Through the several interviews I have had about the American way of life, many of the responses were negative. Regardless of the person’s background, majority of them would have a negative tone. Even so, it appears that there were differences in responses. And it depended on how that individual viewed themselves.
Judging on how they spoke of Americans, it was clear how they saw of themselves. There were primarily two groups of people; those who referred to Americans as “we” or “us” and those who called Americans “they.” People who used the terms “we” or “us” were generally those who had tiny and specific things to say about the AWOL. Those people have a first person perspective, therefore were talking about specific activities that are done in America and called those activities the AWOL. When I interviewed my cousin, he described the AWOL as “not a very productive way of life.” He admitted that he played video games and many other non-productive activities. He also added that “we are able to enjoy life in America.” A woman who seemed middle class had a similar response. She said “here in America, we can do whatever we want and that causes for us to not make such good use of our time…Although we waste our time, people here seem to be a lot happier than any other people outside of America.” Both these people lived through the AWOL first hand and were able to point out specifically why this way of life was “not very productive.” But since they live the AWOL (or at least see themselves as living the AWOL), they had some very positive things to say about it. It almost seem as though they did not want their way of living to appear to be all bad. If the person classified themselves as Americans, they would have more positive things to saw about the AWOL, but still openly admit the flaws of it.
The “non-Americans” are not necessarily immigrants, but they are those who do not believe they fit their definition of AWOL or those who try to distant themselves from it. Both groups of people believe that there are positives and negatives found in the AWOL. When my parents were asked about the AWOL, they said “Americans do too many unnecessary things.” Similarly, a male teenager said that the definition of the AWOL was consumption, “Americans are taking up too much of everything that is not necessary.” Both my parents and this teenager have the same perspective. Even though my parents are first generation immigrants and the teenager is a second generation immigrant, both of them try to distant their ways of life from the AWOL. Besides having similar views of the negative aspects of the AWOL, they also have similar positive aspects of it. While my parents talked about the environment, the education, the benefits and the opportunities, the teenager said “The good aspect of the AWOL is that everyone achieves their end ‘goals.’” They both agree on the opportunities that are provided in America.
On the topic of the AWOL, I also interviewed some of my relatives about the the U.S. government. I asked about capitalism and democracy, and whether or not America truly followed those two ideas. Based on my interviews, it seems that ideally these two systems would be mostly good. When I interviewed my older cousin, she stated that both of these allow “people to have equal chances of making money” and “the people can actually express their opinion and have an input on how to benefit their way of living.” Besides showing her view of the two systems, it demonstrates a person living “outside” the AWOL see the AWOL as “equal chances,” being that she referred to Americans as “they.” Out of all the interviewees, no one referred to America as “we” when the topic of government was brought up, which indicates that everyone is somewhat ashamed for the government here in America. Majority of the people believe that capitalism and democracy are both ideally good, but as my cousin said, “America likes to think they’re capitalist and run by true democracy but they’re not.” Most people would agree with this, and that is why some many people try to distant themselves from “Americans” when it comes to the government. Generally speaking, when the topic of U.S. government is brought up, there is one common response: capitalism gives the people equal opportunities to get rich and democracy gives the people a voice, but these do not apply in America.
As shown in these numerous interviews, the responses of each individual can be determined by their reference of Americans. Almost everyone would agree on the flaws of the AWOL, which is the lack of productivity. But when it came to the positive aspects of the AWOL, the responses could be divided into two groups. The people who saw themselves as Americans talked about happiness and enjoying their own way of life. For the people that did not believe they followed the AWOL, they saw positive side of the AWOL as being the governmental benefits and the given opportunities. The difference in optimistic views of two groups of people about the AWOL almost defines the AWOL itself. It appears that the AWOL would be life of the people who see life as an enjoyable experience, which was the typical response of the “Americans.” And for those people, the government was about “expressing their opinions,” which is also not a necessity but more of a privilege. The responses of those who do not follow the AWOL show that America is a place for opportunities and its government was present for that purpose, but having the opportunities was a different story and not a part of the American way of life.
The AWOL does not only exist because of what it has become. Our way of life now still includes parts of the most fundamental building block of this country: the Constitution of the United States of American. It is one document that helped shape this country and the AWOL. One part of the Constitution is the "Full Faith & Credit" provision,which states that any laws written in a certain state has to be respected by all the other states. So if a gay couple gets married in a certain state, they will remain married even if they move to a different state. This provision has the potential to legalize gay marriage throughout the whole America, even if just one state allows gay marriages. Any gay couple can go to that one state to get married and then return to their home state.
