Values Believed to be Missing from the U.S.

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The values that I believe to be missing from the top 10 list of U.S. values as described in ‘Society: The Basics’ (2009) are uniqueness, liberty & justice, independence, entitlement, freedom of religion, perseverance and tolerance. Individuality- the belief that every person is unique and capable human being able to make his or her own life decisions. I don’t understand why this is not in the top 10; perhaps “Individual Achievement and Personal Success” is thought to cover this? Liberty & Justice- “…with liberty and justice for all” as our Pledge of Allegiance declares but was omitted in the listed top 10. I do not know why these are omitted in the top 10; maybe people do not believe in liberty and justice as they used to when fighting for our freedom from England? Independence- the idea that as Americans we have the right to make our own decisions for our own lives independent from governmental influences (with the exception of crime). This is another value that eludes a reason as to why it is not listed on the top 10. Entitlement- if we cannot take care of ourselves; Americans believe the government is responsible for our well being with health care, food, housing, money, etc. and that each citizen is entitled to these government benefits (we do pay into assistance programs with our taxes). This one could possibly have been omitted because at the time the top 10 was written (1970) the economy was not as in such a deplorable state that it is today. There were plenty of jobs in 1970, as US factories has not yet packed up and moved overseas resulting in mass amounts of unemployed Americans. Freedom of Religion- the idea that as an American we may choose to worship any religion we desire. This value is an original value on ... ... middle of paper ... ...king can eventually lead to conflicts between two or more groups (Kopenkoskey, 2011). References Kopenkoskey, P. (2011, November 19). Cross-cultural expert highlights problems with ethnocentrism | MLive.com. Retrieved January 11, 2014, from http://www.mlive.com/living/grand-rapids/index.ssf/2011/11/cross-cultural_expert_highligh.html Macionis, J. J. (2009). Chapter 2: Culture. In Society: The basics (10th ed.). Upper Saddle River, N.J: Pearson/Prentice Hall. National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIH) (n.d.). National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences - Kids Pages - Star Spangled Banner. Retrieved January 11, 2014, from http://kids.niehs.nih.gov/games/songs/patriotic/anthemmid.htm USA Flag Site (2012). History of American Flag | USA Flag Site. Retrieved January 11, 2014, from http://www.usa-flag-site.org/history.shtml

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