Americans as of Today

When asking my friend Lizzie why she wants to move from Australia to the United States, all she could say was that she was looking for adventure, and that she was tired of the same old thing. She had never been in a situation where she really had to fend for herself, and being only nineteen, it's to be expected. Some immigrants come to this land far from their home because even the poorest American has far more material wealth than those that live where they come from. Also, the United States has a lot of incentive and social programs designed to assist economically challenged individuals in establishing themselves that they would qualify for simply by just being a legal immigrant. They would have access to programs that would better their future, and that of their offspring. For them, this is truly the “land of opportunity”.



Alexis de Tocqueville, famed French historian and political scientist, observed in his book, De la Democratie en Amerique, that the American people, despite their overwhelming prosperity, “...seemed to me as if a cloud habitually hung upon their brow, and I thought them serious and almost sad, even in their pleasures.” [page 424] He goes on to speculate about the reason why, listing off several factors that struck him as unique in the American mindset, which they “are forever brooding over advantages they do not possess. It is strange to see with what feverish ardor the Americans pursue their own welfare, and to watch the vague dread that constantly torments them lest they should not have chosen the shortest path which may lead to it.” [page 424]

Even today, Americans are a driven people. The United States Constitution, as written by Thomas Jefferson, clearly states: “We hold these Truths to be self-evident, that all Men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness--” In the last 233 years, these unalienable Rights have become a modern day mantra for the purpose of living in the United States. We must live fully, express ourselves openly, and chase that concept of happiness, even though most Americans seem to have no idea what exactly it would take to give them this experience, or have such an unrealistic ideal of what it means that they cannot achieve it, except in fleeting moments that cannot be sustained.

Sadly, Americans are often distracted by the pursuit of the things that they want. They pursue the elusive dream like starving bloodhounds hot on the trail of their prey-- to just get that one more thing... something different... better... than they currently have-- maybe it's a white picket fence around a piece of property, a fancy car, a summer home, a cabin cruiser, or that massive home entertainment system. That's something we all can agree upon without too much dissent, this obsessing over the material. Our entire market, nay, our entire way of life, is dependent upon this capitalistic Darwinism, Wall Street assures us, although in the current economic times it appears more akin to capitalistic cannibalism. I believe, however, that there's more to being an American than how much we're consuming, despite what our culture is trained to do. I wouldn't say a good amount, or even a close majority, but there are Americans who have chosen to live differently. There are Americans that want to pursue what they consider the best quality of life, unrelated to the mass consumer mentality. Not just your organic health nut granola chewing hippies in Birkenstocks, but some religious “colonies”, for lack of a better word, such as the Amish, who also believe in only using what resources that they have available to them within their closed communities. Granted, some of these groups are opportunistic cults lead by charismatic heads who would wish to exploit those who seek this more humble path, but many are valid in their proclaimed ideals, such as artistic communes, and have proven them quite self-sufficient.

Then there is the other side of the coin, those who define themselves by their material wealth and possessions, and those who dream of these things but too often have no desire to do the hard work to achieve them, preferring instead to invest in the trivial material assets, the “toys”. These slothful dreamers are only a small piece of the United States, but they fuel the consumer feeding frenzy like no other segment, with an insatiable appetite for the widgets, the gadgets, the doo-dads, and the disposable.

These Americans cling to objects instead of the moment. In some sense, they are the sum of their accumulations. The old adage, “You are what you eat”, takes on a new meaning with their consumption of trinkets and goods. These Americans always strive for the newest model and the latest and best technology. Every time a new instrument, whether it is a TV, computer, mobile device, or even something as trivial as an I-Pod, they just have to own it. I once knew a man who would update everything he owned at least once a month, and when he came to visit--- he would show it off to you. The last time I heard from him he was trying to show off his fancy new television remote, of all things. The mentality of these kinds of people is much like certain breeds of penguins, if you think about it. These penguins build up piles of rocks, and those with the highest rock towers get the first pick of mates. With these Americans, the newest thing is that which gets the attention. They never stop to actually enjoy the things they possess. “He clutches everything, he holds nothing fast, but soon loosens his grasp to pursue fresh gratifications.” [page 424]

  Then there are those Americans who define themselves by their occupation. It's not about what they have, but what they do that matters to them. I know several people who are attending Berkshire Community College in Pittsfield, Massachusetts to become nurses, and I know of many who express their desire to become a nurse, and yet won't take the initiative to go and get it, or who go for it, but give up when it gets hard. Some of them just can't handle the pressure of going to school, for others the reality of the work involved eclipses the fantasy and proves too much for their level of dedication. To some, the length of time it takes to achieve their goal exceeds their commitment. “It may readily be conceived that if men passionately bent upon physical gratifications desire eagerly, they are also easily discouraged; as their ultimate object is to enjoy, the means to reach that object must be prompt and easy or the trouble of acquiring the gratification would be greater than the gratification itself.” de Tocqueville notes, “Death is often less dreaded by them than perseverance in continuous efforts to one end.” [page 425]

I would agree that there are those who just want it, to be a nurse, a doctor, a lawyer, a politician, an actor, simply because of the idea of it. It becomes a status symbol to be paraded, much like the trinket-bearers with their shiny objects of impracticality, a badge to be proudly displayed for all to see.

“He who has set his heart exclusively upon the pursuit of worldly welfare is always in a hurry, for he has but a limited time at his disposal to reach, to grasp, and to enjoy it.” [page 424] So, how does Alexis de Tocqueville account for this compulsion for Americans to pursue their happiness so fervently and yet without satisfaction? “When all the privileges of birth and fortune are abolished, when all the professions are accessible to all, and a man's own energies may place him at the top of any one of them, an easy and unbounded career seems to open his ambition and he will readily persuade himself that he is born to no common destinies.” [page 425]

It is that mantra that our founding fathers swore as unalienable Rights, as self-evident Truths, our equality and our liberty, that grants us the freedoms to seek out our lives as we see fit, and to create the illusion that the obstacles that might face those in less resourceful places and circumstances do not stand in our way, so long as our will be true to our cause, whatever that may be. As it was then, in 1835, when he published his observations, the majority of de Tocqueville's keen insights still hold true to this day, although certain economic traits have skewed the more open playing field of his time. For example, in 1815, 60% of Americans in the North were self-employed, small time business owners plying a trade, while in 1993, 92.4% of Americans are employed by the remaining 7.6%. It is now much more difficult for the small business man to survive, much less succeed, in this post-industrial society. So, despite our delusions of finding the path of least resistance to our desires, “that strange melancholy” [page 426] seems to be the price for our democratic ideology.


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Works cited:

de Tocqueville, Alexis “Why Americans Are So Restless In The Midst Of Their Prosperity”
The Blair Reader. Ed. Laurie G. Kirsner and Stephen R. Mandell. 4th Edition.
Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Pearson/Prentice Hall 2004. 423-426

Jefferson, Thomas “The United States Constitution”
1776

Montgomery, David
Beyond Equality; Labor and the Radical Republicans, 1862-1872. 1st Edition.
New York, New York: Knopf 1967.

http://people.cohums.ohio-state.edu/roth5/history%20151%20honors/history%20151%20handouts/statistics%204.pdf

Encyclopedia of Small Business, by The Gale Group, Inc.
http://www.answers.com/topic/self-employment