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.People’s Thoughts on their American Way of Life
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 only believe 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.
Holidays and the American Way of Life
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 product 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 buying 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.
My friends and I had planned Christmas really early. We had planned to do Secret Santa a few months earlier so we had the chance to get the presents ready. On the day before Winter break, we swapped presents during lunch. As for my family, relatives from Oklahoma and Long Island came to Manhattan for dinner. I believe we went out for dinner at least three times. This year, it didn't really feel like the end of a wonderful year. No one made me make New Year's Resolutions this year like they used to but I did find myself reminiscing and wondering how the New Year will turn out to be.
I think Christmas is just time of the year where people exchange money, basically. Christmas may be the celebration of Jesus’ birth but it really turned out to be the time to give and receive gifts. I think it's a really stupid idea to go out and find something to give people if they do not really need it. The American way of celebrating Christmas is to spend all the money on things that are not really necessary. Maybe having dinner with families from other states is a nice way to celebrate a holiday but I don't think it's necessary to have three and spend all those money. During New Year, people are just excited to start a new year but do people really think about the year that just past them by? I think most Americans do not look back on the previous year to make the next year a better year for them. Some people make the same mistakes over and over again and before they know it, life passes them by. Maybe people should make others make New Year's Resolutions.
Throughout the break, I have been playing games and sitting around at home. I think that a typical teenager American Way of Life is to just sit at home and play video games or PC games. This year, I did not hear any fireworks going off where I lived. I feel that people are disregarding some of the holidays, even though fireworks are somewhat harmful to the environment. As people continue to live their way of life, I believe that the meanings of these holidays are slowly extinct.
The Constitution and the American Way of Life
The Constitution, highest law of the land, constraints 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 contradict 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 woman 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 woman 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.
The twenty-first amendment in the Constitution removes the eighteenth amendment; legalizing alcohol. Drinking too much alcohol can lead to alcohol poisoning and can be dangerous for the drinker. Those people are just using up the resources in the hospital; the equipments and energy used on them can be used on someone who appreciates life. Then, if alcohol becomes a problem throughout the United States, then the population will decrease. As the population decreases, there will be less people filling up the jobs and working to keep the economy running. By removing the twenty-first amendment, which replaces the eighteenth amendment back into the Constitution, can save the United States money on the equipments used on saving the alcohol addicts and the economy.
I think the Constitution is a good starting point for the United States to create a "more perfect union". The Amendments are taking the United States even more further to reaching America's goal. For example, section two of the first article states that slaves count for only three-fifths in the census. Then in 1868, the 14th amendment removed that statement in the first article; allowing equality throughout the country. Even though having slaves in the first place is not a good idea, the 14th amendment fixed the Constitution to make the United States a more just society. In section three of the first article, it states that the senators are elected by the state legislatures. Amendment seventeen gave the people of the states, instead of the state legislatures, the right to elect their senators. This gives the people of the United States more power and it does not allow the state legislatures to hog the power. It also fulfills the beginning of the Preamble that states "we the people of the United States". The people's job/duty is to create amendments that will help make America a better society.
Section two of the second article states that the President shall be the one who obtains the most electoral votes and the Vice President shall be the one who receives the second most electoral votes. In 1804, the 12th amendment allows the President cooperates with the Vice President and runs together during the election. Therefore, if the President receives a vote from the Electoral College, then the corresponding Vice President also receives a vote from the Electoral College. The 12th amendment avoids having to choose the President and the Vice President when two candidates receive the same amount electoral votes. This amendment brings the United States closer to creating a more stable society for the people.
The Constitution allows the United States to become a country of freedom and equality. With the first amendment, people are able to practice whatever religion they want, say whatever they want, see whoever they want, and write whatever they want. Allowing people to practice the religion they please creates a society with multiple religion and beliefs. It also creates controversies because of what people believe in; like "marriage is only between men and women". The freedom to believe what we choose to believe is partly the reason why people say "that's how it's supposed to be". Equality allows the United States to become a more diverse country with people from around the world. People interact with each other and learn from each other to create something new in the United States. The 13th amendment, the amendment that abolishes slavery, was a turning point for America. It allowed people to interact with the former slaves and their descendants so people can learn more from others. People do not really form groups because of this equity and diverse interactions between race and cultures.
