In thinking about an aspect of U.S culture, one of the first words that came to my head was money. In many ways, U.S culture has placed value on having and making money. Due to this, our culture has encouraged habits, attitudes, and behaviors that revolve towards making money and acquiring more things. Money is a leading aspect of our culture as it allows security in having one’s basic needs met. Money is used to feed families, pay hospital bills, buy houses, acquire running water and plumbing, etc. Due to this grasp on society, money plays an important motivator among people in our society as it promotes a better quality of life.
In considering my perspective about money being a value within U.S culture, I think in many ways it has disrupted community values and created more selfish or individual attitudes. One can see this when examining the massive economic divide among social classes in the United States. The riches people in our country hold a significant portion of the wealth leaving less distribution of money to the middle and lower class. One can also associate those selfish attitudes (that are given to people with lots of money) with the current climate crisis that we are facing. CEOs and shareholders of massive corporations are purposefully polluting our Earth by pushing consumerism and waste rather than working towards downsizing. It is that attitude of making more money that can be associated with selfishness and a lack of community value. The relationship between money and individualism within our society can be seen as poor people becoming poorer being a by-product of rich people working to make more money. If it were my choice, I would wish that there could be less of an emphasis on our general population’s attitude towards making money. Community values allow for growth and collaboration which are both necessary attitudes when approaching the issues in U.S culture.
I think someone from an outside culture would likely think that money could be one of the root causes of the massive divide, conflict, and inequality that occurs within the United States. Depending on where they are coming from, I could also see someone arguing the importance of money in also fueling community growth. I think one of the main ideas about money that can come from a different culture is a proper system of distribution. It’s closing the economic gap among the population and working towards everyone in that culture being able to simply meet basic human rights requirements. In looking at the social determinants of health, money plays a role in what access people can have based on their economic status. If everyone can achieve a healthy lifestyle through access to resources and services, the productivity of the population will increase. This encourages greater economic distribution and allows members of that community to have a better quality of life. I also recognize that everyone values money differently, however, I do think that the perspective I offered is one of many potential perspectives from outside a U.S lens.
I think this exercise has helped prepared me for my time abroad by allowing me time to consciously reflect on my perception of U.S culture. This is helpful because it allows me to become more self-aware of the values and customs that I am bringing to the place where I will be studying abroad. I also think it was valuable to think about the potential perspectives of the culture that we are entering. It’s important to acknowledge similarities and differences to be able to practice open-mindedness and cultural awareness.