Many people say that America is a country of no culture, but this is not true.
This is the definition of culture according to Merrian-Webster: A. The customary beliefs, social forms, and material traits of a racial, religious, or social group B. The characteristics features of everyday life.
Saying that America has no culture is denying that we have an identity, traditions, folkways, or a heritage. America does have a culture.
The accusation is made that we have no culture because all the culture and traditions we have are hand-me-downs from earlier Europeans. It is said that we have no American culture that doesn’t come from European influences. Europeans would disagree with that. They can recognize that our traditions are distinctively ours, and are hardly copies of European traditions.
Our heritage is originally European, but it has become distinctively ours through the experiences of our forefathers over the last 400 years. Yes, part of our cultural heritage is inherited for Europe, and it’s a fact we should be proud of.
Many people think all our culture is about is American popular culture such as movies and television. Some people think they know America inside and out just from watching American entertainment. Too much popular culture has crept in, but our culture is about more than that.
American culture is very diverse, because of the many different kinds of people that it represents. Nevertheless, there are still several key concepts that are unique to this culture and this culture alone. I believe that these major elements include: the ideas of democracy, capitalism, and the motivation to attain the American Dream.
American culture is made up of bits and pieces of other countries' cultures, but it has come together to make a new culture. We Americans have customs, folkways, habits, holidays, our own distinctive foods, beliefs, songs, and stories. To say that we have no culture would be a lie.