USA Culture Smart! PDF

 CULTURE SMART ! USA THE ESSENTIAL GUIDE TO CUSTOMS & CULTURE ALAN BEECHEY AND GINA TEAGUE  “The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes, but in having new eyes.” Adapted from Marcel Proust, Remembrance of Things Past....

 CULTURE SMART ! USA THE ESSENTIAL GUIDE TO CUSTOMS & CULTURE ALAN BEECHEY AND GINA TEAGUE  “The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes, but in having new eyes.” Adapted from Marcel Proust, Remembrance of Things Past. ISBN 978 1 78702 321 5 British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data A CIP catalogue entry for this book is available from the British Library First published in Great Britain by Kuperard, an imprint of Bravo Ltd 59 Hutton Grove, London N12 8DS Tel: +44 (0) 20 8446 2440 www.culturesmart.co.uk Inquiries: [email protected] Design Bobby Birchall Printed in Turkey The Culture Smart! series is continuing to expand. All Culture Smart! guides are available as e-books, and many as audio books. For further information and latest titles visit www.culturesmart.co.uk ABOUT THE AUTHORS ALAN BEECHEY gained an M.A. in Psychology at Oxford University before embarking on a career in business communications, which took him from his hometown of London to New York City. He has worked for one of the world’s largest banks, for leading human resources and communications consulting firms, and as an independent consultant. Now a dual citizen of the USA and the UK, he is also the author of the popular Oliver Swithin series of murder mysteries. GINA TEAGUE is a trainer and writer on cross- cultural management, international relocation, and global career development. A native of the United Kingdom, she has lived and worked in France, Spain, Brazil, the USA, and Australia. During her sixteen years in New York, Gina gained an M.A. in Organizational Psychology and an Ed.M. in Counseling Psychology from Columbia University, developed a successful intercultural consultancy, and has written extensively on expatriate adjustment and career management. CONTENTS Map of the USA 7 Introduction 8 Key Facts 10 1 LAND AND PEOPLE 13 Climate 14 Regions 15 A Nation of Immigrants 26 Government 29 The USA: A Brief History 34 Covid-19 in America 53 2 VALUES AND ATTITUDES 57 America—The Ideal 57 Equality of Opportunity 58 Individualism 59 Self-Reliance 60 That “Can Do” Spirit 61 Vox Populi 63 Egalitarianism 63 Work Ethic 64 Conservatism and Morality 66 Giving Back 67 Diversity 69 Patriotism 70 3 CUSTOMS AND TRADITIONS 73 Separation of Church and State 73 Hatched, Matched, and Dispatched 77 Holidays—What They Are and How Are They Celebrated 79 4 MAKING FRIENDS 89 Friendship, American Style 90 Getting to Know You 91  Greetings 93 Come on Over! 93 5 AT HOME 97 America’s Homes, Sweet Homes 97 The Blended Family 101 Growing Up in the USA 103 Education 107 The Daily Grind 111 6 TIME OUT 115 Vacations 116 Shop Till They Drop 116 How to Pay 118 Sports—Play Ball! 118 Eating Out 125 Culture 132 7 TRAVEL, HEALTH, AND SAFETY 145 Arrival 147 Hitting the Road 148 Road Sense 151 Taking Flight 152 Riding the Rails 154 Get on the Bus 155 Local Public Transportation 155 Where to Stay 156 Health 157 Safety and Security 158 Batten Down the Hatches 160 8 BUSINESS BRIEFING 163 Snapshot of the American Workplace 165 The Bottom Line 171 Management Style 172  If You’re Standing Still, You’re Moving Backward 173 Working as a Unit 173 Meetings 174 Presentations 175 Negotiations 176 Women in Business 178 Business Entertaining 179 9 COMMUNICATING 181 Linguistic Traditions 181 Communication Style 183 Body Language 188 Humor 189 The News Media 190 Keeping in Touch 191 Conclusion 194 Useful Apps 196 Further Reading 197 Index 198  CANADA Seattle Anchorage LAKE SUPERIOR Portland Billings LAKE HURON Boston ALASKA LAKE MICHIGAN Minneapolis NIAGARA FALLS Boise Detroit New York LAKE ERIE Chicago Philadelphia Omaha Cleveland MAP OF THE USA Salt Lake City Indianapolis Pittsburgh Washington D.C. San Francisco Denver St. Louis ATLANTIC Las Vegas Nashville Charlotte Los Angeles OCEAN Atlanta Charleston Dallas PACIFIC New Orleans OCEAN Houston San Antonio Miami GULF OF MEXICO Honolulu MEXICO CUBA 7 HAWAII INTRODUCTION In today’s global village, who can afford not to understand the United States of America, still the world’s biggest superpower, the largest economy by far, and, by many other standards, the world’s most influential nation? Many facets of American life have been eagerly embraced around the world. Yet the sense of “just like in the movies” familiarity that first-time visitors often feel can be misleading. Underneath the gleaming smile of popular culture lies a varied and complex society, brimming with contrasts and contradictions. Ostentatious wealth and consumption coexist with grinding poverty, time-worn towns with vibrant cities that scrape the sky. It’s a culture of go-getters, of high-tech, high achievers who invented the airplane, pioneered the Internet, put the first man on the Moon and now count Mars as their latest scientific sandbox. It’s also a spiritual and compassionate country with a devotion to church and charitable works. The sheer size and diversity of the USA can be overwhelming. How does one begin to understand a country that spans six time zones? Culture Smart! USA provides you with a cultural “road map” to help you navigate America’s human dimension. We take you on a tour of the core influences and unique ideals that have shaped American society. These deeply held values drive the behavior and attitudes you’ll encounter on Main Street and in today’s workplace. Ever a work in progress, the USA bears the 8 challenge of upholding its constitutional principles at home while fulfilling its responsibility as the world’s leading superpower overseas. On a lighter note, in these pages you will also get to know the Americans at work, at home, and at play. America has an openness and generosity of spirit to newcomers. Visitors will find a dynamic, adventurous, and warm people who will accept you on your own terms. There are few cultural faux pas that can get you into trouble in this relaxed and informal society. But don’t be lulled into a false sense of security. Americans hold an unshakable conviction that theirs is the best country in the world, and that while they may occasionally spare a nervous glance over their shoulder at the competition, their ultimate leadership is almost divinely assured. You’ll endear yourself to your hosts by being mindful of this deep pride and of their cherished ideals. Finally, a crucial disclaimer. In attempting to portray a nation of more than 330 million people, we can only use a very broad brush. An immigrant nation, spread across a continent that spans a sixth of the globe, newly carved from a thousand cultures, isn’t going to fit a single template. Generalization is unavoidable. The rule of thumb is: be informed about cultural norms, but be flexible in applying this knowledge. In other words, when you travel to the United States, make sure you pack an open mind. 9 Culture Smart! USA KEY FACTS Official Name United States of US or U.S. is a common America (USA) alternative. Population 333 million approx. The world’s third most populous country Area 3,794,100 sq. miles The USA also includes (9,826,719 sq km) various territories and which includes the 48 dependencies, including contiguous states and Puerto Rico, Guam, the capital district, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and the states of American Samoa, and Hawaii and Alaska the Northern Mariana Islands. Capital City Washington, D.C. D.C. stands for District of Columbia. Major Cities by New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Population Houston, Phoenix Terrain Mountains in the west, vast plain across central states, hills and low mountains in the east Climate Continental, with extremes of temperature and precipitation Currency US Dollar Language American English The USA has no “official” language, and many government and commercial services are also provided in Spanish and Chinese. Ethnic Makeup White or European 76.3%; Black or African-American 13.4%; Asian 5.9%; American Indian, Alaska Native, Native Hawaiian, and other Pacific Islander 1.5%; other or mixed 2.8%. Based on 2020 Census categories, 18.5% of the population is “Hispanic” or “Latino,” which is not a racial category. 10 Life Expectancy Total population 79; Male 76; Female 81 Age Structure 0–14 years 18.37%; 15–64 years 65%; 65 years or older 16.63% Religion Protestant (including Southern Baptist, Methodist, Lutheran, Presbyterian, and Episcopalian) 46.6%; Roman Catholic 20.8%; Mormon 1.6%; other Christian 1.7%; Jewish 1.9%; Buddhist 0.7%; Muslim 0.9%; Hindu 0.7%; other faiths 1.8%; atheist, agnostic, or none 22.8% Government Federal government of 50 states and the District of Columbia. The seat of government is Washington, D.C. The executive is headed by the president. The bicameral legislative body (Congress) comprises the Senate and the House of Representatives. Economy Free market economy for consumer goods and business services, with some government regulations. Resources Mineral, energy, and forest, including oil, coal, and gas. Telephone Country code: 1 To dial out for international calls: 011 Time Zones There are four times zones across the American continent. Alaska and Hawaii cover two more. Eastern: UTC minus 5 hours; Central: UTC minus 6 hours; Mountain: UTC minus 7 hours; Pacific: UTC minus 8 hours; Alaska: UTC minus 9 hours; Hawaii: UTC minus 11 hours Media The leading network There are more television channels than 15,500 FM and are ABC, CBS, Fox, AM radio stations, and NBC. and 1,260 daily newspapers. Spotify and Apple Music are the leading music streaming services. 