The Supreme Law of the Land is just another name for the Constitution. It is referring to all the laws that everyone in the United States have to follow. In Article 6, Section 3 it states that "no religious test" is required. I believe that the significance of that is not to truly eliminate any sort of filtering in the government office because of one's religion. Instead I think it is used to promote a sense of equality. By including this "no religious test," it sends a message to the people, saying that everyone is welcomed and that no one will be discriminated based on their background (and this is true, but only to a certain extent). I think that this clause was written not to draw in people to create a diverse government but draw in the people and to gain their trust.
Our rights stated in the first 10 amendments do not come from the government or the Constitution itself. It is just our rights as humans. By existing, we are supposed to have the right to do whatever we want. Society and forms of government were just created to limit those rights. So even though, we are given this "freedom" in America, we are really just being less restricted.
These amendments are known to be major turning point in the US government policy because it created more possibilities for the people. Amendments 12-15 affected the whole voting system by changing the requirements for being an eligible voter. These changes made an impact on the presidents we have had throughout history. Every group of people have different desires, and by allowing those group of people to vote, there will be different outcomes of the presidential elections, as opposed to allowing one group of people vote. Amendments 12, 14 and 15 all contributed to the shape of our voting system and therefore affected the shape of our country as well.
The amendments did not only affected the US government, but it is also significant to the American lifestyle. Amendment 13 obviously plays a big role in shaping our country today as well. If slavery was not abolished, the mindset of an average American would change. We would not be the people who "believe" in equality. America would also be a lot more prejudice to certain races as well, rather than being the diverse country it is today. The significance of this amendment was not that slaves were freed (since the slaves were still at a dead end, even when they were "freed"). The significance of this amendment was that it gives people around the world the idea the America is absolutely a country of freedom and equality. After this message sent out there, America slowly became what it is today.
I believe that it does not guarantee that vision, but it does help promote it. Regardless of what the Constitution or Amendments say, there will always be some sort of judgment based on religion and race. People will have their own thoughts and there wouldn't be a single law that can prevent discrimination. However I do think that the two laws combined is helpful in creating a more diverse and equitable society, but then again if a society is to be filled with people that are truly accepting there wouldn't be laws that addresses the diversity of religion or race.
Out of all the amendments between Amendment 11-27, I think that the 13th Amendment was the most powerful and changed America the most. As I mentioned before, abolishing slavery caused America to become more diverse and welcome more people of different races. But in addition, by ending slavery it also changed the economic system in America as well. If there was still slavery today, the gap between the rich and the poor would be even greater, due to the free labor. Ending slavery prevented this economical difference. The other amendment were significant but Amendment 13 was able to shape the economy that we have today and the mindset of Americans.
In addition to interviews of everyday Americans and the Constitution, there are also many various American holidays that reveal to us what the AWOL really is. And Thanksgivings is included as one of the many. During this Thanksgiving vacation I did not do much, since Chinese families do not celebrate this holiday (at least not my family). I think that is mainly because it's more like an American holiday and because there isn't any real meaning to Thanksgiving. Most people say that Thanksgiving is a holiday to be thankful for what you have. But I do not know why you would need a holiday for that, and neither does my family. This holiday reveals that the American Way of Life requires some sort of reason or reward for doing anything. In this case, you would need a feast in order to appreciate the people and life that you have. The economic system and the lifestyle in America ties together almost perfectly: give in order to get. In America, it is a rare to have people doing something for the sake of doing it. There has to be some sort of self-satisfaction, whether it in shape of a gift, money, return-service, tax-reduction, etc.
As part of Thanksgiving, Black Friday is a very big event where every store in America has sales, but it is also an opportunity for us to understand our AWOL. Everyone starts camping out in front of the stores days in advance. Every year, Black Friday continues to reveal and emphasize on the greed of Americans. People would do anything to save a couple of bucks (which they're going to spend buying more stuff anyways). This year a man in Wal-Mart was trampled to death because people were rushing in the store. When there are sales that is the only thing that the people see. They do not notice the 6'5 man fall down and that they're walking all over him. It doesn't matter, as long as they get into the store the fastest. I think Black Friday takes off the good-guy mask off of everyone. The people are now willing to take that mask off because they are going to rewarded with a massive sale.
