are nearing graduation and getting ready to go home, I
sometimes ask them to help me make a list, on the chalkboard,
of those aspects of American life that they would
not like to take home with them. Some of the many items
the students usually call out are these:
• Excessive individualism
• Weak family ties
• Treatment of older people
• Materialism
• Competitiveness
• Rapid pace of life
• Divorce
• “Free” male-female relations
• Impersonality
Then I ask the students to list those aspects of American life that they would like to see incorporated at home.
• Opportunity for individuals to raise their station in
life
• Efficiency of organizations
• Hard work and productivity
• Freedom to express opinions openly
• General sense of freedom
Finally I ask the students to study the two lists and see
if they notice any connections between them. After several
moments someone will usually say, “Yes. American
organizations are efficient because of their impersonality
and fast pace.”
Someone else will observe, “There would not be so
much possibility for individuals to get better positions if
family ties were stronger, and if people had to stay where
their parents are. People would not move around so much
to get better jobs. Maybe even divorce is related to that!”
Still another will say, “Maybe it’s their materialism that
motivates people to work so hard.” And another: “Individualism
goes with the sense of freedom.”
And so on. Most of the items on the don’t-want list
are related to items on the do-want list. So it is with the
various aspects of what we call culture. They fit together.
They overlap and reinforce each other. It is not possible
to take one or two aspects of a culture and transplant
them somewhere else. They will not fit.
If you make the effort to understand Americans, you
will begin to see how various aspects of American culture
fit together. The patterns that underlie people’s behavior
will become more visible, and you will become increasingly
able to predict what other people will do. Your interpretations
will become more accurate, and you will be
more willing to delay judgment. All this helps you to in CONCLUSION
teract more constructively with Americans and to achieve
your purposes in visiting the United States.
from :
GARY ALTHEN
with Amanda R. Doran and Susan J. Szmania
with Amanda R. Doran and Susan J. Szmania
American A Guide for Foreigners in the United States Ways