11 12  CHAPTER ONE LAND & PEOPLE Fifty states make up the United States of America. The “lower forty-eight,” plus the District of Columbia—the 68 square miles (176 sq. km) around Washington, D.C., the nation’s capital—stretch from “sea to shining sea” in a central band across the North American continent, with Canada to the north and Mexico to the south. The other two stars on the national flag represent the states of Alaska, northwest of Canada, and Hawaii, situated in the Central Pacific, 2,500 miles (4,023 km) to the west of California. Other territories and dependencies include American Samoa, Guam, and the Northern Mariana Islands in the Pacific, and Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands in the Caribbean Sea. With a landmass of nearly 3.8 million square miles (9.8 million sq. km), America is the third-largest country in the world. It has a coast-to-coast span of some 2,700 miles (4,345 km) and is as geographically diverse as it is vast, encompassing mountain ranges and endless prairie, swampy wetlands, lush rain forests, shimmering deserts, and glacial lakes. The five Great Lakes that create 13 Culture Smart! USA vast inland seas on the border between the USA and Canada form the largest body of freshwater in the world. The Missouri–Mississippi River system is the longest in North America, giving two states their names. Immortalized in the nineteenth-century writings of Mark Twain, the Mississippi was at one time the country’s lifeline, connecting the upper Plains states and the South. There are 326 Indian reservations in the United States, governed by Native American tribal nations, covering about 2.3 percent of the country’s landmass. CLIMATE The range of altitudes together with the sheer size of the landmass produces great variations in temperature and precipitation. In a nation that is subarctic at its highest elevations and tropical at its southernmost points, temperatures can vary from below zero in the Great Lakes region to a balmy 80 degrees in Florida. On the same day! The continental climate of the central portion of the country produces extreme conditions throughout the year. Temperatures in the Great Plains state of North Dakota have ranged between a summer high record of 121°F (49°C) and a winter low of -60°F (-51°C). With no high elevations to protect it, the interior lowlands are at the mercy of both the warm southern Gulf Stream and blasts of arctic air from the north. At times, these incompatible weather systems collide violently. Displays of nature at her most ferocious can be witnessed in the form of blizzards, 14  Land and people hailstorms, tornadoes, and dust storms. Every year, with tragic consequences, the central plains between the Rockies and the Appalachians earn their nickname “Tornado Alley.” The western mountain states enjoy mild summers, but the higher elevations are blanketed in snow throughout the winter months. The low, desert areas of Arizona and New Mexico experience hot, dry air, although winters can be surprisingly cold. The coastal areas are more temperate, blocked from extending their moderate influence inland by the Appalachian Mountains in the east and the Pacific Coast ranges in the west. The Gulf Stream, a warm ocean current that flows from the Gulf of Mexico northeast across the Atlantic, produces hot, wet, energy-sapping conditions for Florida and the other Gulf Coast states. Temperatures are moderate year round on the Pacific Coast, although they start to dip as you venture northward into America’s wettest region. The Cascade Range acts as a climatic divide, with the lush western side receiving up to twenty times more precipitation than the dusty plains to their east. Rising temperatures and drought conditions have brought an increase in wildfires across the western half of the country, often sparked by lightning. REGIONS America’s malls and main streets may be taking on a uniform blandness, but there are still rich, diverse cultures 15 Culture Smart! USA to be found at the regional level. People express their regional identity in many ways, not least through the state motto on their license plates. New England (Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Rhode Island) For such a small region, New England has played a disproportionate role in the country’s political and cultural development. The town meetings held by church congregations to voice opinions and effect change on local issues, for example, provided the model for democratic popular government in America. The religious principles, political activism, and industriousness that shaped its history translate today into a culture characterized by community involvement and a strong work ethic. Many of the first European settlers were English Protestants, seeking religious freedom. The area was also a crucible for anticolonialist sentiment, providing the setting for the Boston Tea Party and many of the battles of the ensuing Revolutionary War. Family fortunes amassed in Boston through fishing and shipbuilding financed the Industrial Revolution in the nineteenth century. The region’s wealth established it as the intellectual and cultural center of the fledgling country. Today, New England’s whaling and manufacturing have been replaced by high-tech industries. However, its history is still evident through the Bostonian accent and the colonial-style houses and white-spired churches. The region is favored by tourists for its rugged coastline and 16  Boston city skyline, Massachusetts, New England. Cape Cod’s sandy beaches. Vermont’s Green Mountains are home to moose and black bear. The Middle Atlantic (New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, and Maryland) The Mid-Atlantic region has taken center stage for much of the nation’s historical and economic activity. Home to New York City’s Ellis Island, the point of entry for immigrants, the region was the original melting pot into which ambitious newcomers eagerly dived. Today, there are still eight times as many people per square mile in the Northeast than there are in the West. New England’s money may have financed the Industrial Revolution, but it was New Jersey and Pennsylvania’s manpower that stoked the chimneys. New York replaced Boston as the financial capital, and the “Big Apple’s” energy, pace, and intensity fuels and defines American capitalism. Historic 17 Spread over 1,317 square miles (3,411 sq. km), New York’s Central Park attracts an estimated 40 million visitors every year. Philadelphia—one of the eight cities to be declared the capital of the USA before Washington was purpose built— provided the backdrop for the Declaration of Independence (1776) and the drafting of the US Constitution. The original farmers and traders of the region were blessed with rich farmlands, vital waterways, and forests teeming with wildlife, timber, and mineral resources. Humanity has encroached on and altered this part of the American landscape more than any other, yet it retains a stunning array of scenic landscapes. The indented coastline has rolling sand dunes and bustling harbor resorts. The lowlands of the Atlantic coastal plain incorporate both the eastern corridor of major metropolises and gently undulating farmlands. Further inland, the plains bump up against New York’s Catskills and Pennsylvania’s Allegheny Mountains. These subsidiary ranges are part of the Appalachian Mountain range, which forms an almost unbroken spine running parallel to the East Coast from 18  Land and people northern Maine south to Georgia. The region’s waterways are no less impressive. While it may be surrounded by motels and commercial kitsch, the sheer power of Niagara Falls, one of the world’s seven natural wonders, is still breathtaking. The Midwest (Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, Wisconsin, Illinois, Minnesota, Iowa, parts of Missouri, North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, and Eastern Colorado) An agricultural powerhouse of patchwork farms giving way to rolling wheat fields, the northeast corner of America’s vast interior plain has long been regarded as the breadbasket of the United States. The rich soil and the landscapes first beckoned European immigrants to farm the interior plains of America. Illinois, home to the third- largest city, Chicago, attracted Poles, Germans, and Irish. Scandinavians favored Minnesota, with its familiar forests of birch and pine. Milwaukee is renowned for its European-style taverns and beer festivals. As western settlement pushed past the Mississippi, the Midwest was transformed from an outpost into a trading and transportation hub. Spilling across the country from New York toward Chicago, a region dubbed “The Rust Belt” embraced many cities known for large-scale manufacturing, from the processing of raw materials to the production of heavy goods for industry and consumers. Detroit in Michigan, known as “Motor City” (or “Motown” to fans of R&B), is the home of the US automobile industry, which—like much traditional US manufacturing—has not had an easy ride in recent years. 19  Culture Smart! USA This interior region is also called the “heartland,” a reference to the wholesome values and unpretentious nature of its people, deemed to be representative of the nation in general. Further west, the Dakotas area is rich in both human and paleontological history, featuring Oligocene fossil beds dating back 35 million years. However, the desolate landscape evokes images of the more recent past, when the Black Hills and Badlands region formed the backdrop for battles between US soldiers, land- hungry settlers, and Native American tribes. The constant struggle against extreme weather and dust-bowl conditions has forged a stoic and taciturn nature. On its western edges, the flat prairie land of the Great Plains rises majestically to form the Rockies. Dusk in downtown Cleveland, Ohio. 20  Yosemite Valley, California. The West (Colorado, Wyoming, Montana, Utah, California, Nevada, Idaho, Oregon, Washington) The Rocky Mountains bisect the western portion of the continent, stretching from Montana in the north to New Mexico in the south. Moving west, the glacial basins and plains of the Intermontane Plateau include Utah’s Salt Lake City, Arizona’s Grand Canyon, and California’s forbidding Mojave Desert. Closer to the Pacific coast, the Sierra Nevada range runs up through California. Continuing the line through the Pacific Northwest states of Oregon and Washington, the volcanic peaks of the Cascade Mountains extend to the Canadian border. In America’s western states, the forces of nature seem to have conspired to ward off visitors. Here, the mountain peaks are higher, the deserts deadlier, and the foaming river rapids swifter than anywhere else, and wildfires have become more frequent. Even the wildlife is not for the fainthearted— grizzly bears, mountain lions, and rattlesnakes call this region home. Further natural barriers have been thrown up 21 Culture Smart! USA relatively recently. In 1906, Point Reyes was at the epicenter of what became known as the San Francisco earthquake, with the infamous San Andreas Fault creating a peninsula that juts ten miles into the Pacific. California is equally popular for the attractions of its cities—Los Angeles and San Francisco, for example—and its stunning natural beauty. Fun-loving, energetic Californians brag they have world-class ski slopes, lush vineyards, and endless beaches all in their backyard. The