Why 330 million "Americans" are not so weird
Christian posited that "Americans are weird" on risk perception and even called out John Wayne. In Christian's words, “every man for himself, I am immune from bad things, and anyway I’ll just power through this”. Americans, safe to say, may have a different view.
That having been said, sometimes outsiders to a culture can offer insights hard to catch from within the culture. One of the most informative books I've ever read was the US entry on the Culture Shock! series – out of print now. It was written for expats coming to the US, pointing out the hidden assumptions Americans take for granted but outsiders may not understand.
A few insights I recall:
Our country was founded on the freedoms (first) and rights (second) of the individual – it says so in the Constitution. "Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness," wherever it may lead, without regard for others as long as their own rights to do the same are not infringed. Most non-Americans do not appreciate the extent to which American values of freedom of speech and religion infuse American expression and our apparent fractiousness. "I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it," is very American in tone (though written about Voltaire by English biographer Evelyn Beatrice Hall).
Americans can be very generous people, but they do not like being the recipients of charity. Individual self-sufficiency is prized as a component of freedom. In situations where many other cultures would rely on extended family, Americans often go out of their way to avoid such dependency.
"The American Dream" embodies these beliefs in an aspirational framework. The idea is ingrained that anyone, no matter their station, can work hard, build something, and be successful. Reality does not quite match that ideal, but that never stopped Americans.
So back to John Wayne. Christian describes America as "every man for himself" and that is true in one sense. Individuals are expected to cope, and the avoidance of dependency is baked into American culture. Building something from raw material, with little reliance on societal norms, is extolled. Some of America's greatest art and branding is built on this concept. Think Deadwood, think Harley-Davidson, think Clint Eastwood. Government is at best a necessary evil and often actively viewed as hostile. When we say government "of the people, by the people, and for the people," we mean it.
A central question in American politics is "how much is that hierarchy accepted by those at the bottom". Republicans have, of late, successfully split the bottom and played on a spirit of entrepreneurialism and risk-taking, but in doing so they may have enraged the rest to see severe blowback.
And while Americans do feel we are "immune from bad things," that is more an accident of geography. Being separated from the European continental powers, the Soviet Union, and nowadays the economic might of China, does give Americans a unique sense of efficacy. Over our history we have built entire movements on this concept. The Monroe Doctrine. Manifest Destiny. "Either you are with us, or you are with the terrorists". That distance has only been threatened twice at scale since the War of 1812. It is presumed.
That presumption of might is for the country, not necessarily for individuals. "I'll just power through" is more precisely "We'll just power through". On average, individuals may fail, but we know that in the American system, at least one person will come up with the plan that will redeem the rest. It can be brutally Darwinian, but on balance, society benefits. For every ten thousand failed companies there is an Apple, a SpaceX, a Google. There is much debate about the balance of power and wealth, and whether the wealth is efficiently distributed to those who are positively impacting American competitiveness. But the underpinning value: that some portion of rewards go to the risk takers – is not really questioned. Debate is more about splitting the pie more evenly, not about whether all should get only one slice. "Equality of opportunity, not equality of outcome" is likewise very American in tone.
And so Christian is right about America in our message. Risk is rewarded in America, or at least that's the idea. We believe it to be the best model, though there's certainly room to debate whether we have the model working the way it is intended. We'll talk to some folks on these subjects and find out more in coming posts.