American Cultural Identity: The Elements

By Mehdi Nourian

First and foremost we must have a clarification over terms such as culture, identity and cultural identity which leads us to the American cultural identity and its elements. Culture is a very complicated term to define. "It has more than a hundred definitions." (1) To give a simple definition and no to confused with the hundred of the definitions we can define culture as follows: culture refers to the customs, practices, languages, values and world views that define social groups such as those based on nationality, ethnicity, region or common interests.

Identity is another term we must know about before understanding cultural identity. "The condition or character as to who a person or what a thing is."(2) The best way to define the term identity is an answer to the question who am I? We can say that identity is about our self-perception and perception of others. There are different types of identity according to different ways of categorizing of aspects. Personal identity, social identity and collective identity are the most recognizable ones. "The concept of a collective identity refers to a set of individuals' sense of belonging to the group or collective. For the individual, the identity derived from the collective shapes a part of his or her personal identity." (3) The master forces of collective identity are nationality, ethnicity, religion, gender, profession and decadent culture.

Cultural identity is the identity of a group, culture or of an individual as far as one is influenced by one's belonging to a group or culture. Then cultural identity is a collective identity.

The American cultural identity can be simply defined as the sets of values, norms and beliefs that make the American people as the Americans. Collective identity is not in conflict with personal identity as each American has its own identity while the whole Americans has a specific collective identity by which they are distinguished from the British people.

Talking about the elements of the American cultural identity is difficult, because there are many elements that shape it. To count some of the most important elements I go for the following ones.

• Language
English language is one of the elements that in my view have shaped the American cultural identity. It gives the Americans a sense of having a British origin and a feeling that the language their ancestors spoke was English like them and I think it makes them think of their Anglo-Saxon background. English language as the majority of the Americans speak has had a great influence on shaping their collective identity.

• Egalitarianism
The idea of egalitarianism or having equal opportunities makes the second element of the American cultural identity. This sense that we all are living in a land of opportunities, while others don't and we all are equal to have opportunities to live has integrated Americans as a whole.

• Exceptionalism and Nationalism
The idea of exceptionalism has instilled in Americans mind through the history and as a result it has made them think that they are unique and special people living in a land of opportunities. They believe in American Dream and they think that they have had this chance to live on this land not any other people. Americans believe that they and only they are exceptional and this idea gives them a sense of nationalistic point of view. Being patriot is a very common symbol of being an American and it has much to do with exceptionalism and nationalism. As an example, US flag is considered a national symbol and a symbol that integrates all Americans to a whole.

• Liberalism
Liberalism is undoubtedly the most influential element of American cultural identity. The idea of liberalism in America is as old as the United States where according the US Constitution the people are free to work, worship, live, travel and so on so forth as long as they respect each others' rights. Liberalism limits the influence the government has on the personal lives of the citizens as well. When people see that they are free to choose whatever they want under the liberalism umbrella, then they feel they are Americans and they recognize themselves as Americans.

• Individualism
Individualism has had a great impact on being an American. It has a Puritan background. Individualism has helped the creation of property ownership and what is called privacy. Ownership in America is of great significance and it gives the owner a sense by which he/she feels American because they consider it a result of living in America and believing in American beliefs. Individualism is not only about economic terms like property ownership. In terms of culture, cultural individualism is the idea that the whole Americans see themselves as an individual from which the idea of Americanism comes from.

• Pragmatism
Pragmatism, like individualism, has a Puritan origin. Americans work very hard to achieve their goals. The question "What do you do?" is a very common question in American culture. It means that hard-working is a very important factor among Americans. Americans work very hard and they always think about the results undermining the tools by which they can achieve the ends. In accordance with the American multicultural context, pragmatist ideas which refuses any absolutes became very common because "rather than believing in absolutes it is believed that these concepts are changeable and depend on the context in which they are being discussed." (4)

To conclude this article we can say that there are many elements through which the American people recognize themselves. A person is called American when he/she believes in American beliefs, norms and values whether he/she lives in America or not. That is, the term "Americanism" makes sense.