state has the nation’s most important and diversified agricultural economy, and its sunshine and variety of landscapes also drew the motion picture industry across the continent to the West Coast. Newcomers have long been attracted here for its sense of space, easygoing nature, and tolerance of alternative lifestyles. These days, however, they’re increasingly likely to pass long-time residents heading out of the state in search of a lower cost of living. The Southwest (Western Texas, parts of Oklahoma, New Mexico, Arizona, Nevada, and the southern interior part of California) The desert vistas of the Southwest have a deeply spiritual quality. Arizona’s largest city, Phoenix, was so named in 1867 by Darrell Duppa because he thought the desert oasis had sprung from the ashes of an ancient civilization. Actually, Duppa’s fertile “oasis” was due to a primitive but effective irrigation project, established centuries before the Europeans’ arrival. Other vestiges of ancient civilizations remain in the form of the ninth-century ruins of the 22  Land and people scientifically advanced Chaco culture and the mysterious cliff dwellings of the thirteenth-century Mogollon tribe. Mexican Pueblo settlements of sunbaked adobe structures and the abandoned communities of silver miners and gold prospectors are further reminders of the cultural diversity of the region. Navajos believe that they have journeyed through several other worlds to this life and have always considered the land in the Southwest to be sacred. Many descendants of local tribes now live on reservations, which occupy half of these states’ lands. These areas—like many others all across the USA—are called “nations,” and they give a degree of self-government and autonomy to the tribe. Visitors should note that rules of conduct may change when you step onto tribal lands. A view of Lower Monument Valley from Hunts Mesa, Navajo County, Arizona. 23 Culture Smart! USA A reliable water supply has transformed the once desolate, forbidding desert into an attractive option for transplanted telecommuters, immigrants, and retirees. Indeed, the dry air, endless sunshine, and world-class golf courses have placed Phoenix, Albuquerque, and Tucson among the country’s fastest-growing communities. Billions of years of evolution, severe wind and water erosion, and geographical anomalies reveal themselves in dramatic fashion in some of the area’s natural features. The rainbow-striped rock of the Painted Desert, the red sandstone monoliths of Monument Valley, the orange- hued Grand Canyon, and the bleached landscape of White Sands Monument all give lie to the idea that desert vistas only come in monotonous tones of brown. The South (Virginia, West Virginia, Kentucky, Tennessee, North Carolina, South Carolina, Florida, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Central Texas, Arkansas, Louisiana, and parts of Missouri and Oklahoma) Forged by its history, climate, and location and expressed in music, food, and the drawl of its accent, the South possesses perhaps the strongest regional personality. From the Civil War to the civil rights movement, from huge territorial acquisitions to the constant stream of immigrants, the South has been shaped by its diversity, its turbulent past, and the ongoing challenge of social integration. The conflicts—both physical and political— have created a fiercely independent spirit. While Texas is characterized as having a devil-may-care nature, the 24  Land and people South in general is known for its hospitality, charm, and gentle pace. The unofficial motto of the Lone Star state— “Don’t mess with Texas”—reminds us that this state was once an independent nation, and still considers itself to be a republic! The old Mason-Dixon line, which demarcated north from south in the late 1700s, may have been erased from the maps, but a strong divide still exists, as witnessed by the tenacity of the confederate flag, despite the South’s defeat in the Civil War by the anti-slavery North. Both South Carolina and Mississippi passed legislation to remove the “Stars and Bars” from state grounds because of its racist association. Statues of confederate leaders are disappearing from public plinths for the same reason. This broad sweep of states is a study in contrasts and superlatives. The ostentatious affluence of such cities as Charleston and Atlanta contrasts sharply with Mississippi shantytowns and West Virginia trailer parks. The region embraces the highlands of Missouri’s Ozarks, Virginia’s Blue Ridge Mountains, and Tennessee’s Great Smoky Mountains, as well as the fertile cotton belt of the interior plain. A scattering of hurricane-weary coastal islands dots the lower eastern seaboard. The delicate ecosystem of the Florida Everglades sustains the sly alligator and the odd-looking manatee (fortunately “quite devoid of vanity,” as the great American poet Ogden Nash once famously rhymed). Among the most evocative images of the South are the mangrove swamps and the Spanish moss dripping from ancient oaks in Louisiana bayou country. 25 Culture Smart! USA Alaska and Hawaii Adding to the nation’s geographical diversity are the glacial mountains of Alaska, featuring America’s highest peak, Mount McKinley. A tourist’s paradise, the Hawaiian Islands boast volcanic formations, tropical vegetation, the occasional black sand beach, and the highest cost of living. A NATION OF IMMIGRANTS “E Pluribus Unum” (“Out of many, one”) America’s First National Motto For the English seeking religious freedom, Jews fleeing pogroms in Eastern Europe, and Irish escaping famine, America represented a land of refuge and opportunity. Since 1886, the Statue of Liberty provided the first glimpse of America and a symbol of hope for the millions of immigrants who arrived in New York harbor. The museum on neighboring Ellis Island, the site of what was once America’s busiest immigration-processing center, chronicles the experiences, hardships, and eventual settlement patterns of America’s newcomers. Today, nearly half of all Americans are descendants of the twelve million people, most of them Europeans, who entered the USA through Ellis Island between its peak years of 1892 and 1954. America’s ethnic tapestry has always been a work in progress. According to the 2020 Census, the US population is currently composed of 1.5 percent Native American 26  New arrivals wait to be processed on Ellis Island. Indians, Alaskans, and Hawaiians, 13.4 percent “Black or African-American,” and 5.9 percent Asian. Those identifying themselves as “White or European” amount to 76.3 percent. About 18.5 percent of the population is of Hispanic or Latino origin (the census uses the terms interchangeably), which is not a racial designation. Hispanic Americans may be white, black, or Asian, although many used the “other” box in the census. While whites are distributed throughout the country, minorities tend to be more geographically concentrated. African-Americans live largely in the South and in the cities of the industrial Midwest and Northeast. Not surprisingly, Hispanic Americans are heavily concentrated in the southern border states (accounting for nearly 96 percent of the population of Laredo, Texas, for example). The Asian community, one of the fastest- growing demographics, has, for the most part, settled closer to their ports of entry on the West Coast. Currently, the national birthrate is in negative territory and on a long-term downward trend, although there are 27 Culture Smart! USA regional variations. An aging population coupled with a dwindling Social Security fund is a matter of concern for America’s politicians and employers alike. However, immigration continues to boost the population by about a million every year, and most legal immigrants go on to take American citizenship. Hispanics are faster growing as a demographic group than non-Hispanics. Illegal immigrants make up about a quarter of all immigrants and pose a variety of social, political, and economic challenges. Births to “minorities” (that is, non-whites) already outnumber births to whites, and if current patterns continue, the white population will drop below 50 percent before the year 2045 (with the projected US population being 390 million out of a world population of nearly 9.5 billion people). Visitors to an immigrant community are likely to see individuals adept at navigating two cultural worlds. By day, people from diverse backgrounds operate harmoniously in mainstream American society. At day’s end, however, they may return home and revert to their own language, traditions, and cultural identity. The Melting Pot An early mention of the melting pot philosophy appears in Israel Zangwill’s 1908 play, The Melting Pot: “Germans, Frenchmen, Irishmen, Englishmen, Jews and Russians... into the crucible with you all! God is making the American!” 28  Land and people For today’s population, a “salad bowl” is a better metaphor than a melting pot. Americans often boast of the patchwork makeup of their family trees—generally Zangwill’s European mix plus a little Scandinavian—but intermarriage across certain ethnic or racial lines is relatively recent. Like a kaleidoscope, as immigrants from an increasingly wide range of countries enter the picture, the pattern of American society continues to change, struggling to balance the nation’s historic values with the opportunities and challenges brought about by multiculturalism. “Can’t we all just get along?” pleaded the late Rodney King famously in 1991 after an explosion of racial violence in Los Angeles. Perhaps because of America’s founding principles of inclusion and diversity, they do get along for much of the time. GOVERNMENT The United States’ system of government was established in 1789, based on the world’s first written constitution (1787). The Constitution designed a system of checks and balances that would protect Americans against excessive central power. It separated the government into three branches— executive, legislative, and judicial—and balanced power between the federal government and the individual states. A Bill of Rights (which added the first ten amendments to the Constitution in 1791) protects individual liberties from the long arm of government. Considered one of the cornerstones of American democracy, it includes the right 29 Culture Smart! USA to free speech, the right to bear arms, and the right not to incriminate oneself. It’s significant that there are only two items in the Constitution that have ever placed restrictions on citizens, as opposed to government: the thirteenth amendment of 1865 took away the “right” to own slaves (but, of course, awarded the right not to be a slave); and the eighteenth amendment of 1919 brought in Prohibition. This is also the only amendment to have been repealed. The ever-shifting distribution of powers between the different branches of government is a constant source of controversy. Applying the sometimes ambiguous words of a document written more than two centuries ago to today’s societal challenges provides job security for constitutional scholars and Supreme Court justices alike. Yet few would dispute that the Constitution is remarkable in having articulated the values and aspirations of successive generations of Americans since 1787. The Executive The executive branch of government consists of a president and a vice president (who are elected “on the same ticket” for four years), and a cabinet composed of the heads (or secretaries) of the fifteen executive departments. The cabinet is unelected; its members, who don’t have to be politicians, are appointed by the president, but require Senate approval. The president serves as head of state and commander-in-chief of the armed forces and is restricted to a maximum of two elected terms in office, not necessarily consecutive. 