June 19 , 2009

 

The Allures and Oddities of America – I
By Syed Arif Hussaini

 

America is indeed a fascinating country. Its allures are galore; its oddities are amusing. Some aspects of life in America might affront your sensibilities, as they might not be in accord with your native cultural values.

Since becoming the sole super power, its conduct in world affairs has been, in some instances at least, less than rational. Yet, it is the most coveted society; and it is one of the very few countries of the world whose doors are kept open to legal immigration.

The Statue of Liberty proclaims: “Give me your tired, your poor. Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free.” The oppressed - real or spurious - continue to seek political asylum and often get it to breathe free and lead a life of dignity. Exemplary emphasis is laid on human life and dignity.

America is unique in that it is a country of immigrants. It is thus a potpourri of diverse cultures. Its strength lies in its diversity and, diversity constitutes the common feature of American culture today. Diversity, in the words of historian Kevin Starr, is in the DNA of America.

Various cultural streams emanating in different parts of the world arrive on American soil and continue to maintain their separate social identities. There is little overt pressure on them to conform to the cultural norms of the majority community.

The immigrants from Europe join the mainstream more quickly because of their pre-existing cultural and religious affinities. But there is no single American way of life. Every individual, every ethnic group has full freedom of choice. This freedom to choose one’s way of life is perhaps the foremost charm of life in America. Granted that diversity resists assimilation; but diversity fosters a thriving, throbbing society. “All we have in common is our diversity”, is a popular American slogan.

All walks of life, all creeds and colors intermingle and interact at the marketplace, only to return thereafter to private lives and exclusive associations of family and friends, and to their own religious and cultural identities. That is the eminent feature of the American free marketplace. By defining every citizen as equal, the American rule of law distances itself from ethnocentricity. The only time the law interfere with private lives is when they interfere with the life of the marketplace – the bazaar. The law does not govern how an individual should conduct himself at home and in family and community gatherings.

In the bazaar, the grasp of an individual is as long as his reach. This concept of equality in the marketplace has enabled thousands of enterprising young men of South Asia to reach heights that they could only dream about back home. America provides each immigrant with a clean slate to write his own destiny. Man is truly the architect of his own fate in this country. The system is crafted in such a way that it encourages every individual to pursue freely his own dream irrespective of his lineage or ethnicity. In almost all traditional societies, hierarchy, not equality. is the governing principle of their cultures.

There is no higher tribute in American public life than for an individual to be labeled as “a self-made man”. Every one appears hankering after that tribute. Therein lies the motivating force for the fast forward march of individuals as well as of the entire nation. One may refer to America as the nation of self-made men. In a traditional society, a self-made man is regarded as an “upstart”. Feudalism and aristocracy continue to be the biggest drags on the progress of many Eastern societies.

While in America the calling of a merchant or an entrepreneur is considered dignified and worthwhile, in several societies of the East - the caste-ridden societies in particular - he may have been labeled not so long ago as a low-life scum. In the egalitarian American cultural milieu, no human being is devalued because of his birth in poverty or in a particular class. For, it is his intrinsic value and his personal attainments that command respect, not his descent, his palatial house or luxury car. He may be dressed like a bum but that wouldn’t derogate his status or respect as the head of a corporation. Being fiercely egalitarians, Americans do not bow and scrape before any one.

American children are nurtured on the precept that you can be whatever you want to be. Despite his unenviable family background, Bill Clinton rose to be the President of the country. Similar is the case of the current President, Barack Obama.

The mobility is not just from rags to riches; it can be in the downward direction too – from riches to rags - an uncommon occurrence in the immobile traditional societies.

Patty Hearst, the granddaughter of the multi-millionaire media Mogul, Randolph Hearst, lost much of her inherited fortune and landed eventually in jail for joining a criminal gang and taking part in a robbery. She ended up marrying her security guard.

The freedom to make your own choice has been particularly welcomed as a great blessing by the women of the traditional societies who migrated to America along with their men folk. Back in their native lands, they were suppressed and treated like some subhuman species. Once on the American soil, they are treated at par with men. Breaking free of the traditional confines, they drive their own cars, go to work, interact and deal with men, own their own businesses and properties and socialize with families of their choice. At no price they are willing to part with these freedoms and to return to their native lands to resume their earlier life of near bondage. Almost all of them are good homemakers, excellent mothers and have a clear distaste for the sexual laxity and other lassitude in the local culture. They continue to cherish virtue and place a high premium on it.

Second and third generation children of immigrants are more likely to be overwhelmed by peer pressures. Their allegiances to parents, religion and their own communities loosen and even break down, unless their parents are extra careful in their breeding. Such wayward youngsters rate their freedom much above the virtue their elders expect of them. More often than not, their exercise of freedom as a license to aberration has landed them into regrettable complications. (To be continued next week)

arifhussaini@hotmail.com