Finally Today

How important do you think individuality is to Americans today?

How important do you think individuality is to Americans today? Try to think of two specific examples of how Americans express individualism today in a social, political, or cultural sense. Have the Puritans had a lasting impact on the American psyche? Do the ideals of the Enlightenment still affect the way we perceive our government today?

Public Comments

1. Not very....oh there goes another paris hilton
2. It's not. People try their hardest to conform to mainstream ideas and if you don't than your a psycho and you are shunned. It is important to do the opposite: have no free will.
3. to be honest individuality isn't important to americans to day i think as a nation we have lost what once made us an amazing country. we are no longer as unique as we once where. but to me individuality is one of the most important thing in my life i like being who i am and expressing myself as as person . i think people that are different and be their own person are looked down up on these days
4. People will conform in one way or another. Even if 'individuality' is what you want, you will never be truly 'original'. Look at the 'non-conformist' emo/scene kids. They are so fixated with being an 'individual' that they don't realise they look exactly like each other. Its sad, really.
5. Honestly I think it is very important. Individuality is very important to me; I am ok being myself. I am glad that I live in a country where I can be myself and not apologize for it. The Puritans definitely have had a lasting impact on us today. Look at our cultural views on sexuality and censorship on tv
6. Ah, very good question. 1.) How important is individuality to Americans today? I think that it is like the air that we breath. We take advantage of it, never realizing how important it is or how complete it makes us. We search our lives wondering who we are. Sometimes the answer is what we need to be complete, for how can one live never knowing who they are? The question scratches at our minds, so to relieve the pressure we tr to MAKE ourselves who we are, whether that's through subtly following others or finding our true, own way. I think that Americans tend to take a lot for granted, but people all over the world do. We aren't the only ones. 2.) Try to think of two specific examples of how Americans express individualism today in a social, political, or cultural sense. Now if we all here tried to be as a whole individual, as a country... would we not be one society, with many working parts? I think we would not express individualism at all if we all worked "as a whole". If you want examples of individuals, Martin Luther King Jr. stood out against many. I also believe that Dustin Kensrue from the hard rock band Thrice is an individual. Many musical artists are, the most unique ones being who I'm talking about. No, not the Pop culture crowd. I mean artists going against their own artist stereotype by staying clean, writing insightful lyrics and not letting the fame go to their heads. There are American actors and actresses like this as well. 3.) Have the Puritans had a lasting impact on the American psyche? ... we learn from the past. Everything in our history may have some sort of lasting impression on us as a country and as a people. Do were try to change America to fit our ideal country? Many of us do. It's part of who we are- if it seems to work for us, we may feel impelled to "save" the world with what we think is right. 4.) Do the ideals of the Enlightenment still affect the way we perceive our government today? This sounds like it's for school. I do hope you are not cheating, or that'd make me delete my answer. Perhaps. I don't remember too much about the Enlightenment to answer.