30  Capitol Hill, Washington. Home to the domed United States Capitol, the Senate, the House of Representatives, and the Supreme Court. The Legislature Congress, the legislative branch of government, comprises the hundred-member Senate, and the 435-member House of Representatives. The number of congressmen and women elected to the House of Representatives from each state is based on its population. Members serve two-year terms. In the Senate, each state is represented by two members. Senators serve six-year terms, with one-third of the seats being up for election every two years. The Judiciary The judiciary is headed by the Supreme Court of nine judges, who are appointed for life by the president. The highest court in the land, it is the final arbiter in determining the constitutionality of legislative and executive actions and maintaining the balance between state and federal institutions. The States With the passage of time, the delicate balance of power 31 Culture Smart! USA has shifted away from the states, as the role of central government has steadily expanded. The individual states still retain significant administrative and policy-making autonomy, however. The visitor can be baffled by the wide variance in state laws, with everything from drinking age to abortions and capital punishment being adjudicated by geography. Most states replicate the federal structure, each having its own constitution, a chief executive (the governor), a bicameral state congress, and a judiciary. Political Parties The “winner take all” electoral structure favors a two-party system. Democrats tend to be more liberal than Republicans and believe in a stronger role for government. They tolerate higher taxes to pay for social programs, with the heavier tax burden falling on those with the highest income. Regarded as “the party of the people,” it has particular appeal to ethnic minorities and women. Considered to be more socially conservative and pro free enterprise than the Democrats, the Republican Party— often called the “G.O.P.,” which stands for Grand Old Party—favors state rights, low taxation, with tax breaks for the wealthy, small government, and a strong military. Republicans count on a following among the middle class, business interests, and the farming community. The liberal-versus-conservative spectrum is broad, but overall, it’s well to the right of, say, European politics. (Ian Hislop, editor of Britain’s satirical Private Eye magazine, once observed that America has “a conservative party and a very conservative party.”) Communism was, of course, 32  Land and people the antithesis of America’s freedoms, but even “socialist” and “liberal”—and these days “woke”—have been hurled as insults at Democrats, while the extreme right wing often takes pride in its “know-nothing” anti-intellectualism: in 2022 some Republican Senate candidates proclaimed that they didn’t believe in evolution. Divisive, “hot button” items sure to surface during campaigns still include gun control, abortion, gender identity and same-sex marriage, and even contraception and basic voting rights. A significant feature of the political scene is the well-funded special interest groups that lobby politicians to influence their policy decisions. For most of the century, each party has counted on a devoted “base” of about 40 percent of the electorate, although its geographical location has shifted with each generation. Presidential elections are therefore decided by a fluid middle ground of independents and uncommitted voters. No president in history has ever persuaded more than 62 percent of the voting public to choose him! Third parties, such as the Greens, find it hard to make an inroad in this system. Because of the Electoral College, the voting tendencies of the nation are analyzed on a state-by-state basis. Democratic states are labeled as blue states and Republican states are referred to as red. Currently, the blue states tend to be those lining the West Coast, clustered around the Great Lakes, or stretching north along the Eastern seaboard from Washington D.C. up to Maine. Red states sit in the center of the country. In recent years, the divide between the two parties has been marked and increasingly vocal, and “bipartisanship” has been limited, often leading to governmental gridlock. 33 Culture Smart! USA The Federal Electoral System Presidential elections are held every four years, on the first Tuesday in November. The inauguration of the winning candidate is held on the following January 20. Technically the president isn’t elected by universal suffrage but by a 538-member Electoral College, which is confusing to many outsiders. Each state has a number of Electoral College votes, generally proportionate to the size of its population, but slightly favoring the smaller states. When people vote for a presidential candidate, they’re actually instructing their state Electoral College to cast their votes for that candidate. In most states, the candidate who receives the most votes is awarded that state’s entire allocation of Electoral-College votes. Only Maine and Nebraska divide their votes proportionally. The presidency is awarded to the candidate who receives at least 270 of the nation’s 538 Electoral-College votes. Five times in history, the College elected a presidential candidate who hadn’t won the nation’s popular vote: John Quincy Adams (1824), Rutherford B. Hayes (1876), Benjamin Harrison (1888), George W. Bush (1970), and Donald Trump (2016). THE USA: A BRIEF HISTORY Despite the presence of indigenous Amerindian tribes and evidence of a tenth-century Viking settlement in Newfoundland, the official title of “discoverer of America” is generally conferred upon the Italian explorer 34  Land and people Christopher Columbus, or “Cristobal Colon,” as he was known to his Spanish sponsors. In one of the most profitable navigational mistakes in history, in 1492 Columbus mistook the Caribbean islands for the spice- rich East Indies, and its native people for “Indians.” He made three further voyages, but never laid eyes on the North American mainland. In recent years, because of his brutality toward indigenous people, his reputation has been re-evaluated, and many public monuments have been removed. The “Columbus Day” federal holiday in October is increasingly referred to as “Indigenous People’s Day.” As tales of spectacular abundance reached the shores of Europe, the race to colonize the New World got under way. The Spanish claimed large tracts of the South and Southwest. The French focused on fur trading further north. Interestingly, most of the land on the eastern seaboard, today’s most populous region, was considered to be mosquito-ridden and uninhabitable. An entire island colony (Roanoke) established by Walter Raleigh off the Carolinas mysteriously disappeared. British luck changed when tobacco became Europe’s new addiction. A colony was founded at Jamestown in 1607 to produce the cash crop for the British Crown. By the mid-1700s, British settlers had established thirteen colonies on the East Coast stretching from Maine to Georgia. A Model Society One of these was Plymouth Colony in modern-day Massachusetts, founded by the Puritan passengers of the Mayflower. The Puritans were a fundamentalist Protestant 35 Puritans and Native Americans depicted in Thanksgiving at Plymouth by American painter Jennie Brownscombe. sect that had fled persecution by the Church of England. Their later leader, John Winthrop, envisioned their self- governing community as a “model society” in a new land. From the Puritans, America inherited the ideal that this great experiment in nation building was to be a “shining city upon a hill” for other countries to look up to. Competing European ambitions in the new country led to the Seven Years’ War (1757–63), giving Great Britain sovereignty over Canada and all of North America east of the Mississippi. Victorious but smarting from the expense of maintaining its colonies, the English authorities decided to raise American taxes. In response, the colonists united behind a banner of “No Taxation without Representation” and in 1773, knowing just how to upset the British, dumped consignments of unfairly taxed tea into Boston Harbor. 