This incident showed us the lack of consideration found in the AWOL. Everyone in that Wal-Mart was so blinded by the deals and the opportunity to save a few bucks, that no one could take notice by the lump that they are running over. As a result, a man was killed by the greed of the people on Black Friday. When money is involved, another human being can be completely ignored and disregarded. Everyone there was just going with the flow, which is the AWOL but on a smaller scale. The people were just moving along with the drift and were following the overwhelming general movement. This also shows us that the image of Americans of being slackers is not completely true. Living the AWOL is about having ambition, but unfortunately it is for money. Americans' obsession for money, created by the AWOL, took away all consideration for the other human beings
While many people celebrate Thanksgivings during late November, there are some people who celebrate Buy Nothing Day. Other than being a holiday that I have never heard of until Wednesday's class, Buy Nothing Day is also an event where people buy absolutely nothing (as mentioned in the name). Honestly, I think it will not have much of an effect. I think that people in America are far too greedy to participate in such an event. First of all, not enough people will know or care about this since it will not appeal to their interest. As mentioned before, Americans require some sort of reward in order to even listen. Another thing is that this event is telling people to not buy anything on the greatest sale of every year. Maybe if it took place at another date, perhaps there will be a few more participants. And even if there were more people that actually bought nothing on Buy Nothing Day, I still do not think it will help much. Eventually people will buy what they want and need regardless. Buy Nothing Day is just delaying the time that they buy it and increasing the amount of money they pay for it.
The following holiday as part of the holiday season is Christmas. Although it is not celebrated in my family, I have noticed that Christmas ritual is almost a reflection of the AWOL. During the holidays, gifts are exchanged throughout America. This contributes to my previous statement about the AWOL on the eBay blog. Most Americans expect to receive gifts from their friends and family. The person receiving the present(s)does not earn the gifts and has not done anything to deserve the present. Through this one aspect of Christmas, the AWOL is being rewarded and wanting to be rewarded for absolutely nothing. Most people would disagree with this and instead say that presents are given because of the holiday spirit. This also demonstrates that the AWOL is filled with lies. People often fool the people around them and themselves in order to have a reasoning for doing what they do and to feel good about it.
The holidays revealed to us that reasoning plays a big role in the AWOL. As mentioned before, it makes the Americans have a sense of satisfication in their actions. In addition, it also takes away some duties from the Americans. During the holidays, people have a reason to gather with their families, exchange gifts, etc. It's almost as though the holidays and the family gatherings require each other. So without the holiday occasion, there is no need to spend time with your family and to show appreciation for each other (through materialistic goods). If there is no obligation for a specific action, it is very typical in the AWOL that it will not happen. Even though it appears that Americans require justification for everything we do, it is not always the case. While we do need a reason to: go to school, do our homework, go to work, take care of our family, etc., we do not need/know the reason why we: play video games, watch t.v., etc. It almost seems like in the AWOL, things that are considered as our obligations we require a purpose of fulfilling it, but when it comes to something that is almost trivial, we make it our top priority without any sort of reason.
Being a person who lives in America, it is expected that we have a new leader every 4-8 years. And being that today is January 20, 2009 means that it is Inauguration Day and is the end of one leadership (Bush's, if you didn't know)and beginning of another (Obama's, if you didn't know). As part of his speech for his inauguration, Obama said: “We will not apologise for our way of life, nor will we waver in its defence, and for those who seek to advance their aims by inducing terror and slaughtering innocents, we say to you now that our spirit is stronger and cannot be broken; you cannot outlast us, and we will defeat you.” This particular moment and reaction displayed a very important aspect of the American way of life, which is that we take any sense of accomplishment and ignore everything else. When something happens in our favor, we tend to focus mainly on that rather than seeking for errors and possible improvements. In this case, the American people were so blinded by the, yet to happen triumph over others who attempts to break our spirit, that no one appeared to notice the contradiction in Obama’s speech. In his speech, Obama says “We will not apologise for our way of life, nor will we waver in its defence,” which goes against his whole slogan about “Hope and Change.” Change is in fact a form of apologizing, when it happens to something internal such as a way of life. Changing our way of life admits that our former way of life has flaws. And to create a new approach of living would be to say that there is a better lifestyle that perhaps can be more effective. However Obama is now saying that we do not need to change or even defend our way of life. All the viewers took his words in as a sense of pride and victory, and ignored the imperfection of his speech. The response to this situation is just one example of the daily life of an American.
In order to understand the society that we live in, where competition plays an extremely big role, we were assigned to interact with eBay. During my experience on eBay, eBay revealed to me that people who live the AWOL kind of expects to get something, but without them having to put any effort into it. Within the eBay community there are two groups of people who demonstrate this: the buyers and eBay itself. In class, we were introduced to J-Bid, which is a program that many people use in order to win auctions on eBay. This program allows people to just place in their bids, and then at the last three seconds the program automatically bids for the user until the amount that they entered. J-Bid is one example of how Americans just sit there and wait til something great falls into their hands. Another example is the eBay company. As I mentioned before, eBay is earning money because they are simply the connection between the buyer and seller. By hosting a website where people can buy and sell things online, they are gaining money. The company isn't really doing much work in order to earn that money. Both scenarios show that the AWOL is filled with expected, but undeserved wealth. Through eBay and capitalism we can see a clear imbalance in the value of each person's work.
