Bai 3:Belief and value

Why immigrants are
attracted to the US?
-Land
-Resources
-Beliefs & Values
I. American Dream
& Traditional
Beliefs
Pham Phuong Hoa
Country studies division
What was their dream
when they sailed to
America
2. American beliefs
2. American beliefs
Progress / Keep moving
•
The desire to progress by making use of
opportunities
•
Reflected in family saga

First generation

Second generation

Third generation….
2. American beliefs
Practicality

Where did it come from?
•
Survival experiences => idealize whatever is
practical
•
What works is what counts
e.g. First west-ward explorers did not know
farming or construction but trusted in their
inventiveness!
e.g. Great number of do-it-yourself books, self-
service
=> quick, practical
2. American beliefs
Volunteerism in Community &
Political life
•
Vietnam: Volunteer = Government
•
US?
•
US:

people helping people through private
rather than government sponsored
agencies

Unpaid, highly motivated people,
organize themselves to solve a
community problem/meet a social
need rather than waiting for the

government

6/10: volunteer (pride)
2. American beliefs
Psychology of abundance
•
Historically: Us has been regarded as a land
of limitless wealth

East: fertile, cheap land for everyone
=> exhausted, abandoned

West: farmer, hunters, fur trappers,
gold miners, cattle ranchers
⇒
Buffalo almost extinct, forests cut &
burnt, polluted rivers
⇒
Changing attitudes & adopt new
values though hard to acknowledge
2. American beliefs
Mobility
•
Go where resources are
⇒
Keep moving & make a fresh start
•
Mobility:

NOT aimless, with optimism (better

life, warmer climate)

Take for granted: 4-5 cities / life

Buy house:

Not necessarily well-designed

high reselling value (practicality)

Does not immobilize them (lessen their
chance for moving for a better life)
Mobility - Homogeneity
•
Very diverse geography & Culture
•
People keep moving from one place to
another => mutual exchange
=> Cultural differences still exist from region to
region but are becoming increasing less
distinct
Basic traditional American values
1. Individual Freedom
2. Self-Reliance
3. Equality of Opportunity
4. Equality of Competition
5. Material Wealth
6. Hard Work
2. American beliefs
Patriotism

•
Mobility => little attachment to a place =>
national pride > regional pride
•
Flag: National flag more common than state’s
flag.
•
Patriotism

Other nations: place, landscape,
rivers, forests, etc. (geographical)

US: freedom inspired the nation’s
start (historic event)
Basic traditional American values
1. Individual Freedom
2. Self-Reliance
3. Equality of Opportunity
4. Equality of Competition
5. Material Wealth
6. Hard Work
Rights vs. Duties
What do American mean by
Individual Freedom?
•
All people are free
•
Church and state were separated
•

Titles of nobility were forbidden
•
Climate of freedom
•
Emphasis on the individual
The most
basic
Desire and ability of all individuals to
control their own destiny
Attracts immigrants
Freedom in reality?
NOT always corresponded to reality
•
Black slavery (until Civil War)
•
Religions
•
Race
•
Sex
•
Age
Discrimination
– some groups,
individuals are
not as free as
others
Self-Reliance
Must learn to rely on themselves
risk losing freedom, or

respects of the peers
Financial and emotional independence
from the parents by 18 or 21
The
traditional
basic
Most
difficult to
understand
•
If not truly self-reliant, they
must at least appear to be so
•
Receiving financial support from
charity, family or government is
never admired