36  Land and people Revolution and Independence Anti-tax protests escalated and tensions mounted, but the first shots weren’t fired until April 19, 1775, when British soldiers confronted colonial rebels in Lexington, Massachusetts, and the American Revolution was under way. On July 4, 1776, the leaders of the thirteen colonies, finally united by a common cause, approved a Declaration of Independence—it was actually signed two days later—providing for self-determination. Some loyalists kept their allegiance to the British Crown, but the other colonists, with clandestine support from France, Spain, and the Dutch Republic, quickly gained control of the country. A British naval landing in New York brought the conflict to a standoff, but a failed invasion from Canada in 1777 led to a major defeat for the British at Saratoga, persuading the French to support the revolution openly. A second significant defeat and surrender for the British at Yorktown, Virginia, in 1781 signaled the final victory of the new Americans and their European allies, although fighting continued until the signing of the Treaty of Paris two years later, which created an independent nation. Birth of a Nation The “Articles of Confederation,” the wartime manifesto drafted to unite the colonies, was deemed inadequate to address the post-Revolution challenges of governing the country. Summoned to Philadelphia in 1787 to 37  Culture Smart! USA Washington Crossing the Delaware by Emanuel Leutze. revise it, the state delegates (later immortalized as the nation’s “Founding Fathers”) preferred to start with a blank slate—a metaphor for the newly independent country. The result was the US Constitution, a document that has provided the political and legal framework for the country since its ratification in 1788. The following year, George Washington, Commander of the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War, became the first US president. Manifest Destiny Having rid itself of colonial overlords, America turned its attention westward. In 1803 President Thomas Jefferson purchased the Louisiana Territory from the cash-strapped Napoleon. This three-cents-per-acre bargain doubled the country’s size, pushed the boundaries as far west as the 38  Land and people Rockies, and gave access to the Mississippi waterway. By mid-century, a series of territorial wars and land treaties had added the present-day states of Oregon, Washington, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, California, Utah, and Colorado to the union. Americans believed it was their “manifest destiny” to settle all parts of North America. However, as an increasing number of settlers, gold prospectors, and cattle drivers pushed west, the fate of the Native Americans, who had long inhabited the lands, was manifestly sealed. Throughout the 1800s, Native Americans were dispossessed of their land through a series of spurious land deals, government deceptions, and bloody conflicts. The Indian Removal Act (1830) forcibly relocated tribes from their southeastern homelands to designated “Indian Territory” in Oklahoma. The route traveled and the journey itself was evocatively immortalized as the Hunkpapa Lakota (Sioux) leader, Sitting Bull. A revered “Trail of Tears.” warrior, he took part in the Battle of Little Big Horn. 39 Culture Smart! USA THE NATIVE AMERICANS Territorial wars, disease, and confinement to government reservations reduced the Native American population from an estimated 4.5 million at the onset of European colonization to 350,000 by 1920. Today, after several missteps, government, society—even Hollywood—acknowledge the wrongs perpetuated in the rush to settle America. Unemployment, illiteracy, and poverty remain challenges among Native Americans. Yet they have demonstrated a great resilience of spirit: in the 2020 Census, 9.7 million people identified as Native American or Alaskan Native—alone or in combination with another race. Most of these people don’t live on tribal lands. Many Native Americans have made unique contributions to American society while continuing to honor their cultural heritage. In 2021, President Joe Biden appointed Deb Haaland as his Secretary of the Interior, the first Native American to serve in a cabinet position. (Using the generic term “Indian” for a Native American is acceptable.) Visitors to the Southwest or Plains states can best learn about the Native American culture and way of life by listening, observing—and leaving the cameras at home. 40  Land and people Later, the influx of settlers attracted to free government land by the Homestead Act (1862) sparked clashes with the Great Plains tribes. Called in to protect the new farming settlements, the US army fought a series of wars with the Cheyenne, Arapaho, and Sioux between 1862 and 1876. The battles included the last US military defeat on American soil, when Custer’s “last stand” was overrun by the Sioux at Little Big Horn. Today, a mountain-sized monument to Chief Crazy Horse, in South Dakota, still under construction since 1948, recognizes him as a symbol of the resistance and heartbreak of the Indian nations. The Civil War The “peculiar institution” of slavery started in the early 1600s, when Africans were forcibly transported to the United States and sold at auction to replace poor whites and Native Americans as “indentured servants.” As the agricultural economy developed in the South, between 1619 and 1865, three million slaves were brought to the United States to labor on Southern tobacco, sugar cane, and cotton plantations. Slavery drove a deep wedge into the existing political and economic divisions between the North and South. The farms and industries of the populous Northern states had less need for slaves and abolished the practice in 1804. Congress outlawed the import of slaves into the USA after 1808, but individual states could determine their own policies on the continued trading and “employment” of slaves. As, one by one, newly admitted 41  Culture Smart! USA western states chose to join the North in becoming “free states,” the South felt the political and economic tide shifting against them. In opposing slavery, the North claimed the moral high ground. The South countered that the very fabric of its economy and society was at stake. When antislavery crusader Abraham Lincoln was elected president (1860), the Photographic portrait of President Abraham Southern states defiantly Lincoln, 1863. announced they were seceding from the union and forming a Confederacy. The four-year Civil War (1861–65) that followed was an uneven contest. The industrial North had the advantage in manpower, sophisticated communications, and manufacturing infrastructure. The agrarian South had fine military leaders and a steely resolve, but defeated by Sherman’s victory in Atlanta (1864) and subsequent march across the South, the Confederate states surrendered in 1865. Slavery was formally abolished throughout the USA in 1866. The Civil War was a tragic chapter in America’s short history that left 600,000 dead. Lincoln never got to savor victory—he was assassinated before the war’s final shots were fired. 42  Land and people The Industrial Age The wounded South struggled with reconstruction, a devastated economy, and a new social order. While slavery was formally abolished, emancipated slaves and their descendants continued to face hardship, segregation, and discrimination. Fortunes were very different in the North. Here the Industrial Revolution transformed the USA into a major economic power. A new breed of business magnate, including J. P. Morgan, John D. Rockefeller, and Andrew Carnegie, built vast empires in banking, oil, and steel. America’s new elite, they amassed great wealth and built opulent mansions. Claiming they were merely the “stewards of God’s wealth” (and also mindful of antitrust legislation), they established America’s generous tradition of philanthropy. The late nineteenth century also brought a significant change in the demographic makeup. Adding to the stream of English, Irish, German, and Dutch settlers, immigrants from Central Europe flocked to work in the Northeast’s factories, and the Chinese descended on California’s gold mines. Revolutionary advances in transportation and communication technology helped integrate the country, at the same time opening it up to new possibilities. The transcontinental railroad (1869), for example, carried western beef and wheat to the east, and settlers and manufactured goods back west. As the developing country sprawled out, American cities began to rise up, and Louis Sullivan’s steel- 43 Culture Smart! USA framed “skyscrapers” carved out Manhattan’s legendary skyline. An End to Isolationism Having populated its interior and established itself as an economic power, America decided to expand its influence overseas. Alaska had been purchased from Russia in 1867. Victory in the Spanish-American War (1898) allowed the USA to expand its influence into the Caribbean and Pacific with the acquisition of Guam, the Philippines, and Puerto Rico, and control over Cuba. It further expanded its empire by annexing the sugar- producing islands of Hawaii (1898), and opening up the Panama Canal (1914). It has been noted that, when it came to US commercial expansionism, the dollar has never been “isolationist.” But when it came to the military and political affairs of other countries, America had long pursued the isolationist stance outlined by President Monroe in 1823. This ended in 1917, three years into the First World War, when the German decision to attack neutral shipping prompted President Wilson to enter the conflict. The massive injection of American troops to bolster the depleted Allied ranks was decisive in securing peace in November 1918. The Great Depression The 1920s were boom years for the economy, with America acquiring the taste for mass consumption of mass-produced goods. When Henry Ford first introduced 44  Land and people his Model T car to the country, it was love at first sight. With the advent of Hollywood motion pictures, images of the “American Dream” were exported around the world. But the unchecked growth of the economy led to rampant speculation. On October 24, 1929, the stock market collapsed, plunging the nation into the Great Depression. Many lost their businesses and life savings. Farmers weren’t spared, as a drought destroyed crops and livelihoods. The New Deal policies of Franklin Delano Roosevelt provided relief, but recovery was agonizingly slow. AN END TO DYNASTIC SUCCESSION? “FDR”—President Franklin Roosevelt—was related to his predecessor “Teddy” Roosevelt, but only distantly. They were fifth cousins. Oddly, FDR’s wife, Eleanor, was a closer relative. She was Teddy’s niece and was already named Roosevelt before she married Franklin. Other related presidents include the Adamses (father and son), the Harrisons (grandfather and grandson) and the Bushes (father and son). Former First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton might have clinched the first husband and wife pairing, but she lost to Donald Trump in the Electoral College, despite winning the popular vote in the 2016 election. 45 “Into the Jaws of Death”: US infantrymen raid Nazi-held beaches at Omaha, France, June 1944. The Second World War American isolationism was tested once again when Britain declared war on the German Nazi regime in September 1939. Recalcitrance ended with the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on December 7, 1941, propelling America overnight into the Second World War. The war in Europe ended in May, 1945, but raged on in the Pacific until August, when the US dropped atomic bombs on Japan, at Hiroshima and Nagasaki. America justified the action by saying the alternative, an invasion of Japan, would have incurred greater losses on both sides. The Cold War If anyone was in any doubt, the establishment of the Marshall Plan (1947) and the creation of NATO (1949), committing American capital and troops to the reconstruction and defense of a democratic Europe, signaled a clear end to US isolationism. 