The Values Americans Live By

In class we read an article, "The Values Americans Live By". It discussed 13 general values that Americans live by and described how each is an important part of our lives and our country, as a whole. The value I believe is the most important to our country is "competition". Our culture, unlike many other cultures in the world, stresses individuality to an extreme. Ever since Elementary school, our teachers have taught us competition and to do things all by ourselves. Stickers were rewarded to us for the best picture drawn in Kindergarten, candy rewarded to us for getting a "-0 wrong"on a spelling test in the second grade, and now we are rewarded with good grades when we study in high school. Some high schools post class ranking and some post the Honor Roll list out in the public, to glorify their best students. Students fill their schedules up with AP classes in order to obtain a stop in their favorite prestigious school and possibly become valedictorian of their graduating class. We go on, after graduating from school, to compete with each other for the best job. Even our entertainment stresses competition. "Celebrity Apprentice", "The Bachelor", "American Idol". These shows are flooded with the big picture and goal of winning, becoming the best, beating everyone else. This idea of rising to the top has been pushed on us for so long that, if someone asked me to define America, "competitive" would definitely be one of the first words to pop in my head.