The Importance Of Individualism In America

The basis of American society has been built upon the individual

Have you ever heard common phrases such as “every man for himself”? Phrases like this are common sayings that have been knitted into our vocabulary which demonstrate our egotistic nature. From a young age, we’ve been told that we must take care of ourselves first, because no one else will. On the contrary, the book, Anthem, presents a society that is shockingly different. From not being able to use the pronoun, “I” to the idea of living only to serve to serve fellow men, the altruistic, “we” society presented in Anthem is the exact opposite of America’s egotistic, “me” society, due to the fact that we are a capitalist society and because of our society’s competitive nature.

“An individualist is a man who says: I will not run anyone’s life nor let anyone run mine. I will not rule nor be ruled. I will not be a master nor a slave. I will not sacrifice myself nor sacrifice anyone to myself.” - Ayn Rand.

A person can only be as independent as their thoughts and actions allow them to be. During the time period of the Puritans, the idea of conformity and obedience was valued in their society. Soon after, the philosophy of Deism came about and they started to value the idea of free thought and independence more than the orthodox view of the Puritans. Finally, the age of Transcendentalism arose which appreciated the idea of individuality and hard work more than any other belief. Throughout the major literary philosophies in the United States, one can see how there was a social shift from conformity to individualism.

American 's gained their independence because of a decision by its ' colonial citizens to pursue freedom through the legitimate use of armed force. Disparate American colonies fought on a unified front for a set of defining values and principles centered on their customs, traditions, and desired institutions. Americans ultimately prevailed because of a deep shared sense of patriotism and nationalism. American 's declared their independence from Britain 's control based on the defining principles of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. These values and principles have endured and transcended since 1776 through multiple wars which have challenged American values, principles, and institutions.

Individualism has allowed Americans to develop who they and how they see their relationship with their partners overtime. So if you 're not content then you have the choice of leaving your relationship and I believe Caitlyn does a good job of model expressive individualism. However, individualism is big in the Western society and so overall Cheelin describes this as the way Americans live their life as a family. Works Cited Miller-Cochran, Susan, Roy Stamper, and Stacey Cochran.

During the nineteenth century, numerous Americans felt that their voices were unable to be heard in such a large and busy society. Many people were busy working to provide for their families or were undermined by others in the government. This time period consisted of cultural turmoils around the nation, which also provoked the ideology of individualism to spread. Although this was a tough era for an abundance of the population, numerous people sought to express their thoughts on individualism that was pitted against the large roughneck society of the United States of America.

Individualism is beneficial for American society. (P.20) For most people, individualism contains negative concepts and sounds bad. Actually, modest individualism constructs for American society because considerable moral ideas in line with their own opinions. For example, my older brother has individualism in his career.

Individualism is when a person has achieved non-conformity, self-reliance, free-thought, confidence, and finding one’s self through nature. Although individualism may be achieved in society, it cannot be fully achieved until one removes himself from society. Chris McCandless did exactly that; he removed himself from society by backpacking and hitchhiking throughout the United States to test and achieve individualism. McCandless’s last great adventure was to Alaska to fully obtain individualism, unfortunately, he died trying to find his spiritual belonging and individualism. Many people would think it was absurd that Chris left his family and threw his life away, and they would think that he was not justified in leaving society, however, Chris McCandless was justified in leaving society because by doing so he could achieve non-conformity and self-reliance without being oppressed.

The theologian Paul Tillich once declared, “Individualism is the self-affirmation of the individual self as individual self without regard to its participation in its world.” In Anthem, a fictional novella by Ayn Rand, we see the theme of individualism play out, and it gradually becomes an anthem for the story’s hero. The protagonist, Equality 7-2521, lives in a society that teaches citizens that collectivism is the only option for humanity to thrive. Equality quickly learns this way of life is not ideal and coins his anthem: “I shall live my own truth,” (Rand 48). By wishing to live out his own truth, Equality realizes the significance of individualism and the change it can bring.

How could losing individuality affect a society? The novel Anthem by Ayn Rand is about a guy named Equality 7-2521 who is trying to find himself in a society where everything is controlled and different. Later, he finds himself even though he will have to go through many obstacles to get there. The process behind losing individuality in an Anthem’s society are in forcing strict laws, brain washing of their citizens, and removing of family. The Anthem society in forcing of strict laws made it easy for everyone to lose their individuality.

Therefore, being met with these unfair rules, Equality invisons a society that would flourish under one idea: Individualism. Individualism is the moral stance, political philosophy, ideology, or social outlook that emphasizes the moral worth of an individual. This is something in Anthem that people in the society do not have. Examples of this is they did not have their own unique names.

The quest for national independence is mirrored in the quest for personal

To love is to give, and be giving you become part of the whole. In the essay “The Army of One: Me” Jean Twenge explores the history of the American individualism and how its evolution altered a way we place ourselves and the world around us.

Consequently, the idea of individualism is about go into the wood and become one with nature, living a content lifestyle. Thoreau described his routine lifestyle in “Walden” by saying “When the house was concealed behind a dense grove of red maple, through which I heard the house dog bark. I was in haste to buy it, before the proprietor finished getting out some rocks, cutting down the hollow apple tree, and grubbing up some young birches which have sprung up in the pasture, or, in short, had made anymore of his improvement.” Sadly, this concept is impossible to apply to our modern world considering that people have to pay rent, busy keeping up with the constant changing world. This concepts might work for super wealthy people like Bill Gate,