46  Land and people The rapid spread of totalitarian regimes in postwar Eastern Europe and the Communist takeover in China alarmed Americans. Playing up the paranoia to justify his “Communist containment” foreign policy, President Truman ordered Senator Joseph McCarthy to investigate and expose all “Communist subversives” living on American soil. Concerns over expanding Communist influence in Asia led to US military intervention in Korea (1950–53) and later Vietnam (1964–75). The competition between the Soviets and Americans for the mantle of “superpower” also resulted in a dangerous proliferation of atomic and later nuclear weapons. In 1962, in one of the most serious confrontations, President Kennedy ordered the Soviets to remove nuclear missiles from Cuban bases. After a tense standoff, Russia’s President Khrushchev backed down, and nuclear war was averted. A grateful nation was grief-stricken the following year when the popular young president was assassinated by a Soviet sympathizer. The Turbulent Sixties Riding the popular sentiment following JFK’s 1963 assassination while visiting Dallas, Texas, new president Lyndon Johnson introduced a bold program of civil rights legislation, ending racial segregation. But America’s growing involvement in the Vietnam War polarized the nation, which became increasingly convinced that stemming the Communist tide half a world away was no justification for the loss of 58,000 American lives. Under 47  Culture Smart! USA mounting pressure, President Nixon signed a peace treaty with North Vietnam in 1973. The returning troops met with an indifferent reception; it wasn’t until 1982 that wounds had healed sufficiently to erect the Vietnam War Memorial in the nation’s capital, honoring the fallen. Back home, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., leader and lightning rod for the Civil rights leader Martin Luther King speaks continuing Civil Rights at a press conference, March 1964. movement, was assassinated in 1968, the same year as another social activist, Senator Robert Kennedy. The sixties “counterculture” also produced advances in the rights of women, gays and lesbians, and immigrant workers. The tumultuous decade ended with a rare moment of unity when, in 1969, the USA successfully landed a man on the Moon. Watergate to Monicagate His significant foreign policy achievements overshadowed by the Watergate scandal, Nixon resigned in 1974. Despite the success of President Jimmy Carter (1976–80) in securing the Camp David Egyptian–Israeli peace 48  Land and people agreement, the energy crisis and the American hostage drama in Iran sank his administration. The two terms of the popular President Reagan (1980–88) were characterized by a conservative social agenda, interventionist foreign policy, and deficit-inducing tax cuts. The early 1990s witnessed a return to military intervention overseas, as Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait prompted President George Bush (1988–92) to unleash the technological warfare of Desert Storm. Though victorious abroad, Bush was defeated by Bill Clinton (1992–2000), who was able to capitalize on domestic challenges. Despite being dogged by scandal, leading to his unsuccessful impeachment, Clinton had solid public support throughout his two terms, buoyed primarily by a booming economy. 9/11 and Its Consequences The USA entered the twenty-first century as the world’s only superpower—but with a new, faceless foe. The devastating attacks of September 11, 2001 that destroyed the World Trade Center in New York and damaged the Pentagon in Washington, D.C., killed 2,800 people on American soil, prompting President George W. Bush (2000–2008)—son of the former President George Bush— to take military action in Afghanistan and Iraq. The War on Terror overseas and the response to “9/11” at home dominated most of the two-term Bush presidency. In 2005, the city of New Orleans was devastated when flood controls failed following a direct hit by Hurricane Katrina. It was a historic moment in 2009 when Democrat Barack Obama (2009–2017) became the first African- 49 Culture Smart! USA WHY “9/11”? The day that saw the destruction of the World Trade Center’s twin towers in downtown Manhattan and serious damage to the Pentagon quickly picked up the name “9/11.” To understand why, you need to know two facts about America. First, Americans write dates with the month preceding the day: September 11, 2001, not 11th September 2001. When this is abbreviated to all numbers, it becomes 9/11/01. (In the UK this would mean the ninth of November.) Second, the telephone number for the emergency services through the United States is 911, pronounced “nine-one-one.” The all-number date is pronounced “nine-eleven,” but the peculiar coincidence was enough for it to become the common label for a day of horror and sadness that no American can ever forget. American president of the United States, inheriting the largest recession since the 1920s and a political and cultural climate that was increasingly polarized. He also picked up a Nobel Peace Prize in his first year in office! His first term saw his signature Affordable Care Act (“Obamacare”) enacted and signed into law, which afforded health insurance to some 20 million people. His second term saw the legalization of same-sex marriage and the 2015 Paris Agreement to fight climate change. 50  Land and people He also normalized US relations with Cuba after fifty-four years of hostility. In 2011, Osama Bin Laden, founder of the extreme Islamist Al-Qaeda movement that carried out the 9/11 attacks, was assassinated by US Navy SEALs at his hideout in Pakistan. The Trump Years Donald Trump was a businessman and well-known media personality who, despite having neither political nor military experience, rose to the presidency in 2017. His fame, his ambition, and his brash, uncompromising style were welcomed by Republican voters and their representatives in Congress, who since the nineties had grown progressively less inclined to seek common ground with their Democratic colleagues. During his presidential term, Trump introduced the biggest corporate tax cuts in history, lifted environmental regulations, and reshaped the federal judiciary. His dominant rallying cry, certainly in the many raucous rallies that continued after his inauguration, was his promise to build a wall along the USA’s southern border to combat illegal immigration. He adopted the slogan “Make American Great Again”—abbreviated to MAGA, which you may still see on baseball caps. However, his public chiding of NATO members and admiration for autocratic leaders such as Russia’s Vladimir Putin and North Korea’s Kim Jong II led to tense relations with America’s traditional allies. An impeachment in 2019 was defeated by the loyalty of Republicans in Congress. 51 Culture Smart! USA Attacking the Capitol In the November 2020 election, thanks to a massive turnout by his grass-roots conservative base, Trump received more than 74 million votes, beating Obama’s 2008 record by nearly five million votes. But it still wasn’t enough to beat Democrat Joe Biden’s 81 million votes. Trump’s groundless refusal to accept the loss had unprecedented consequences. On January 6, 2021—two weeks before Biden’s scheduled inauguration—at a midday rally near the White House, Trump continued to cite false claims of election irregularities. Many of his supporters marched to the US Capitol, half a mile along Pennsylvania Avenue, where a joint session of Congress was counting the final electoral votes. About 2,500 of these supporters stormed the building, resulting in looting, vandalism, and tragically, five deaths. Some of the intruders carried signs for “QAnon,” a conspiratorial political movement that had spread surreal claims accepted by many Trump devotees with a far-right outlook. Order was restored and Joe Biden’s victory was confirmed by the re-assembled Congress at 3:24 a.m. the next morning. Hundreds of attackers faced criminal charges in the following months, and in the last days of his presidency, Trump received a second impeachment. He was acquitted again, largely on party lines. He also snubbed his successor’s inauguration, the first president in more than 150 years to do so. Biden Takes Over At age 78, Joe Biden—after thirty-six years a senator and 52  President Joe Biden takes the oath of office at his inaugration ceremony, January 2021. eight years as Obama’s VP—was the oldest president in history to take the helm. His own VP, Kamala Harris, is the first woman, the first Asian American, and the first African American to assume the role. (Her mother is from India, her father from Jamaica.) Biden immediately reversed Trump’s decision to extricate America from the Paris Climate Agreement and the World Health Organization, introduced a major stimulus package for American jobs and infrastructure, stopped all work on the border wall, and finally withdrew the last American troops from Afghanistan. But his early presidency was dominated by the crushing impact of the coronavirus pandemic on life and work in the USA and by Russia’s brutal invasion of neighboring Ukraine. COVID-19 IN AMERICA The first officially recorded Covid-19 case in the USA appeared only three weeks after the virus was initially 53 Culture Smart! USA detected in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. By the end of January 2020, President Trump had declared a public health emergency, and travel restrictions to and from China were imposed. By February 2020 the virus had claimed its first US fatalities. Despite Trump’s optimistic forecast of an imminent end to the pandemic throughout the early months of the year, by March it was clear the virus was spreading fast and its status was lifted to that of a “national emergency.” Americans were advised not to travel abroad and to restrict the size of gatherings, while states and local authorities imposed mask mandates and stay-at-home “lockdowns,” which included school closures. The infection rate and subsequent death toll continued to rise— Covid-19’s mortality rate was declared to be ten times higher than the common flu, reaching 100,000 deaths by the end of May. Intensive Care Units in hospitals became overwhelmed by