"The Values Americans Live By"

I recently discovered Dr. Robert Kohls' "The Values Americans Live By". The first time I read the list of 13 values, I was super annoyed. We're not like that! These make us sound like awful, heartless, heathen people. But when I really thought about it, I realized that they all had a lot of truth to them. I want to share one of my favorites...

Excerpt from "Individualism"
"Americans think they are more individualistic in their thoughts and actions than, in fact, they are. They resist being thought of as representatives of a homogeneous group, whatever the group. They may and do join groups--in fact many groups--but somehow they are just a little different, just a little unique, just a little special, from other members of the same group. And they tend to leave groups as easily as they enter them.

"Privacy, the ultimate result of individualism, is perhaps even more difficult for the foreigner to comprehend. The word 'privacy' does not even exist in many languages. If it does, it is likely to have a strongly negative connotation, suggesting loneliness or isolation from the group. In the United States, privacy is not only seen as a very 'positive' condition, but it also viewed as a requirement which all humans would find equally necessary, desirable and satisfying. It is not uncommon for Americans to say--and to believe--'If I don't have at least half an hour a day to myself, I will go stark raving mad!'

"Individualism, as it exists in the United States, does mean that you will find a much greater variety of opinions in the country, along with the absolute freedom to express them anywhere and anytime. Yet, in spite of this wide range of personal opinions, almost all Americans vote for one of the two major political parties. That is what was meant by the earlier statement that Americans take pride in claiming more individualism than in fact they really have."

Faris