With that out of the way, I want to name a few American lenses. The first lens is one of personal freedom. We LOVE freedom. A favorite refrain of my youth was "You're not the boss of me!" And in many ways, that refrain echoes through the American spirit. Sure, we recognize that we have to play by the rules. But in general, as Americans, we know that each individual has the freedom to choose their own destiny.
It is freedom that gives birth to the entrepreneurial spirit and fuels innovation. Our ability to challenge the status quo and ask the question "What if...?" brings ideas to life. Even from the founding of our country, the Bill of Rights outlines ways the government is limited from inhibiting our individual freedom.
The counter-balance to this freedom is personal responsibility. Without being responsible for ourselves, we run the danger of using our freedom in ways that can harm others. But I must admit, I've never heard America described as the "Land of the responsible."
A second American lens I see is our national pride. Americans are proud to be American. (News flash from the Department of Redundancy Department.) We love the democratic process, market capitalism (mostly), freedom, etc. Our pride in our home plays out state by state. (Just ask a Texan which state is the best.) We even wonder why other people wouldn't want to live here.
The funny thing about this national pride is that it is common to people of all nationalities. I went to college with a young man from Ghana who was convinced it was the best place on the planet. During the health care debate, my Canadian friend couldn't understand why some Americans wouldn't want their same type of coverage. When I visited Haiti earlier this year I met people who absolutely loved being Haitian, even in the midst of a country still decimated from a tremendous earthquake.
An interesting side effect of our national pride, coupled with our international power and influence, plays out as we try to spread the American ideal to other nations. We like the idea of democracy taking hold in the Middle East, capitalism empowering Africa and freedom opening up Asia. This is all done with the assumption that the change we desire would make life better in these other countries. Understanding the universal nature of national pride, sometimes we run the risk of pushing change that they aren't asking for.
I'll tackle other aspects of American lenses later, but I wanted to start with our individual freedom and national pride. How do you see these playing out in your life and interactions with others? How do these lenses color your understanding of life, culture, etc.? (Sorry to my friends outside the states, but you can contribute with your observations about America and how they compare with your home.)
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