cases. Tightly packed Manhattan was an early hotspot, so much so that authorities erected a field hospital in Central Park for the potential overflow of infected patients. Testing centers sprung up across the nation. The nationwide quarantine caused an inevitable economic contraction. Unemployment levels reached record highs as struggling companies were forced to lay off workers, and the freshly homebound became acquainted with what was to become the newest national pastime: Zoom meetings. The first vaccines for the virus were approved by the Food and Drug Administration in August that same year, 54  Land and people and a national vaccination program began in December. By then, one out of every twenty-two Americans had tested positive for the virus. One month later it was one in thirteen. Incoming President Joe Biden immediately pumped $1.9 trillion into a range of recovery initiatives, and in his first television address following his inauguration in January 2021, he challenged states to administer one shot of the vaccine to all adults by May 1. Booster shots were subsequently introduced. Meanwhile, the infection rate continued to ebb and flow with the arrival of new virus variations—Alpha in December 2020, Delta in April 2021, Omicron and its subvariants in November 2021—leading to shifting guidance from states and cities on mask-wearing and quarantine. Interesting to note is that despite the wide availability of free vaccines, by April 2022, nearly a quarter of all Americans still hadn’t had one. Why? Well, that’s most likely explained by the highly independent and sometimes anti-authoritarian streak in the American character that resists being told what to do (more on that in Chapter 2). It’s largely for this reason that, though the virus death rate had dropped significantly, it hadn’t done so as quickly as in other developed countries. Make sure to check the current procedures before you travel to the United States. This will most likely include proof that you’re vaccinated and that you don’t currently have the virus. You may find that a new variation temporarily delays your visit, depending on your status and location. 55  CHAPTER TWO VALUES & ATTITUDES What really matters to Americans? It might seem impossible to generalize across vast distances and a population of the more than 330 million who are renowned for being highly individualistic. Yet the special character and unique experiences of the early settlers and successive waves of immigrants have indeed shaped a set of all-American values. AMERICA—THE IDEAL In his book American Exceptionalism, Seymour Lipset observes that America is the only nation in the world that is founded on a creed. Unlike societies where nationality is related to accident of birth, becoming an American is more of a conscious act, an ideological commitment to a set of values and a way of life. Despite their different backgrounds or motivations, the founders who came willingly to America were bound together by similar beliefs, united in the same mission. 57 Culture Smart! USA They rejected notions of a state-mandated religion, a powerful centralized government, or a rigid class structure. Their utopian ideal was to have the space and freedom to live their lives according to their religion, without government interference. They believed that morality and hard work led to the improvement of mankind and the betterment of society. Everyone had an equal chance of success because every individual was free to control his own destiny. (Well, at that time, every white male, anyway.) These guiding principles of liberty, equality—even the “pursuit of happiness”—were modeled and reinforced by many of colonial America’s early leaders. Later institutionalized in the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution, they continue to shape public policy and national values. EQUALITY OF OPPORTUNITY Early on, Americans were determined to make their new society a meritocracy. First enshrined in the Declaration of Independence, the phrase “all men are created equal” emphasized that, regardless of religion or background, every individual should be provided with equal opportunity to succeed. Rungs on the ladder of success would not be arbitrarily allocated by birthright, but achieved through initiative and perseverance. It took some time—and considerable struggle—for the rhetoric to become reality, but America is now a nation that has formally ended all barriers based on gender, race, religion, 58  Values and attitudes and national origin, and it’s progressing on sexual orientation. Equal opportunity isn’t to be confused with egalitarianism (another important American value that we’ll discuss). In his book Democracy in America (1835) de Tocqueville first observed that emphasis is placed on equality of opportunity—not equal conditions for all. Consistent with their individualistic mentality, Americans believe that ability, effort, and achievement should be rewarded, and they’re wary of the notion of government interference to iron out social and economic inequities. Rather than investing in a European-style welfare state, America aims to “level the playing field” and promotes upward mobility by making its educational system flexible and accessible to all, at least in the early stages. INDIVIDUALISM The right to control your own destiny is a cherished American value. Individual rights and freedoms are fiercely defended. While the conformist Japanese warn that “the nail that sticks up gets hammered down,” Americans believe that “the squeaky wheel gets the grease.” In other words, speak up, get yourself noticed, and you’ll get your needs met. How can a nation of individualists also be team players? The American notion of “group” or “team” affiliation is different from that of collectivist countries. While fully committed to the team’s goal, individuals will also use group membership to advance a personal agenda—to 59 Culture Smart! USA showcase their talents. From the conference room to the locker room, individual members will still expect to be rewarded based on individual contribution, with the star player receiving the lion’s share. It’s fun to be a part of a team and great things can be achieved together, but at the end of the day you have to “look out for number one,” and once the group no longer serves the individual’s purpose, it’s time to move on, “no strings attached.” Americans like their social and collective activities to be voluntary and local. The proud and generous supporter of a church outreach program or community charity will also be a vociferous opponent of government programs that use tax income to bolster welfare. Relief spending to assist low- income families during the coronavirus pandemic was viewed as a necessary exception by many conservatives, who otherwise believe the government spends too much on the poor. SELF-RELIANCE Stemming from individualism and the hardships and isolation endured by those early settlers, Americans value self-reliance and a “can-do” spirit. After all, the nation is largely descended from triple-tested pioneer stock: their forebears found the courage to uproot themselves from their ancestral homes in Europe, survived a perilous sea voyage, and then may have forged their way across an unfamiliar and “untamed” continent in search of a new life. Resilience is in the American genes. 60  Values and attitudes The notion that “God helps those who help themselves” greatly inspired the American work ethic in its early years. This has evolved into a mentality of “self-help” in seeking solutions to modern-day challenges. Good American parents instill this value by offering their children every opportunity to prepare for adulthood, then launching them out of the nest to make their own way in the world. In most communities, elderly people prefer to remain self-reliant, too. They would rather live in a retirement community or nursing home than become dependent on family members. In the same vein, practical assistance is given to the physically or mentally disabled to allow them to lead independent lives and develop their full potential. THAT “CAN DO” SPIRIT “The Yankee means to make moonlight work, if he can.” Ralph Waldo Emerson, 1846 The adventurous and industrious types who conquered America believed that constant change was not an option but a duty, and that progress was its reward. This mindset has shaped a future-oriented culture that rewards “go-getters” who “think out of the box” and “push the envelope.” With vision, energy, and perseverance, anything can be accomplished. It’s a conviction that’s placed a man on the Moon and produced three times as many Nobel prize winners as the next country. It’s why the introduction of a new device or brand of washing powder is 61 Culture Smart! USA automatically and enthusiastically embraced. If it’s new, it must be improved. Fatalistic cultures believe that bad luck is inevitable and destiny is determined by the fickle finger of fate. To Americans, that’s superstitious claptrap. Rather than passively reacting to events, Americans prefer to take control by being proactive. They have perfected the art of predicting, diagnosing, and controlling every aspect of life. To be in control, it helps to have nature on your side. Some cultures live in harmony with their environment. Americans like to wrestle it to the ground and harness its power for their own personal use. Wind, sun, and ocean waves are transformed into valuable energy sources; state- of-the-art heating and air-conditioning systems allow Alaskans and Floridians to enjoy the same room temperatures all year round. That obsession with control extends to time. Time is money, and so it should be spent wisely, not frittered away. Lawyers bill by the minute, and local TV news channels boast they can cover international news in one minute flat. “Beating the clock” is less about punctuality and more about the efficient use of time. Smartphones offer dozens of calendar apps and let you fire off a text or a tweet whenever a thought strikes you. With Internet hotspots ubiquitous from coast to coast, “downtime” has to be a choice, not an excuse. As the saying goes, “If you want something done, give it to a busy person.” Unwavering optimism and faith in the future inspire not only action but a confident swagger and upbeat tone— today is good, but tomorrow can only be better. 