MayesDebatePaper3

Meredith Mayes Debate Paper #3 10/25/2011 Word Count: 1840

There are many facets of the American culture, but many of them border on the pinnacle – the American Dream. The dream of ownership and progression, promotion and financial security has spread beyond the American borders and has wormed its way into India and China, nations with large populations and a history of leaving those incapable of keeping up behind. This culture has recently taken on a nasty facet – consumerism. This consumerism has been perceived as a major component of American culture, but could American culture change and adapt, as it has so many times in the past? A major stakeholder in the issue of the unsustainability of the American culture is the global economy. The global economy depends on the American mentality of buy, buy, buy, and changing this culture would force a shift to a new cultural paradigm of individual independence and sustainability. The American people would be unable to continue in their suburban existence; they would be forced to consider more about what they were purchasing and how they would use it, and things would have to be less freely available. The media would have to move away from their current position of causing panics over drooping economies due to more thrifty populations and embrace the necessity of it. Advertisements and corporations would need to stop selling things to the population twenty-four hours a day, long-term business strategy and superior products would have to be adopted, and large scale production with no thoughts of the consequences would have to be abandoned. In order to resolve this issue though, an entire restructuring of the American mindset would have to occur. Self-entitlement and a sense of privilege would need to be eradicated from our cultural memory, we would have to wean ourselves off of cheap goods and hold businesses accountable for their actions. Furthermore, the stakeholders cannot all win. Corporations must change and “lose” in order for the primary body of stakeholders, the civilians, to win against the consuming culture. As more countries buy into this culture, the number of stakeholders rises and the impacts of change become greater. The American culture is fluid, ever changing with the ideals of the masses of people within its borders, a melting pot of cultures, where the dominant and strongest ideals transform into the most recent cultures.

Arguing against the American culture is Canadian Naomi Klein. Naomi argues that Americans have a history of ignoring the potential long-term effects of their actions, such as the widespread usage of DDT, which was liberally applied and then declared to be dispersed into the soil, where it later moved through the ecosystem and created long-term effects on the ecosystems around us. She says we are a people happy with short term solutions and short-term profits. The media and corporations cast doubt on scientific recommendations, claiming that the cautious plans put forth by the scientists will hurt business, the economy, and the American people. Economists back them up by furthering our misconceptions of science and advisable procedures. Klein also claims that furthering the issue is the superiority complex and overachieving lauded by society. We are raised to win, and to want to win more than anything else. We are taught from a young age to push the envelope and our dreams to the limit. This causes us to push the limits of our environment as well, but as we do, we do not see it as a destructive behavior, but as a necessity, and this is an issue. Klein points out the double standard that Americans and the world holds Nature to. On the one hand, we see Nature as something to be conquered, something to beat, and on the other we see her as infinitely nurturing and resilient. This is an impossible belief. Furthermore, Klein points out that we are taught that the quick easy fixes are the desirable route and detract from the more difficult, long term and cautious solutions, enmeshing the world in a vicious cycle of trying to keep things under control, keeping us tightrope walking over a risky drop, with the fate of human society dependent on our ability to stay on top.

At a glance, it is difficult to argue with the environmental impacts of unlimited consumerism so rampant in American culture. As a member of this culture, it can be difficult to make an unbiased judgment of my own culture. But further analysis of the argument against American culture does reveal the absolute idealism inherent in its destruction. Many Americans depend on cheap, accessible goods to survive from day to day. Furthermore, it is difficult to convince people that they should reduce their lifestyle down from where they have become accustomed. The media must work with scientists rather than against them, and I feel that this lack of cooperation is a far more serious issue than the American desire to achieve, which Klein claims is a component of the American culture which is not sustainable. I firmly disagree with this. It is not the desire to achieve which is unsustainable, but the areas to which the achievements are applied. Currently, it is centered on money, but if it were redirected to creating a sustainable world, it would be the greatest asset in the American culture.

