Culture in the United States of America

A lot of it is still tied to who settled where. The religious and cultural differences of the colonial era can still sort of be seen in many places along the East coast and the Southwest - the only US areas I know well enough to comment on.

In New England it's all about the Puritans.

In my level of society, in my location; culture is last weeks road kill!

The differences are related to the national origin and possibly the religions of those who settled the area. The US you must remember is a relatively new nation made up of people who arrived from around the world. It citizens as yet have not been assimilated enough to form a national character.

The majority in this country has influenced our culture. At one time, I know that the Germans were the majority, and I'm not sure whether they still are. We have more Irish in the US than now lives in Ireland. The Mexicans and Spanish speaking have pretty much made up the majority in the southern states such as Texas, Arizona, Florida, and California. The huge immigration during the past ten to twenty years from the Far East is also having some effect on the American culture. Religious-wise, I think Catholics and Protestants make up the majority in the US. I believe we have over 180 countries represented as citizens in the USA. As the longest existing democracy (okay, democratic republic), the richest, and the only superpower in the world today, our influence extends to this small globe. That's amazing when one considers that the US population represents only five percent of the world population. c.i.

c.i., the white man may soon be the minority. One has to look how one has treated the minorities while in the majority. I would think the white man would be a little fearful of the future. What is the deciding factor? Money, who has it all?

BillW, Your fear is unfounded. Many of our children have married outside our culture, and our family now includes many races and cultures. This is a big change from fifty years ago, and I see more interracial marriages in the future - not less. Besides, most of the current generation is ignorant of history. c.i.

c.i., I live in the South and I use to have a quote down about how long it would be that the 100% white man is a very small minority because of inter racial marriages. I would be told very loudly that their family was pure and would never think of intergrating. I find very few families today that does not have some very close relative who has married and sired out of "the race".

The fear is unfounded c.i. because the problem primarily exists in the "white man" mind. One day, there will be harmony in this respect. It will equalize itself, so to speak!

BTW, it isn't a fear of mine.

I agree that New England is all about the Puritans.

How about the Mid-West?

THIS is a very interesting topic.
A European on another board stated that the US is devoid of a US culture.

I would first think of pointing to our melting pot status, but we aren't the only ones who have a constant influx of immigrants.

I also point to Human Rights, and our devotion (degreed) to the Constitution.

But, I hope the brainiacs (calling Timber, Asherman, george0b1) might shlep over and give their views.
Interested in ALL contributions here.

Great topic!

I agree that the US doesn't have a culture in the way that Italy, France, or England has one, in the sense of a deep cultural heritage that all its citizens can tap into. But we do have certain traditions and we do have a national character. For instance, Americans tend to be optimistic, go-getting, enterprising, self-reliant, philanthropic, and religious (we are the most religious country in the Western world.) If you want to see our national philosophy laid out in print, read the essays of Emerson, especially "The American Scholar" and "Self-Reliance." Our culture, such as it is, has produced only two real art forms--the movies and jazz. But they dominated the 20th century worldwide, and stunned Europe as soon as they travelled there. We have not produced any high culture to match European high culture, but jazz and the movies are our great pop culture creations.

larry r, Pop culture, heh? IMHO, I think jazz as an art form can be more beautiful, emotional, and responsive than the classics. Just because it's newer doesn't mean it lacks appeal. Pop culture? Whatever it's called, it's still a fantastic creation. c.i.

Methinks there is no such thing as an American culture, due to our newbie status and our multicultural status.

larry r, Forgive my manners; I should have said, 'WELCOME to A2K' in my previous post. c.i.

Lash Goth
Methinks there is no such thing as an American culture, due to our newbie status and our multicultural status.

I agree the melting pot continues to be filled. Every new influx of immigrants adds to it.

It is absurd to say that America has no culture. We have the blues, we have jazz (America's greatest art IMHO), we have the novels of Twain, Hawthorne, Dreiser, and Faulkner (to name just a few), we have the poetry of Whitman, Frost, Eliot, Stevens, and Emily Dickinson, and above all we have the movies--the art form that America pioneered and imposed on the 20th century. Not to mention the skyscraper, that uniquely modern form of architecture that was invented right here in America by Louis Sullivan. Of course we have a culture. The question is, what is it worth compared to European high culture? Is it equal to it? I would say not, because we don't have centuries of art and literature behind us. But to deny that America has a culture is either ignorance or sophistry.

There is a certain strain in America that don't like the "culture" that has been created and wish to believe there is none until they can change it to their liking. Kinda like all the revisionist history that has been ongoing for the last 20 some years!

Culture in America is currently in the throws of creating a new world nobility that must be deferred to!

The South is all about collegiate football games and local politics.