American values ​​are a complicated thing. It seems that the set of values ​​changes with each individual. American pragmatism is actually rooted in deeply held anti-authoritarian, individualistic, egalitarian activist ideals that privilege personal choice, flexibility, and technical efficiency with the pursuit of success, however you define it. (Hall, Lindholm, p. 91) Fundamentally, an individual's values ​​are what that individual decides them to be. The key to understanding this is to realize that, more than anything, Americans value, appreciate, and recognize the sacredness of being an individual. Certainly there are fundamental expectations for all people living in American society, regardless of how the individual feels they should recognize that they exist in the United States with a billion individuals. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay Americans seem to think. . . that “kind” and good-willed people, as all true Americans are presumed to be, should be able to reach a compromise and maintain social peace. Those who continue to reject the path of compromise are criticized as troublemakers, demagogues and even anti-American. (Lipset, page 44) The rules are simple. I am an individual trying to exist with many other individuals and we all try not to kill each other and still live a fulfilling existence. But how does understanding the situation impact the way I choose to live? It's still up to me whether or not I steal a dress from a store, buy it with cash, or pay for it with a credit card. What do I value more, freedom – assuming I get caught stealing the dress, outright ownership of something I can buy, or the willingness to owe someone for something I can't currently afford? Unfortunately understanding that I am an individual and that I am responsible for creating a list of values ​​that I will abide by does not make living by my values ​​any easier. I feel like I live my life trying to find a balance between two worlds that overlap in some ways and will never touch in others. The United States has numerous religious, racial, and ethnic groups, as well as countless interest groups. . .. This state of affairs makes the task of specifying US values ​​difficult. (Henslin, p. 46) I live now, and will eventually work, in what is recognized as traditional white male America. The rules are quite clear and easy to understand. Work hard at an important job, earn a lot of money to buy a lot of nice things, and if you ever have doubts or questions, check the data because science has proven it all. However, I am also sorry to know that these rules do not apply in every situation. I have had the joy of knowing that money means nothing, that accepting what is given to you naturally by family or talent is enough to satisfy, and that there are many things that happen in the realm of nature for which there are no explanations. and you just have to believe it. The conflict lies in the fact that a value I support in one case is perfectly contrasted by what I believe is important in another. I can't possibly satisfy all of my values ​​at all times because each set aspires to different goals. So I live my life trying to approach everything I come at with the knowledge that I may have to change my plan in the meantime because I've judged the situation incorrectly. I must accept that my values ​​must be flexible enough to allow me to exist in the two worlds I have chosen to be in my life. I cannot allow myself to feel as if I am betraying the ideal for anotherbecause each might be able to exist separately. Sometimes I have to choose between native Rebecca and white Rebecca. Racially I am fully Native, but culturally and even ethnically I am of mixed blood, both Native and white, and am constantly faced with internal prejudice. What is right for me in one case is not acceptable in another, for example when I go home to visit family on the Tuscarora Indian Reservation I have to remember where I am because the way I behave here in Virginia is very different from how I behave in Lewiston, New York. My Virginia self has no problem going out and asking someone for help or support and expecting an immediate response. This is because in that value system I am responsible for going and getting what I need. I expect to find what I need exactly when I need it and I expect to be able to access it, assuming of course that I can afford it. On the reserve, it's not about having access to something and certainly not about being able to afford it. I would never cross the street to ask a neighbor for something, even if I could pay for it. First of all, it would be a grave insult to pay for something that someone generally doesn't sell because I won't let them give it to me. Secondly, I would insult the person I went to because they were irresponsible for not realizing that I had a need. This could happen from the obvious, my house on fire, to the subtle, my phone is dead and my neighbor has a cell phone. The goal here is not to get what you need, but to have what you need provided to you by the people you provide for. My neighbor knows I'm sick without me calling her and sends her daughter with corn soup for my whole family. I know a cousin down the street is short on money for food this week, so I send my niece to my cousin's house with some of the soup my neighbor gave me. My neighbor works