高普考/三四等/高員級◆英文題庫下載題庫

      In American ideology, the individual reigns supreme. 43 The historian Frederick Jackson Turner proposed that the westward expansion and frontier experience of the nineteenth century was a major force in shaping this aspect of our national character. He wrote, “That restless, nervous energy; that dominant individualism, working for good and for evil, and withal that buoyancy and exuberance which comes with freedom—these are traits of the frontier.” 44 Indeed, from a very early age, selfhood and independence are stressed. Children learn they must stand on their own two feet in a competitive world where self-reliance and self-realization are the name of the game. The expression “self-made” man or woman expresses that American ideal perfectly. It is not surprising then that in comparison to many other cultures, we are more tolerant of individual differences, idiosyncracies, and non-conformity. 45 Although attitudes towards conformity have not been fixed historically and have changed over time, in general, Americans seem to dread the idea of being, acting, and looking just like their neighbors.     

      Indeed, Americans have ambivalent feelings about neighbors. This ambivalence reflects the tension we feel over our loyalties to group and to self and which of the two takes precedence. In other cultures, the group clearly takes precedence. However, in the United States, we draw boundaries around individuals and circumscribe their “space.” 46 It is a concept that many foreigners find odd, even offensive. But again, it is the individual that is valued over the group, whether that group is a family, corporation, or community.