Thirty years ago, Ronald Reagan addressed the American people in his presidential candidacy acceptance speech and appealed to the American people and their dreams. He pulls on the fear of national poverty, claiming that lack of money will destroy the ability of American families to plan. Reagan assures the people that it is “not the result of any failure of the American spirit; it is failure of our leaders to establish rational goals and give our people something to order their lives by.” Much of Reagan’s speech is dedicated to taxes, which are generally abhorrent to Americans. He finishes with statements on Americans and how they cannot stop or they will have reached their zenith, and that American innovation is invaluable for the progress of the world.

Little of this speech is directly related to the American culture, but the points addressed by Reagan show what is important to Americans. He panders to the fears of poverty, self-acknowledged greatness and the potential for progress under his leadership. For a man that claimed he would usher in an era of change, Reagan comes across as a man from the same stock as the men before him, claiming working women would destroy family values: “…it threatens the very structure of family life itself as more and more wives are forced to work in order to help meet the ever-increasing cost of living.” This doesn’t sound very progressive at all. Reagan wanted to deregulate business and lower taxes, raising the question of where does the money for programs such as the renewable energy research he later promises. The speech is clearly propaganda for Reagan, not for the issues, which is to be expected in a political speech aiming for presidential power. For the most part, Reagan is allaying fears with reassurances, much as a mother would, with no real understanding of the underlying problems of the American people, who remain dependent on others for individual security, which should not be.

In Suzanne Goldenberg’s article, “US Cult of Greed is Now a Global Environmental Threat, Report Warns,” she also argues against American culture and how it is pushing the Earth to its limits faster and harder than anyone else. The article relies on facts and numbers rather than pandering. According to the report, the average American consumes more than his or her weight in products each day, which is negating transitions to clean energy. Considering that Americans now weigh on average 191 pounds and 164 pounds for men and women respectively; this is a large rate of consumption. Additionally, the report states that the annual costs of consumption in the world have reached $30.5 trillion, rising 28% in the last decade. Businesses work continuously to win over consumers and even American pets get better treatment and have higher care costs than the average human being living in Bangladesh. Goldenberg further reports that at the current rate of fuel consumption, the world needs to erect 24 wind turbines an hour to replace fossil fuel usage.

Fortunately for the argument against American culture, there are numbers confirming the excess to which Americans consume. These figures are indisputable. But Suzanne also states that there is a shift occurring in American thought as the younger generation is brought up to be aware of the environment around them. Culture is difficult to define. This article more confirms that current American consumption is unsustainable, but not necessarily who we are. As an environmentally conscious younger American, I do not feel that I am necessarily out of line with the country and where it is going. I do not feel that changing our consumption changes who I am or what the American people want. A strong family life, a safe home and food are culturally desired, it is simply the way that our options are presented to us. The corporations are more unsustainable that the American culture.

I believe that American consumption is wildly out of control. But I also believe that the American ideals and cultural desires for security, strong and safe communities and positive familial ties are hardly unsustainable. It is the current method of pursuit of these cultural ideals which is unsustainable. What is truly unsustainable about American culture is their unwavering dependence on corporations to provide these things. The American people have been led astray by fast talking executives, catchy advertisement jingles and media perspectives. Address the mounting and imminent effectives of these issues, and the sustainability issue and American culture will be reduced dramatically. Additionally, the blame does not necessarily lay one hundred percent at America’s door. While Americans are world leaders in consumption, Goldenberg reports that China has replaced America as the number one demand market for vehicles and stands poised to consume more than even Americans. This is an epidemic and is not confined to the borders of the United States. The Middle East sells oil as fast as can be extracted and oil companies avidly inhibit controls on their business and products. This oil is offered to us and is difficult to resist. In clonclusion, I do not feel as though it is the American culture itself which is unsustainable but the process in which we live our culture. There are more than a few Americans waking up to the consuming nightmare around them, and these Americans and the culture they bring with them, is far more sustainable.

Goldenberg, Suzanne. “US Cult of Greed is Now a Global Environmental Threat, Report Warns.” The Guardian: 12 January 2010, < []>

Klein, Naomi. “Addicted to Risk.” Ted Talk, December 2010. < []>

Longley, Robert. “Americans Getting Taller, Bigger, Fatter, Says CDC.” About.com: 2002. < []>

Reagan, Ronald. “Official Announcement of Candidacy for President.” 13 November 1979. <[]>