The American way of life or the American way is the U.S. nationalist ethos that adheres to the principle of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. At the center of the American way is the belief in an American Dream that is claimed to be achievable by any American through hard work. This concept is intertwined with the concept of American exceptionalism, the belief in the unique culture of the nation.
American writer and intellectual William Herberg offers the following definition of the American way of life:[2]
The American Way of life is individualistic, dynamic, and pragmatic. It affirms the supreme value and dignity of the individual; it stresses incessant activity on his part, for he is never to rest but is always to be striving to "get ahead"; it defines an ethic of self-reliance, merit, and character, and judges by achievement: "deeds, not creeds" are what count. The "American Way of Life" is humanitarian, "forward-looking", optimistic. Americans are easily the most generous and philanthropic people in the world, in terms of their ready and unstinting response to suffering anywhere on the globe. The American believes in progress, in self-improvement, and quite fanatically in education. But above all, the American is idealistic. Americans cannot go on making money or achieving worldly success simply on its own merits; such "materialistic" things must, in the American mind, be justified in "higher" terms, in terms of "service" or "stewardship" or "general welfare"... And because they are so idealistic, Americans tend to be moralistic; they are inclined to see all issues as plain and simple, black and white, issues of morality.
— William Herberg, Protestant, Catholic, Jew: An Essay in American Religious Sociology (1955)
One commentator notes, "The first half of Herberg's statement still holds true nearly half a century after he first formulated it", even though "Herberg's latter claims have been severely if not completely undermined... materialism no longer needs to be justified in high-sounding terms".[3]
In the National Archives and Records Administration's 1999 Annual Report, National Archivist John W. Carlin writes, "We are different because our government and our way of life are not based on the divine right of kings, the hereditary privileges of elites, or the enforcement of deference to dictators. They are based on pieces of paper, the Charters of Freedom - the Declaration that asserted our independence, the Constitution that created our government, and the Bill of Rights that established our liberties."[4]
^Wood, Ralph C (2004). Flannery O'Connor and the Christ-haunted South. Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing. p. 21.
^"The National Archives and Records Administration Annual Report 1999". U.S. National Archives and Records Administration. August 15, 2016.
April 26, 2024
american, other, uses, disambiguation, life, nationalist, ethos, that, adheres, principle, life, liberty, pursuit, happiness, center, belief, american, dream, that, claimed, achievable, american, through, hard, work, this, concept, intertwined, with, concept, . For other uses see American way disambiguation The American way of life or the American way is the U S nationalist ethos that adheres to the principle of life liberty and the pursuit of happiness At the center of the American way is the belief in an American Dream that is claimed to be achievable by any American through hard work This concept is intertwined with the concept of American exceptionalism the belief in the unique culture of the nation Margaret Bourke White s famous 1937 photograph of Ohio River flood victims in front of a billboard promoting the American way as providing the world s highest standard of living 1 Contents 1 Definition 2 See also 3 Sources 4 ReferencesDefinition edit nbsp A World War II era American propaganda poster citing the American way as the source of American effectiveness in the war American writer and intellectual William Herberg offers the following definition of the American way of life 2 The American Way of life is individualistic dynamic and pragmatic It affirms the supreme value and dignity of the individual it stresses incessant activity on his part for he is never to rest but is always to be striving to get ahead it defines an ethic of self reliance merit and character and judges by achievement deeds not creeds are what count The American Way of Life is humanitarian forward looking optimistic Americans are easily the most generous and philanthropic people in the world in terms of their ready and unstinting response to suffering anywhere on the globe The American believes in progress in self improvement and quite fanatically in education But above all the American is idealistic Americans cannot go on making money or achieving worldly success simply on its own merits such materialistic things must in the American mind be justified in higher terms in terms of service or stewardship or general welfare And because they are so idealistic Americans tend to be moralistic they are inclined to see all issues as plain and simple black and white issues of morality William Herberg Protestant Catholic Jew An Essay in American Religious Sociology 1955 Further information individualism dignity humanitarianism philanthropism self improvement economic materialism general welfare moralism and black and white thinking One commentator notes The first half of Herberg s statement still holds true nearly half a century after he first formulated it even though Herberg s latter claims have been severely if not completely undermined materialism no longer needs to be justified in high sounding terms 3 In the National Archives and Records Administration s 1999 Annual Report National Archivist John W Carlin writes We are different because our government and our way of life are not based on the divine right of kings the hereditary privileges of elites or the enforcement of deference to dictators They are based on pieces of paper the Charters of Freedom the Declaration that asserted our independence the Constitution that created our government and the Bill of Rights that established our liberties 4 See also editAmerican nationalism American Revolution American System economic plan American Theocracy American imperialism Americanism ideology Culture of the United States People for the American Way Inventing the American Way Protestant work ethicSources editHerberg William 1955 Protestant Catholic Jew an Essay in American religious sociology University of Chicago Press William HerbergReferences edit The American Way of Life Museum of Fine Arts Boston Photograph gelatin silver print n 1973 195 Herberg 1955 p 79 Wood Ralph C 2004 Flannery O Connor and the Christ haunted South Wm B Eerdmans Publishing p 21 The National Archives and Records Administration Annual Report 1999 U S National Archives and Records Administration August 15 2016 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title American way amp oldid 1213127958, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
