American Core Values

American Core Values

“Idealistic people”; word that describes Americans. They establish principles for themselves, they firmly hold them because they believe they are the true, they are important, and desirable. Those ideals sometimes are not respected, however, Americans stick to them as basic beliefs which American Government founded and continues operating nowadays. In this paper, I will talk about some American core values such as: Liberty, Self-Government, Equality, and Individualism. More than studying or understanding the meaning of it, I would like to describe the main concept of the values and show how they are apply in real life scenarios in the American Society.

A journalist reveals corruption in one political party. Important leaders have been robbing money that donors contributed to the party campaign, the leaders used it to purchase things for themselves such as cars and yachts. The journalist publishes an article about the scandal and speaks about it on TV. The leaders lost their jobs and paid huge fines because an investigation was done and it shows that the leaders did exactly what the journalist said. The first core value is Liberty. Liberty is the value that declares that people is free to think, speak, listen, act, reflect, deliberate, declare, etc… The value respects the freedom and rights of others.

The second value is Equality. Equality is one of the most important principles. Equality represents that all people must be treated fairly and with dignity and be able to embrace opportunities for education, economic success, political involvement and have an enjoyable life. An example of Equality in action is: After a fight in the school playground between Asians and White scholars, an independent school limits the time that Asians involved in the fight can spend in the playground during lunch hour but does not impose a similar restriction on the White students. If ethnicity is one of the causes of the disadvantageous treatment of this group of pupils, this is likely to be direct racial discrimination and inequality.

Self-Government is another value. Self-Government is the core value that announces that citizens have an opinion and a right in how their government is working. The population is the primary source of the government’s authority, they have an active participation in political processes. The government exists because it has to promote citizens well-being. A young girl who has just turned 18 was excited to be able to vote on her first time in the upcoming elections. Extremely carefully, she studies the background and positions of each candidate, listens closely to debates, compares ideas, issues and other aspects. Sometime after the elections, she decided to remain informed about the plans of the government, sending them emails to express her opinion, ideas, and comments. This is Self-Government in action.

The next value is Individualism. Faithful to independence, self-sufficiency, private initiative and personal economic growth are some words that describe individualism. This value have to be in control in everyone’s lives and be able to make decision without unnecessary influence from the government or society. In a business that wants to promote individualism, managers allow employees to look after their own work to a high degree. They also give workers freedom to explore new ways of completing basic procedures or projects. Unless a worker presents a threat or otherwise is not performing up to the company's standards, she or he enjoys a high privacy level. Everyone gets a chance to voice individual opinions, and management does not necessarily discourage open debate. This is individualism in action.

The relationship among these values, the rights, principles and responsibilities creates the American Society. All of this create the American life, the belief that if people take responsibility for their lives and work hard, they will have the individual freedom to pursue their personal goals and a good opportunity to compete for success. These values are cultural not moral principles. They are the foundation or Americans democratic live and nation. These cultural values are what distinguish the country from all other. They are what make them “Americans.”