Here's the gentle art of criticism:
1. personal control over the environment: It can be a good thing. But since I'm playing devil's advocate, let's bring on the altercation: The belief of personal control over the environment is a daredevil notion that neglects the capacity and limit of the human life. It is arrogant at best, ignorant at least. For the sake of "scientific advancement", too often and too long have we damaged the environment for our sake of manipulation. Playing God's game only brins damnation.
2. Change: Change can be good when it comes the time for change. However, change for the sake of change will often make things go too far that the changed state is no better, if not worse, then the original state. Unfortunately, this is what too many Americans want to see in politics, and this is what has been done in the Progressive Era and the New Deal that forever forsakened the intergrity of the American Dream.
3. Time & Its Control: Max Weber, in his "the Protestant Ethics and the Spirit of Capitalism", stated that the idea of time and its control is a materialistic nonsense. Procrastination is certainly not good. But been busy all the time doesn't neccesarily have to be good. Jean Calvin's idea of working hard as a part of the calling is apparently leading the entire American nation...
4. Individualism & Privacy: Of course, Americans value these things... However, "individualistic" Americans, epitomized by the hippies, ALL LOOKED THE SAME. Private Americans, on the other hand, specifically said after the passage of USA PATROIT act that privacy is something that one should give up for the "sake" of security against... psychological fear?
5. Self-Help: Yes, the American Dream all over again. Hooray for Horatio Alger and so on. Yet, this American value allows some great preisdent with an IQ of 91 and horrible grade to enter Yale... and go to Harvard Business School in the time of war...
6. Competition: Competition is certainly good... we compete... against Iraqis & Afgahns & what else... oh yeah, those backward North Koreans! In addition, government interventionism basically doesn't allow true competition in the business world, too, because, of course, the government alone knows how everything works...
7. Future Orientation: Of course, great American value this is... I see lots of day dreamers near by, with no sense of reality. Although I'm an idealist, for that matter, too, but I think I ought to make a distinction between a mere daydreamer and an idealist. I haven't lost touch of reality yet.
8. Action/Work Orientation: "Let's rock & roll" and be blissfully ignorant...
9. Informality: Can you imagine my feelings in learning that American teenagers these days can't even speak and write their language properly?
10. Directness/Openness/Honesty: Let's see... Of course, GWalkerB and JForbesK never use the fallacy of avoiding the question, they never reserve anything that people should know, and they never lie...
11. Practicality/Efficiency: Pragamatism not neccesarily the best approach to life. It implies ultilitarianism. Too often have we focused on what is best for our interest rather than what is ethical/morally correct.
12. Materialism: Materialism is loatheful. Period.
13. EQUALITY/EGALITARIANISM: Americans value equality???? WOW, that's NEW to me. Americans don't believe in equality-- at least, in name. Equal opportunity is different from equal outcome. Equal outcome implies true equality aka true communism. Americans radicule communism.
