84
The reason everyone thinks Americans have no culture is because their culture is prevalent everywhere. (lemmy.world)
submitted 2 years ago by to c/showerthoughts@lemmy.world
38 comments fedilink hide all child comments
 

Most cultures stand out but American culture doesn't because basically everywhere has some sorta American influence.

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
[–] 5 points 2 years ago (8 children)

I assume when you say "American culture" you are referring to the "United States of America culture" not one of the other countries in the Americas. USA culture does exist and is very distinct. They are very patriotic, car loving, highly consumeristic, distrusting of government, believe their nation is superior in every way, and believe that everyone can succeed in the USA thru hard work. (Source: I am a citizen. This is not an exhausive list, and of course it's all in my opinion and I've made generalizations) Some people say there is no USA culture because the USA is also a melting pot of cultures from around the world. As different groups immigrated they brought their cultures. So within the USA there are many variations of culture. For example, if you walk around Manhattan you will experience a very different USA from walking around downtown Dallas. But many USA citizens share similar beliefs (culture).

  • permalink
  • fedilink
  • source
  • hideshow 8 child comments
    •
  • [–] 12 points 2 years ago (1 child)

    I assume when you say "American culture" you are referring to the "United States of America culture" not one of the other countries in the Americas.

    This has to be one of my least favorite bits of pedantry out there.

    Everyone is aware that there are other countries in the Americas, the US is the only one that is commonly called America and the people who live there "Americans," and in fact none of the others have the word "America" in their name.

    The only time I see people trying to refer to anything besides the US as America/American, is when someone feels compelled to bring up this point. In actual usage, people will refer to the things as being North and/or South American, or "From the Americas," or in certain contexts, they may use "New World." Otherwise, they'll refer to specific countries or regions, like "The United States and Canada," "Central America," "Latin America," "The Amazon Basin," "The Pacific Northwest," etc.

    Because frankly, there aren't too many contexts in everyday usage where it's useful to lump both contintents together as a whole, the two continents have a pretty diverse cross section of different cultures, languages, economies, climates, geography, seasons. One of the only things you can really say about them as a whole is they're not physically close to most of the "old world" (Europe, Asia, & Africa) and even that's technically a little iffy because part of Russia is pretty damn close to Alaska.

    Because really, what sort of useful comparisons are there to make between, say, Newfoundland, Kansas, and Peru besides to say "Yeah, those places sure are all different from each other?" What do you gain by trying to lump them together?

  • permalink
  • fedilink
  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 1 child comment
    •
  • [–] -4 points 2 years ago

    Obviously I inferred that he meant USA. And in most context you could figure out what someone was referring to when they say "America" but the word america does not mean United States of America. It's best to clarify to avoid confusion.

  • permalink
  • fedilink
  • source
  • parent
  • [–] 5 points 2 years ago (2 children)

    The USA is America, and claiming that Mexicans ,Cubans, or Canadians are Americans is just weird manifest destiny bullshit. Go to a bar in Toronto or Windsor and tell the locals that they are actually Americans and you'll get your ass beaten.

  • permalink
  • fedilink
  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 2 child comments
    •
  • [–] 4 points 2 years ago (1 child)

    America tends to refer to the US. (Source: foreign news outlets)

    Also I'm not sure why you hate your country so much. Its large and diverse and yet some people find the worst of everything

  • permalink
  • fedilink
  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 1 child comment
    •
  • [–] -1 points 2 years ago*

    Can't tell if you're being sarcastic or not. I hope I didn't give you the impression I hate the USA. I just listed what I believe to be some comon cultural beliefs in the USA.I enjoy living in the USA, I think I could also enjoy living other places.

  • permalink
  • fedilink
  • source
  • parent