62  Values and attitudes VOX POPULI In colonial America, populism took root as local citizens met in town halls to discuss community issues. Antagonism toward a distant colonial authority that imposed rule from the top-down inspired Americans to create a system that would work from the grass roots up—a government “of the people, by the people,” to use Abraham Lincoln’s words. Today, more public offices are elected positions, and elections and referendums are held more often than in any other country—the Economist estimated about one million in each four-year election cycle. Citizens make their voices heard in council chambers and town meetings, populate local school boards, take up causes, and sow “grass-roots” political activity. EGALITARIANISM Consistent with the belief that “all men are born equal,” American social relations are founded on equal respect and informality. In an early example of egalitarianism, the Congress of 1789 decided that George Washington should be addressed simply as “Mr. President.” Today’s corporate CEO is referred to as Elon or Kathy, and telemarketers expect to be on first-name terms with you, too. Is America a classless society? Yes and no. While social stratification does exist, the concept of class is 63 Culture Smart! USA entirely different in America. In the traditional societies of Europe, class denotes an inherited station in life. Here, it’s an acquired status—a position earned through effort and achievement. As such, social standing isn’t defined by accent, affiliations, or geography, but by money and power. To Americans, these are symbols of status and success. There’s also far less deference to authority, and fewer privileges based on rank. While the number of Americans who identify as “middle class” has shrunk in recent years, financial success has augmented a self-identified upper class. Largely a political label, “middle class” is most often used to describe any hard-working supporter of American values who wants to see his or her family advance, from doctors and lawyers to builders and baristas, many of whom would be considered “working class” in other countries. WORK ETHIC “Work: 1. That which keeps us out of trouble. 2. A plan of God to circumvent the Devil” The Roycroft Dictionary & Book of Epigrams, 1923 The Protestant work ethic provided a clear and compelling equation for the early settlers: hard work led to a moral life, spiritual fulfillment, and God’s blessing in 64  Values and attitudes the form of material rewards here on earth. Benjamin Franklin (a Founding Father who never became president) encapsulated much of the work ethic in Poor Richard’s Almanack (1736), coining sayings still used today, such as “Early to bed, early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise,” and “Time is money.” Today, the average American still works three hundred hours a year more than the average European, with shorter lunch breaks and much less vacation time. Unlike “work to live” cultures, where work is just one of the many dimensions of one’s life, for many Americans work is central in defining their sense of identity and self-worth. Even those who can afford to step off the treadmill often don’t. In this land of abundance, success didn’t have to be gained at the expense of others—excepting always the experience of the Native Americans and Black people who were forced to work as slaves. Of course, many have a “leg up” by being born into privilege, but, in theory at least, anyone can make a million or go to Harvard in this socially mobile society. Indeed, America reveres those who have risen from humble beginnings and overcome adversity to achieve success. There’s also rarely any guilt attached to enjoying the “fruits of one’s labors,” which is why Americans can envy the extremely wealthy without necessarily resenting them. There is, however, a growing sentiment that there’s something troubling in the ever- widening disparity in the incomes of the mega rich and the Average Joe. 65 Culture Smart! USA CONSERVATISM AND MORALITY More than a third of Americans describe themselves as “conservative,” and they more or less form the dependable base of the Republican Party, committed to low taxes and limited government interference and spending—apart from whatever it costs to sustain a strong military. For the American right, Ronald Reagan’s presidency was both the pinnacle and a golden era of modern politics, though for a narrower slice of the “further right,” that was eclipsed by Donald Trump. But conservatism is more than a political viewpoint. In America, it has its own unique meaning that embraces the social, cultural, and religious lives of its believers. Those founding values of self-reliance and individualism combine with an unshakable respect for tradition and the law. This may be strengthened further by the Bible- centered moral teachings of the Protestant Evangelical churches, with their Puritan values and suspicion of secularism and, indeed, any science that challenges God’s hands-on role in history. Americans tend to view morality in absolute terms. Whereas in Europe, abortion and gay rights are regarded as political issues, in the USA they’re defined in moral and ethical terms, increasingly polarizing the nation and provoking emotional debate. The “red states,” where conservatism reigns, cluster in the center of the country, and visitors whose only experience of Americans comes from major cities of New York and California—noted liberal hotbeds—shouldn’t 66  Values and attitudes assume they’ve witnessed the full range of the social and political spectrum. What does all this mean for the foreign visitor? A lot of variation on “moral” issues from state to state, and an ever- evolving national consensus on these issues that may seem surprisingly behind the times to, say, Europeans who tend to be much more tolerant of gun control and convinced about global warming. GIVING BACK When John F. Kennedy, in his 1960 inaugural address, exhorted Americans, “Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country,” he was preaching to the choir. The USA outstrips every other Activists take part in a food giveaway for families in Georgia, December 2020. 67 Culture Smart! USA nation in terms of time and money donated to worthy causes. One in four American adults volunteer their time on a regular basis. The combination of America’s generosity and “can do” attitude produced charitable contributions from individuals and corporations of $471 billion in 2020 alone, despite the financial difficulties many faced that year as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. (“Charitable” contributions are the generally tax-free donations to “not-for-profit” organizations, which may be cultural, educational, religious, or for medical research, as well as those that provide charity to the needy.) The first volunteer organizations were faith-based groups that assumed responsibility for the social welfare programs usually administered by the government in other nations. Today individuals from all walks of life donate privately or organize charity events through their work, school, or community group. Every weekend thousands run to fight global hunger, or walk to buy a new roof for the local church. Even more telling, busy Americans donate time to help those in need. Many young people volunteer to serve in the Peace Corps, founded by President Kennedy, which currently provides assistance in more than sixty countries, while AmeriCorps gives similar opportunities for service within the USA. What motivates this constant outpouring of generosity? Americans get to apply their skills and energy, “give back” to the community, and make a difference. In return, conscience, body, and wallet all get a good workout, and society is self-supporting—not reliant on government handouts. It’s a win-win proposition for all. 68  Values and attitudes DIVERSITY Americans proudly assert that “in diversity there is strength.” There’s also challenge. Legislation and increased social awareness have led to greater equality, regardless of race, ethnicity, creed, gender, sexual orientation, or disability—on paper, at least. But in an immigrant nation that is fiercely proud of its many ancestral cultures, progress on integration can be slow. Change in societal attitudes can be measured in the use of more respectful terminology for minorities, the spread of multilingual signs and services, and corporate initiatives both to promote diversity in the workplace and to respond swiftly to bigotry. Affirmative action initiatives, ensuring that employers and educational institutions allocate a designated number of places to minority groups, have attempted to redress injustices in the system. Some people, however, counter that this constitutes “reverse discrimination” and advocate race-neutral alternatives. The ideal of equality of opportunity continues to bump up against the reality of existing socio-economic inequities and lingering discrimination. For example, Black drivers are still 20 percent more likely to be pulled over by cops than their white counterparts and nearly twice as likely to be searched. Movements like Black Lives Matter exist to protest injustices when they occur, such as in the case of African-American George Floyd. His murder by Minneapolis police in 2020 brought the issue of racial discrimination to the fore and instigated a wider societal self-reckoning that continues today. 69  Culture Smart! USA Veterans salute at a Memorial Day ceremony. PATRIOTISM Post-Revolutionary Americans had neither a long-shared history nor a common cause to rally around once they had expelled the British. A sense of identity and unity had to be forged. The Constitution and the flag soon became patriotism’s most potent symbols. To the visitor, the American flag seems to be everywhere. It not only flies outside public buildings but graces many a front lawn. The national anthem is a story about the flag that flew throughout the night during the British bombardment of Baltimore’s Fort McHenry in 1812, which you can still see at the Museum of American History 70  Values and attitudes in Washington, D.C; it represents the strength of the American spirit. Schoolchildren pledge allegiance to the flag, and when the national anthem plays, people stand, and many place their hands on their hearts. As guests in America, how should visitors react to the American predilection for wearing their patriotism on their sleeve? By going with the flow, leaving the jaded cynicism at home, occasionally biting their tongue, and demonstrating a sympathetic understanding of the historical and cultural forces that have shaped the deep sense of national pride. At the same time, visitors shouldn’t be offended if an American seems to know little of (to them) foreign customs or habits. They’ll make up