The Constitution also provided equality between men and women so that women do not need to feel inferior to men. Amendment nineteen makes sure that people are not forbidden to vote because of their gender. America, and the Constitution, believes that people, of any race and gender (and culture), are supposed to be treated equally. This is why women today can do most things men can do and they are able to stand up for themselves. The Constitution created a society of freedom and quality.
The American Way of Life on eBay
My strategy on bidding was to make a very late low bid at the last minute and hoped that no one will outbid me. I was pretty nervous because I was afraid I was going to lose something that I needed badly. After making my bid, I kept refreshing the page to check if anyone outbid me. Luckily, no one used J-bid on the product. Then, of course, there's always the pride of winning something by bidding for the first time.
This experience felt like capitalism because it seemed like it was me against everyone else who had their eye on the product. It was unlike the simulation we did in class, where some people were able to transfer credits to others so that they can get what they want. This reminds me of when we talked about the Koreans, Cubans, and Japanese, the model minorities, and how they became rich by borrowing money. They borrowed wealth to earn more wealth to pay the money they borrowed and made profit. When I was on eBay bidding, I was not able to borrow money from anyone; I was not a Korean, a Cuban, or Japanese. On the other hand when we were doing the simulation, there were Koreans, Cubans, and Japanese because money was being borrowed; but in the simulation, the money was not paid back.
This affects some of the American Way of Life because people who are not like the Koreans, Cubans, or Japanese cannot depend on anyone else. Therefore, they create their own little bubble and block out everyone else. Some of these people learn to not trust other people and only trust themselves. Their point of view on the American Way of Life may be to be independent because no one can be trusted. However, the Koreans, Cubans, and Japanese may have the exact opposite point of view on their American Way of Life. Because they are able to trust one another that they borrow money to one another. Their American Way of Life is to help others and may be easier with all the money that they earned.
Capitalism and The American Way of Life
Capitalism is all about accumulating capital and increasing the productive forces. Let us say that there is a capitalist and the capitalist owns a factory. The capitalist then hires workers to work in the factory and make profit for the capitalist. The profit is then turned into wealth and the capitalist uses the wealth to buy another factory (or capital). The capitalist hires more workers to work in the new factory (or capital) that the capitalist had just bought and the cycle continues. When the capitalist buys a new factory (or capital), the capitalist is accumulating capital and when the capitalist hires more workers to work in the new factory (or capital), the productive forces increases. As the productive forces increases, the capitalist’s profit also increases. Accumulating capital increases the productive forces, which increases profit.
I agree with Marx that labor power is the source of all wealth. According to Mark Ruppert’s lecture notes, surplus value is the source of profit. In other words, the extra labor power that workers produce creates surplus value, which gets turned into profit. What is labor power? If a worker works for eight hours a day and gets paid for four hours of his labor, the extra four hours is the extra labor power that turns into surplus value. Profit then becomes accumulated wealth. The accumulated wealth is invested as capital and with more labor power, value is then created again and the cycle starts over. Accumulated wealth is created by surplus value which comes from labor power. In my opinion, I think capital is just as important as labor power. Without capital and even without land, labor power is useless. On the other hand without labor power, the capital and the land are useless, which also means “dead labor”. I think this connects to the question “Which came first, the chicken or the egg?” Without the chicken, the egg would not have been laid in the first place. But without the egg, the chicken would not have been hatched. In the previous lectures in class, we established that land, labor, and capital are the dominant frameworks of capitalism.
The American Way of Life In the Inauguration
Barack Obama had hinted that America is what it is today because of our ancestor's sacrifices and because we, the people, believed in the Constitution. America is now in a recession fighting two wars that are taken place on the other side of the globe. Obama believes that the cause of this crisis is found in the Americans and their greed. Of course, greed is not the only cause of the challenges but it does play a role in weakening our economic system.
Obama states that greed had become a downfall for our economic system, but capitalism lives on greed. Greed is what brought capitalism into the world. It encouraged people to work together for a living and introduced the concepts of the Invisible Hand. Because of greed, capitalists suck the labor power out of the proletarians and made profit by sucking more labor power. If capitalism is the thesis, then greed is a factor of the anti-thesis that contradicts the thesis, and together, create a higher synthesis. Greed may gave birth to capitalism but it can also drag capitalism down.
Greed is not only a downfall for capitalism but it is also an American Way of Life. As seen in the Wal-Mart Trampling, people would disregard a person's life because they are so overwhelmed by greed. People only think about what is best for them and not what other people need.
