European Culture vs. North American Culture

Throughout time, the cultures of European countries and North America have diversified in some ways and shared qualities in others. Culture is defined as the arts and other manifestations of human intellectual achievement regarded collectively. With the invention of mass media, the diffusion of cultural norms sky rocketed. With more and more cultural diffusion, one may assume that there are no longer very many differing customs between Europe and America. However, new cultural differences are created every day.

Often, our perception of time is molded by the environment in which we live. In American culture, a one hundred year old building is considered old. While in European countries, a one hundred year old building is still considered to be a young building. As Americans flock to European countries looking to admire the structural awe of European architecture, they are exposed to buildings with ages of two thousand years and older. These buildings are what Europeans would consider old.

The European perception of distance is another major contrast to that of many Americans. If a European were to travel sixty miles, they would consider the distance to be fairly far. For Americans however, sixty miles is considered to be a relatively short distance. Much of these varying perceptions on distance are intertwined with the difference in continent size. Although Europeans consider distances to be much larger than Americans, on average Europeans travel much more than Americans. This eagerness to travel may have to do with Europe’s close proximity to other countries.

Much like Americans, Europeans often use the size and brand of their cars as a status symbol. For most Europeans though, a smaller car is much more practical. Unlike mos...

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.... European church goers generally consist of the elder and families on special events such as Christmas. Throughout American politics, politicians openly reference god. In many European countries, mixing politics and religion is considered to be taboo. For many religious Americans, someone stating that they do not believe in god would be considered extremely distasteful. In Europe, the opposite is true.

Throughout time, the cultures of European countries and North America have diversified in some ways and shared qualities in others. Cultural diversity is not just something that exists, cultural diversity is essential to society. Without cultural diversity, countries would lose their uniqueness. If a country has no unique qualities, what is the purpose of visiting it? If no one visited other countries, repercussions would be felt throughout multiple industries.