all week, so my cousin cleans her house for a few dollars to make ends meet. All these negotiations happen without anyone actually saying: I need this. Values ​​are not focused on the individual but rather a single greater value grows, the community is expected to behave as a community. So if having or not having money on the reservation isn't an issue, why am I working hard in college to work in a field renowned for its high-paying jobs? An additional conflict within the value system I have created for myself concerns my perception and appreciation of money. On the one hand, it is important for me to work hard and earn a good living. On the other hand, I feel like I should be happy to have a beautiful baby, to be healthy, to have a healthy mind, and asking for more is just selfish. I have three brothers and three sisters. One brother graduated from Notre Dame School of Architecture. One sister graduated from Buffalo University with a degree in Finance. I am pursuing a degree in Management Information Systems. Obviously we didn't choose these camps because they were community focused. We chose these professions because we could earn a lot of money in the fields and we want to have a lot of money. Does this mean that money has replaced the value of settling for little or accepting what you have and being happy with it? No. Money does not replace values. It simply tests values. One of my sisters is too young to be included in this example, but I have two brothers and another sister who together will earn less than me when I start working. This is slightly unfair to say because my only sister doesn't work and stays at home taking care of her son. But the point is that he prefers to spend time at home rather than working because his needs comesatisfied. She is happy with what she has. My two brothers work construction and they only work seven months a year, the winters are harsh in the Buffalo, New York area where they work. They all live in the house so room and board are provided. The conditions of food and accommodation are simple, without asking the dishes are always washed, the water is always full, the garbage is always taken out to the street on Tuesday morning, in the summer the lawn is mowed and the swimming pool is maintained. For seven months of the year they earn enough money to buy all the beer they can drink, some nice gifts for their current women, and keep themselves in clean clothes. Five months outEvery year my brothers live poor, without money, with old clothes and without women because they have no money. But if you asked my brothers if they didn't like the five months without money, they would look at you like you spoke a foreign language. Why do they need money? They have a warm place to sleep, food to eat and their family, what else do they need? If they want a beer they go visit a friend and get it for them, because surely during the summer months that friend will be at our house drinking my brothers' beer. do they seem to have such a big impact on the other half? My brother, sister, and I are no smarter than the siblings who chose not to go to school. Why was it important for us to educate ourselves and increase our earning potential? It is not based on age as we are the eldest, middle and youngest. It could be personality. We are very similar to our mother. When she married her husband, she told him that he would never earn enough money to buy her the things she liked, so he would have to be okay with her going to work. He accepted and was simply a part of our family. Did my mother value money more than other common values? No. In fact, our family has contributed greatly to the community because as we thrive, so should the people around us. My brother designed a building for a community charity and gave them the design for free, something that would have cost thousands of dollars. My sister helped fix the health clinic's finances to ensure they received more funding because past statements were inaccurate and low. I don't know yet what my impact will be at home. But I am sure that my help will be needed as computers enter Indian schools and the homes of reservation residents. It is not a question of recognizing money as a value in itself or substituting it for other values. It's about knowing the values ​​I live by and how I can ethically earn what I want, live the way I want and still respect the me that needs to help my community. As long as I can maintain that balance and freely acknowledge what I earn without being embarrassed, I know I'm holding myself ethically with my finances. When I have to withhold what I gain from those around me, it's most likely because I've somehow shorted the people closest to me and I know I shouldn't have done that. There are some principles that exist regardless of how or where you live in the United States. You don't steal, you don't lie, you don't kill, you pay taxes and eventually die. There are certainly exceptions to all of these except this last one, but for the most part these are rules that you simply avoid breaking if you want to be seen as ethical. If you don't follow these simple ethical guidelines, people will view you with distrust. Sometimes it seems like people are abandoning these ideals on a personal level; but those same people expect American society as a whole to live up to these standards. The fact.