Culture and Politics in the US

"I work for no man, for all men are equal."

To me the political structure in the United States can be examined through the lens of culture. Meaning it is America's culture that shapes its politics more than anything. If compared to the cultures of other geographical regions of the world, it can be seen that the United States is unique in a lot of ways. No where else has a culture been born out of rebirth as much as it has here, and few places on earth compare to the unmatched natural beauty of this country.

For a time I was perplexed at what felt so different about my country. It was not until I traveled that I began to understand this feeling. A feeling of vastness, of unending opportunity, and of being able to try my whole life but never see all of the country. Our geography has separated the people into distinct culturally diverse regions, and the funny thing is they all create stereotypes about the each other.  The people in the each section consider themselves to be better off, better qualified, and everyone else a boob. Why else would their ancestors have chosen to settle in this particular place?

These thoughts isolate the regions, and an invisible cultural partition is built. This partition in the United States has disconnected us in such a way that we do not care about our neighbors as much as we used to. It makes school violence seem distant, and breeds the phrase "Right around the corner from me" to describe only the events that affect only you. This, in my opinion, attributes to a distant culture. A culture that in the States that makes us feel disconnected from one another, and teaches us individualism from a very young age.

In my Anthropology class in college the professor had lived with the Cheyenne Native Americans, and explained it like this. He stated that the Native Americans were a highly collectivist society. From birth a child is reared not only by the mother but by the whole family, and not only that the village helps in the raising of the child as well. Babies sleep with their parents until they grow to a certain age, and then are lodged in the same room. The bond between the parents and their children seemed to be stronger, and family ties were strong.

In asian culture, ancestry is given mythical powers. You can pray to one's ancestors for guidance and wisdom. It is important to also note the privilege given to the elders in this culture, the younger generation sees the importance of the older. Both, young and old, work together culturally to achieve their goals.

However, in American culture, given that we are a mash-up of so many geo-cultures spread amongst a vast beautiful landscape, we are individuals forging our own paths. So involved are we in our individualistic lifestyle that anything that does not bother us directly, is paid little attention. Who cares if government debt is almost equal to gross domestic product of the country? Americans themselves can relate because a majority are living under the same personal debt to income ratio. Who cares if more and more people find themselves needing assistance? Americans make their own way and create their own destiny.

Unfortunately, the nature in which culture influences politics is based on these half-truths. It works out brilliantly for the power elite in charge. As long as Harry Politician (a non-creative name for the average person of hubris that inherits office) can keep the majority of the people under their influence happy, they can find themselves in a position of cushy power. Cushy in the fact that their jobs come with privilege, and power as in they can destroy everything you hold valuable, if enough Harrys get together with bright ideas.

So in a way, American culture proceeds the political realm, in that its influence is responsible for the core legislation of the country. To understand American politics, in my personal opinion, is to fully understand the people and culture out of which, the bureaucratic landscape emerges. To understand a revolt, you have to look at the people at the heart of such. Meaning that revolutions and changes of power do not happen without cause and without the masses being behind such a cause. This is the core the American political system. The idea that a disconnected people elect politicians that are obsessed with micro managing districts to secure more votes, while at the same time trying to create policy on a vastly larger scale that affects the majority.

Minority favoritism, for majority goals, and that is how culture and politics go hand and hand.