Thursday, August 5, 2010
Question #1
One idea that we talk about in our culture that may not exist in other cultures is the idea that we should all be workaholics. In the United States of America, it feels like we value work over many other things like leisure or faith. This is a value that goes hand in hand with one of the other values that seems specific to out culture; materialism. Americans value possessions more than most other countries. Unfortunately I don’t believe this adds to our happiness. I once read a study that indicated that people who spend their money on experiences (like travel) tend to be happier than those who spend their money on material items. Perhaps this is because material things have a shorter shelf life when it comes to making Americans content. We get a high from our new purchase that lasts shorter, and quite soon we are off to the next thing, aspiring to have bigger and better.
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I totally agree with you about this issue, when I was in high school I moved to Spain and had a huge culture shock when it came to time. The importance on money and material things is not an issue there. I found myself enjoying my days instead of trying to finish everything in time. I am not always as happy here trying to be an over achiever and the pressure from society can start to become heavy on the shoulders. But I would be lying if at times I did not think that I have to buy that thing or buy this thing and it consumes you but every time I get away, it puts things back into perspective.
ReplyDeleteBoy can I relate to your comment about how we are workaholics. I wish I could find the study I read about a few years ago comparing the number of hours people work in the U.S. to the number of hours that people work in the Netherlands. We work more hours with less benefits than any other industrialized country. The question I will probably spend forever trying to answer is why? I just posted about cultural studies perspective and I think the underlying answer has to do with a capitalist society. Inherently, profit is always a motive under this economic system. In order to make profit, companies do not want full time workers because full time workers equals tons of money in benifits. So what do people have to do?? Get 2 jobs! This isn't true for all people, many have full time jobs. Young people especially find themselves in situations where they cannot be employed full time, so they are working 12 hour days at two different places of employment. All I can say is our consumeristic capitalist culture has a lot to do with why we feel the need to work and make as much money as we can.
ReplyDeleteYou're so right. Consumerism can be interchangeable with Americans. We definitely hold material items high in value. I am not sure that we hold work as highly as the money that work provides. As for other cultures where people take pride in their work vs. how Americans see work. We only work or get an education to make more money and to therefore buy more things. It is clear that other cultures hold education as a value and not just a means to make more money. And again you are right, it does not lead to further happiness. The results of that study you referenced does not surprise me. Our culture has taught us that things can make us happy but they really don't and can't. Interesting post, I really liked it :),
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