Socialization Of Self Essay Research Paper American

Socialization Of Self Essay, Research Paper

American values are a tricky thing. It seems that the value set changes with each individual. “American pragmatism is actually rooted in deeply held anti-authoritarian, individualistic, egalitarian, activist ideals, which privilege personal choice, flexibility, and technical efficiency with the pursuit of success, however success is defined.” (Hall, Lindholm, pg. 91) Basically, an individual’s values are what that individual decides they are. The key to understanding this is realizing that above almost all else, Americans prize, value, and recognize the sacredness of being an individual. Certainly there are basic expectations of all people living in American society regardless of how the individual feels they must recognize that they exist in the U.S. with a billion “individuals.”

Americans seem to think ” . . . that ‘nice’ people of good will, as all true Americans are assumed to be, ought to be able to reach a compromise and keep the social peace. Those who keep on refusing the path of compromise are castigated as trouble-makers, demagogues, and even un-American.” (Lipset, pg. 44) The rules are simple. I am an individual trying to exist with lots of other individuals and we are all trying not to kill one another and still live a satisfying existence. But, how does understanding the situation affect how I choose to live. It is still up to me to decide whether or not I will steal a dress from a store, purchase it with cash, or pay for it with a credit card. What do I value most, freedom – assuming I get caught stealing the dress, outright ownership of something I can buy or willingness to owe someone for something I cannot currently afford. Unfortunately understanding that I am an individual and am responsible for creating the list of what values I will abide by does not make living by my values any easier.

I feel as if I live my life trying to find a balance between two worlds that overlap in some ways and will never touch in others. “The United States has numerous religious, racial, and ethnic groups as well as countless interest groups . . .. This state of affairs makes the job of specifying U.S. values difficult.” (Henslin, pg. 46) I live now, and will eventually work, in what is recognized as traditional white male America. The rules are fairly clear-cut and easy to understand. Work hard at an important job, earn lots of money to buy lots of nice things, and if you ever have any doubts or questions, check the data because science has proven everything.

However, I am also saddled with knowing that these rules do not hold true in every situation. I have had the joy of knowing that money means nothing, that accepting what is given to you naturally by way of family or talent is enough to satisfy, and that there are many things that occur within the realm of nature that there are no explanations for and you just have to believe.

The conflict lies in the fact that one value I hold in one instance is perfectly countered by what I hold important in another. I cannot possibly satisfy living up to all of my values all of the time because each set aspires to different goals. So I live my life by trying to meet each thing I come to with the understanding that I may have to change my plan midstream because I judged the situation incorrectly. I have to accept that my values have to be flexible enough for me exist in the two world I have chosen to be in my life. I cannot allow myself to feel like I am betraying on ideal for another because each might be able to exist separately. Sometimes I have to choose between “Native” Rebecca and “White” Rebecca. I am racially fully native, but culturally and even ethnically, I am of mixed “blood” – both native and white, and am constantly faced with internal prejudice. What is right for me in one instance is not acceptable in another.

For instance, when I go home to visit family on the Tuscarora Indian Reservation I have to remember where I am because my ways of behaving here in Virginia are very different from how I behave in Lewiston, New York. My “Virginia” self has no problem going out and asking someone for help or support and expecting an immediate response. This is because in that system of values I am responsible for going and getting what I need. I expect to find what I need exactly when I need it and I expect to be able to have access to it, assuming of course that I can afford it.

On the reserve, it is not about having access to something and certainly not about being able to afford it. I would never cross the street and ask a neighbor for something, even if I could pay for it. First of all, it would be a great insult to pay for something that someone does not generally sell because I am not allowing her to give to me. Secondly, I would be insulting the person that I would go to because she was irresponsible for not noticing that I had a need. This could be from the obvious, my house in on fire, to the subtle, my telephone is out and my neighbor has a cell phone. The focus here is not on getting what you need but that what you need is being provided to you by the people that you provide for. My neighbor knows I am sick without me calling her and she sends her daughter with corn soup for my entire family. I know a cousin down the road is short on food money this week so I send my niece to my cousin’s house with some of the soup my neighbor gave