Summary and Response on Growing Up in America

Amanda Stivala report card 1030-72 Summary and Response 9/24/12 Growing up in the States one doesnt authentically question our springer or the daily lives of the people here. Everyone kind of has a precedent for our popular live and no one sincerely tries to break the mold on that. Poranee Natadecha- Sonsel argues that the Statesns be strange many some(prenominal) other countries because they thrust a authentic individualism close to anything they do in their culture.In her article, The Young, the Rich, and the Famous Individualism as American Cultural Value, the precedent reiterates over and over once again that the way Americans value their individualism receivedly impresses her. She names a some illustrations of American individualism such as conversational topics, privacy, and family life. Ms. Sponsel further evaluates distri exceptively subtopic thus shedding more light on her argument. One of the authors many arguments about American individualism is how the y converse with other people.Associated essay On CompassionShe notes that when asked the time old question of, How ar you? , Americans most of the time have one fructify response however and dont reveal much information about how they really are that day. Ms. Sponsel seems taken back by how Americans dont really appear to tutorship about how the other person is feeling and incisively blurt out the automated response of, Im good, how are you? . She often references the customs of her culture back in Thailand and how very several(predicate) it is from American culture.She notes how open they are with everyone they talk to and pretty much ordinate their whole life story to everyone they meet. Americas individualism sets them apart from many other countries, not just Thailand and every country has their confess way of doing things. Ms. Sponsel is a well educated anthropologist, so it is her job to study a culture and watch how it operates which is wherefore Americas such indiv idual culture really shocks her. America has a culture unlike any other where privacy is a primary(prenominal) component. She emphasises that even from a unfledged age privacy is introduced into our lives.She points out that unlike other more traditional countries, America is one of the few countries where an sister is given their own room separate from their parents and are progressively taught to give-up the ghost independent emotionally and economically from their families. She once again references Thailand and their family cultures by byword that in Thai families all of the members of the family stick to holdher and take care of each other and the children of the family really arent given independency until they get married and move out.Ms. Sponsel tries to show the extreme differences between the two cultures to emphasize Americas individualism. In response to Ms. Sponsels article about American individualism, I do agree for the most part with that she has to indicate wh en she says that America is very different from the other cultures throughout the world quaintly the Thai culture she constantly compared America to. What she fails to recognize however, is that America is a heathen melting pot.Most Asiatic countries are homogenous and really oasist become integrated, so sure its easy to have one steady flow of the same culture there. However, in America we have so many different cultures so its really difficult to conform to one specific races cultural norms. Some of her sub arguments in relation to her main point are a little far fetched to me though.. One of Ms. Sponsels big field of study is that Americans are very private especially in the home and with their own families. I dont understand why she is stunned that American children are taught to become independent at such a young age.The younger you learn that, the better equipped you will be for the real world once you become an adult and then you wont have to rely on your parents to hel p you with everything. The Thai culture that Ms. Sponsel perpetually refers back to seems to not want their children to be independent at all, let alone leave the house and move out when they married adults. Americans have such a busy and fast paced life, being sheltered from that lineament of individualism would affect their lives in very negative ways.One really strand example of how her culture can show evidence of being protective of their children unlike Americans can be is, when Ms. Sponsel said that when she was working at an East-West summer camp one of the supervisors brought their 10 month old child and when the nestling tried to walk it fell right down. Naturally the baby started crying, but it wasnt the babys parents that went to go help the baby, it was all the Asian students. The parents knew that the baby would be fine so they left it alone and lastly he got up and started walking again.Its a perfect example of how Americans individualistic culture norms are jus t entirely opposite of other cultures, we know that one day that baby is acquittance to have to get up and get over it so why not start at a young age so they get used to it instead of coddling them like the Asian culture or any other culture different than our would have done. Overall, I do see some very valid points provided by Ms. Sponsel about Americans and their odd sense of individualism, but also on the contrary she does have some faults where she overlooks some key aspects in her argument.