenager, we are starting to become more independent because we are going to college soon. We are always told we won't get as much help in academics and we will have to budget our money...etc. Also, it talks about privacy, which I believe I am very big on. I need time for myself to be alone per week because my schedule is so busy and I am always with other people that being by myself is a good time to relax. My busy schedule also pertains to the action/ work orientation value. As Americans we believe in being proficient and if your not moving forward your either standing still or going backwards. Even Walt Disney believed in this when he said "Keep Moving Forward."Although, some values we may not particularly like, they are apart of our culture and we have to accept it.