Final

There is not only one American Way of Life; there is more than one American Way of Life. People have different views on how to live an American Way of Life and what influences it.

A white, middle class female said that an “American Way of Life is about having a democracy…” Her point of view on an American Way of Life is all about freedom, equality among other people, and the power to express oneself. One of the good aspects of an American Way of Life is “having the freedom of speech” which is stated in the first amendment. The amendments are created by the people who are elected into the office. Therefore, without the politics, people would not be living the American Way of Life. The American Way of Life is also shaped by the “cultures” that are around the Americans. Americans are made up by people that come from all over the world and they bring a little part of their country with them. In this case, people from other parts of the world share their cultures with other Americans. As time progresses, the cultures combine and creates a new culture.
On the other hand, a white, middle class male said that “we don’t really have the freedom” the country claims to have given to the Americans. He thinks that the laws are created to act like boundaries so that Americans are not able to have the freedom to do whatever they want. When he thinks about the American Way of Life, he sees “people striving for success” and trying to reach the top of the social class. People come to America to try and succeed in life, a life where people basically roll on money, in an environment where people have the same goal. Unfortunately, he does not live an American Way of Life because he does not “give a shit about success”. Some people may not care about how other people live an American Way of Life but he chose not to follow the same path most Americans take.

Similarly, an Asian, middle class male believe that the American Way of Life is like a “competition” where the rich tries to stay rich and the poor or middle class try to become rich. He also agrees that the American Way of Life is about having “freedom” and he adds that people are more “independent”. In a way, Americans get to have what they want, live alone without having their parents sticking their nose into their businesses, and find a career that they love to do. The American Way of Life provides more “job opportunities” for him and therefore he is given more options when he has to choose his career. He is currently not living an American Way of Life and that he will “eventually be living an American Way of Life”. Some people are not living the American Way of Life the second they are born; they transition from another way of life into the American Way of Life.

My father sees the American Way of Life as the American Dream where people are more focused on “education, getting a stable career, creating a family, keeping in touch with friends, and living in a big house”. Education is necessary to get a career that will pay enough so that people can make a living. Once an individual has proven that one can make enough money to support a family, they can get into a relationship and maybe even buy a house. The American Way of Life is steps to achieving the famous American Dream. But my sister believes that “the American Way of Life is pointless and people do things that do not help them continue living their life”. She currently lives the pointless American Way of Life because all she does is go to work and watch TV. Although she thinks the American Way of Life is made up of unnecessary things, she is planning to “achieve the American Dream, where people live in big houses”. Basically, she is living the meaningless American Way of Life.

People define the American Way of Life differently. Some see it as living freely while others believe that we're only believing to live in a country of freedom. The American Way of Life cannot be defined in a way that people call it a correct definition. Each individual live their own definition of the American Way of Life and have their own perspective on it.

The holidays Americans celebrate affect the American Way of Life. For example, Thanksgiving is a holiday where my siblings and I go out to eat. We had planned to go to this restaurant but they tripled the price so we decided to eat at a Taiwanese restaurant. The price went from $15 per person to around $45 per person. People take advantage of these holidays to make money because they know that people will be consuming a lot of food. It seems as if the typical American Way of Life is to use the holidays to make more money off people.

This also brings us to the fact that Americans consume a lot; ten times more than Chinese people and thirty times more than Indians, according to the video. In order to save the world from limited resources and hungry Americans, the Buy Nothing Day is created. At one point, it seems okay to eat all you can on Thanksgiving, because it is a holiday. But it also does not seem okay to use up all of the world's resources, and Thanksgiving seems to be contradicting that. I think a typical American will disregard the Buy Nothing Day because Americans are used to living their life using up the world's resources.

Black Friday also contradicts the Buy Nothing Day because these stores are luring Americans to buy their products. It shows how people prioritize money over saving the world regardless of the Buy Nothing Day. My older sister decided not to buy anything on Black Friday this year not because she acknowledges the Buy Nothing Day, but because there were no products that meets her eyes. Other people still go out on Black Friday to satisfy their greed even though it is also a day when people buy nothing. The fact that people choose to buy stuff rather than not buy anything shows that Americans do not take the time to think about all the resources that are being used up.

Greed for things that are not necessary to live also affects the American Way of Life. Shoppers at the Long Island Wal-Mart only care about the cheap stuff in the store and not about the life or death of a human being. They are so desperate to get what they want that they would climb over other people to get it. While the worker was attempted to be saved, the shoppers continued to push people, disregarding the life of the worker. The shoppers would rather save money on something they have been waiting to get and take the life of a worker. They are selfish in a way that even when they knew that an employee got killed, they refused to leave because they have been waiting since 5 in the morning. This reflects the American Way of Life because people are in their little bubble and do not care about others. Even in the train stations, people push through other so that they can get a seat on the train. They do not wait for the people on the train to get off and they just elbow people out of the way. People need to not only think of themselves sometimes and take the time to do something for other people.

The Constitution, highest law of the land, contraints and shapes the American Way of Life. Section 1 of Article 4 in the Constitution ensures that laws in other states are respected by the other states. This means that a gay couple that is married in one state is also married in another state. Even though gay marriage is not legal in many states, these states must accept gay couples who are married in another state. Therefore, if a gay couple wants to get married but they are living in a state where gay marriage is not allowed, they can go to a state where gay marriage is allowed and then move back to the state they came from. The “Full Faith and Credit” provision in Article 4 limits states so that the states cannot stop people from doing something legal in their state but illegal in other states.

The amended portion in Section 2 of Article 4 guarantees that slaves, in one state, escaping to another state are not free from the state and that they must be returned to the state. If slaves were able to be freed from their states by running away, then all slaves would attempt to run away to be free. Then if all slaves ran away – or killed because they failed to run away – from their states, then the white people back then would not have anyone working for them for free. These white people included the rich white men who signed the Constitution and wrote “we the people” in the Preamble. This proves that “we the people”, as stated in the Preamble, are not really the actual citizens of the United States but they are the rich white men who did not think about the slaves.

The 2nd Amendment allows only “well-organized militias” to have guns because they are regulated by the government. These people carry guns to protect the country and they are well trained so it reduces the chance of an accident happening. Not everyone should carry guns because some people are not well trained and they may abuse the right to carry a gun. It is especially dangerous if children are around adults who carry guns all the time; the children may want to get their hands on the gun or the gun might go off unintentionally. “A well regulated militia” should only be allowed to carry guns for the safety of the country and the citizens.

The US government should overrule state government laws against gay marriage because the laws against gay marriage contradicts the 14th amendment. Gay marriage is a "privilege" of citizens of the United States so state governments cannot create laws banning gay marriage. The US government should also step in to protect fetuses - as "persons" - from states that allow abortion. However, exceptions can be made by having a trial; for example, if a women gets raped, she should be heard by a jury to abort the baby. Women have the right to the liberty control of their own body and reproductive choices. The body and reproductive cells belong to the women and the government cannot take the right for a women to make choices for herself.

I think that the 13th amendment is the most significant because it eliminates slavery. Without the 13th amendment, slavery would still be going on and people would still think that it is okay to oppress people. Slavery would not only limit slave from interacting with people not their kind, but it would also limit other people from interacting with the slaves. It also strengthens the white supremacy and allows other races to feel even more inferior to the whites. The 13th amendment is partially why the United States is a country with freedom and equality.