One of the most misunderstood attribute of American excellence is our virtue of "independence."
Most people misunderstand what we mean by this, thinking it must refer to each *individual* acting in their own accord, but this is very, very wrong.
When my ancestors crossed the plains to settle virgin ground (really, land that the Indians abandoned due to their population getting wiped out by disease), they traveled in groups.
The FUNDAMENTAL GROUP of American society is the FAMILY. By this we mean a mother and a father and their children. However, extended family is also vitally important.
FAMILIES survive together, not individuals. Sure, there were trappers and mountain men who lived apart and individually, but for every one of those you know of, hundreds ended up dead in the woods for one reason or the other. Keep in mind, these men were outcasts and genuinely alone in this world, with no family or friends to keep them company or to keep them back from exploring the wilderness on their own. Although we relied on the information they brought back, and in many cases, we owe our lives to them teaching us vital survival skills, ultimately they are not what we mean by independence.
Families come together into communities. Self-governing bodies where no family dominates the other. If you're not familiar with Locke or parliamentary procedure, you don't know how we could organize ourselves without a leader. I won't try to explain, except to say that any white American who doesn't know what "parliamentary procedure" is needs to get a copy of the condensed "Roberts Rules of Order" and learn the basics for themselves. It will help you quickly organize any group of people who have come together for any reason.
Families are strong, and communities can be even stronger, as long as people put in more than they take out. It was expected that the community would care for the poor and such, with the intention of having families support themselves and contribute back. We don't help each other looking for some kind of reward or repayment, we just do it because "it's the right thing to do."
These concepts are literally all we had to colonize the west. Families organized into companies and traveled together. They elected a leader and they pooled their resources democratically. They sacrificed for each other and put more in than they took out of the community pot. They knew that this was the only way to survive, that any behavior less than this would lead to their suffering and eventually death.
When we read about people's perverse ideas about individualism or independence, how they treat it like a license to act like a jerk, to hurt others, or to put your own desires above the desires of others, we just shake our heads and agree that such behavior is not acceptable in civilized society.
When we encounter people who do this, we have a mechanism to protect the bunch from the rotten apples. Living in a small community, I am now "in" and people are telling me who to trust and who not to trust. I am doing my own best to determine whether the people whispering in my ear are trustworthy themselves. But ultimately, I know that if I am not putting more out and helping my neighbors more than I am being helped, it will all be for naught. And those who do put themselves out there are entitled to special privileges. You can bet dollars to donuts if times get tough for them I'll be digging deep in my own pockets to find something to offer them.
THIS is what we mean by the spirit of independence. We don't rely on the whole body. We don't rely on each other, really. We act in a way where we are fully aware that our behavior is directly linked to the survival of our group.
Are Americans unique in this attribute? Probably not. But I daresay, especially in rural USA, that this is the predominant value that we all hold on to.
Most people misunderstand what we mean by this, thinking it must refer to each *individual* acting in their own accord, but this is very, very wrong.
When my ancestors crossed the plains to settle virgin ground (really, land that the Indians abandoned due to their population getting wiped out by disease), they traveled in groups.
The FUNDAMENTAL GROUP of American society is the FAMILY. By this we mean a mother and a father and their children. However, extended family is also vitally important.
FAMILIES survive together, not individuals. Sure, there were trappers and mountain men who lived apart and individually, but for every one of those you know of, hundreds ended up dead in the woods for one reason or the other. Keep in mind, these men were outcasts and genuinely alone in this world, with no family or friends to keep them company or to keep them back from exploring the wilderness on their own. Although we relied on the information they brought back, and in many cases, we owe our lives to them teaching us vital survival skills, ultimately they are not what we mean by independence.
Families come together into communities. Self-governing bodies where no family dominates the other. If you're not familiar with Locke or parliamentary procedure, you don't know how we could organize ourselves without a leader. I won't try to explain, except to say that any white American who doesn't know what "parliamentary procedure" is needs to get a copy of the condensed "Roberts Rules of Order" and learn the basics for themselves. It will help you quickly organize any group of people who have come together for any reason.
Families are strong, and communities can be even stronger, as long as people put in more than they take out. It was expected that the community would care for the poor and such, with the intention of having families support themselves and contribute back. We don't help each other looking for some kind of reward or repayment, we just do it because "it's the right thing to do."
These concepts are literally all we had to colonize the west. Families organized into companies and traveled together. They elected a leader and they pooled their resources democratically. They sacrificed for each other and put more in than they took out of the community pot. They knew that this was the only way to survive, that any behavior less than this would lead to their suffering and eventually death.
When we read about people's perverse ideas about individualism or independence, how they treat it like a license to act like a jerk, to hurt others, or to put your own desires above the desires of others, we just shake our heads and agree that such behavior is not acceptable in civilized society.
When we encounter people who do this, we have a mechanism to protect the bunch from the rotten apples. Living in a small community, I am now "in" and people are telling me who to trust and who not to trust. I am doing my own best to determine whether the people whispering in my ear are trustworthy themselves. But ultimately, I know that if I am not putting more out and helping my neighbors more than I am being helped, it will all be for naught. And those who do put themselves out there are entitled to special privileges. You can bet dollars to donuts if times get tough for them I'll be digging deep in my own pockets to find something to offer them.
THIS is what we mean by the spirit of independence. We don't rely on the whole body. We don't rely on each other, really. We act in a way where we are fully aware that our behavior is directly linked to the survival of our group.
Are Americans unique in this attribute? Probably not. But I daresay, especially in rural USA, that this is the predominant value that we all hold on to.