All American Ways

America, unlike other countries, has no true culture of its own. Though somehow people manage to know what America is all about. Some think of it as a far away land of hopes and dreams; others think of it as a rapid moving very modern world. The truth is that America is all of these things and many, many more. I love our country and what it provides for us and the opportunities it gives people, but with all of these freedoms comes some corruption and corroding of beliefs and values. Strongly held moral beliefs and values are what keeps a beautiful country like ours together. All though, as a culture we lack most of them. Now it seems as if manners are a thing of the past, and etiquette doesn't really have a purpose. Some people don't even say the Pledge of Allegiance or put their hand over their heart when it begins. On top of that, commercialism and modernism have taken hold of this country and are strangling it. The only culture we seem to have is one of modernization and corruption. However, not everyone sees it that way.

Lesley Hazleton wrote for the New York Times and worked as a writer, reporter and lecturer in psychology. When she immigrated to America from Israel, she wrote an essay called "First Game" which gave her impression of the American culture. She went to a baseball game and decided that that was the true American culture, at her fingertips. All the hot dogs, bags of peanuts, and beer she saw seemed to her to be what America was all about. The music of the brass band, the gifts, flashy Toyota cars, television sets, and live elephant all made the perfect American picture for her. Catfish Hunter, a famous Yankees ballplayer, made a speech that was just perfect in her eyes because of his faith, morality, sincerity, and naivete. As he walked off the field leading his little boy with one hand and an elephant with the other she thought that this was also a glimpse into the world of America. She saw America in the apple pie kind of way. She thought that nothing could be better than these people gathered together watching wonderful people play ball on a baseball diamond.

I think that Hazleton had not been in America long enough to see our real culture at work. She saw the happy non-corrupt side of America that at least made it to the game and bought tickets. She saw the smarter side of America, with at least some amount of brains. The other people sitting on their couches at home with the remote control in their hand, didn't even think about tickets. When they thought about it, it was too late. They said to themselves that their lives were too busy to actually go to a baseball game, even though they would schedule at least 2-3 hours to watch the game on television with all the commercials. The small fragment of America that Hazleton saw glorifies the American people far to much. I believe that we, as a people, are much lazier, closed minded, and less intelligent than people give us credit for. We have lost real value systems and instead take pride in things like our Cowgirl cheerleaders. A typical American scene I can think of substantially differs from the event seen through Hazleton's eyes.

The all too familiar American scene involves a TV, some microwavable dinner, and the family glued to the tube. Sometimes the program is equally as interesting as the commercials. Even a couple of quality words may be spoken between parents, and children. The parent says, "We're watching my show first, then you guys can watch whatever you want." and "Get your fingers off of that remote!" This typifies the average American evening.

Ok, let's give the American people some credit. They are able to socialize with each other. Perhaps the scene can be more interesting and the family has neighbors and friends over to watch the football game. They have chips, hot dogs and any other form of fat you can imagine. The father figure begins the cookout with his expensive overpriced grill from Hong Kong that does at least 10 things he has never heard of. He is yet another victim of the predatory advertisers that roll in the money the American people to give them, no questions asked. It's a sunny all-American day and the smell of cooking meat permeates the air. People young and old shove cookies, brownies, and potato chips into their mouths.

It is days like these that create the statistics that show that over half of the American population is obese. Hazleton talks about how the food at the baseball game shows her the American culture. She gives hotdogs and peanuts as examples of the American foods she sees. What she didn't see was that the rest of the American diet is fatty as well. Of course, what is a get together for football without beer.

A huge cooler sits outside full of beer that friends have brought over. As more people arrive, others bring coolers and soon there are four coolers, three for beer and one for soda. The children must drink something. The kids all gather in one little room and play some form of Nintendo. Outside is too hot anyway. They stay inside all day, just like yesterday and the day before that.

Except Johnny, because yesterday he and his family were outside all day on their boat. Now they have fresh, bright, ruby red sunburns. They didn't use sunscreen, because they didn't think they would be out that long. This is an example of yet another American family getting toasted by the depleting ozone layer that they so unknowingly helped destroy. Here is an example of the naivete that Hazleton talked about in her essay. The parents, having no idea that skin cancer and sunburns go hand in hand, teach these non-sunscreen, cancer-encouraging habits to their children, and their childrens' children. I believe Americans are naive, but I don't believe it is in anyway a good thing. In Hazleton's essay the Catfish Hunter that gave the moving speech probably chewed chewing tobacco. It was very common in baseball and during that time period. With his naivete, he would probably teach these dangerous health habits to his son. The chain continues.

As we move back into the house where the football get together is taking place you might notice that all the people have gathered into one or two rooms (excluding the children.) They are participating in an American pastime, watching football. Soon the cheerleaders will come on the television and the all the men will stare. Some will hoot and holler and get smacked up side the head. This attitude of non-respect for women is common throughout America. Our country is notorious for the amount of rapes, and wife-beatings that occur year after year. We wonder how men get ideas like this, when the cheerleaders are encouraged not to wear much clothing at all. All you can see on the television are sequins, stomachs, butts, legs, and cleavage. Our American culture promotes sex. The "high-stepping marching girls" all decked out in their uniforms exactly in sinc with one another that Hazleton so beautifully described, have developed into something a little more sex driven. With the American need for entertainment the sweet marching girls during Catfish Hunter's time have evolved into the cheerleaders that are now national sex symbols.

We our rapidly becoming more and more corrupt, sex-driven, lazy people than ever before. All our need for bigger and better things has only slowed us down. Yes, Hazleton did see a happier side of America, but that's not the truest representation of our people. It's true that we are fortunate. We have many more opportunities and choices than most countries offer, but most of us take them for granted. We don't appreciate them as much as Lesley Hazleton did. Maybe, some of the Americans that have been surrounded by these freedoms all their lives could learn a few things from Hazleton's view of America. It is a free and beautiful place. We need to learn how to love it.