When
the question came up in class October Second on which country or countries
influence the U.S.A, my mind immediately went to England. Fair enough that I
would think that, considering they founded this country originally, and the
characteristics of that culture are the same characteristics that our country
adopted in the 1700’s. Even the way America cuts its grass is from English
tradition. Cutting ones grass represented wealth in England, and the tradition
of constantly mowing lawns remains today. And though powdered wigs are a thing
of the past, there are still traces of the United States modeling itself after
England.
Through
tradition, many values today still reflect the early culture of the U.S. A vast
majority of the country speaks English; we still abide by the Constitution and
look with honor upon the Declaration of Independence. However, aside from these
early cultural effects present day United States is more modeled after
different countries, such as Japan, China, and even our own neighbors like
Canada. China itself has many similarities to the U.S. The U.S and China have
the two largest economies in the world, both countries use up most of the
world’s oil, and both countries have large populations, China having the
largest in the world. (China.usc.edu) Populations are not something that the
U.S. models itself after, however, so one must look further into the
relationship between the countries to see the relationship. One major aspect of
life that the U.S does in fact model after China is our Economy. While our
democracy does cause some differences for our economy than theirs, they still
have a booming economy, which is something we could learn from, being in the
crisis that we are now. China is also a leading country in trying to decrease
the amount of greenhouse gasses going into the atmosphere, and in a constantly
changing green time, the U.S is right behind China, doing its best to help the
environment. The facts are there that the U.S and China are both leading
countries of the world today, and because of this, it is nearly impossible for
the U.S not to model itself after China. If something China is doing is working
well, the U.S will do the same thing to get great results, and vice versa.
As for other
countries that the U.S is modeling itself after, I would say that it’s not
many. If anything, the United States tries to make its own path and set an
example for other countries. I know that this sounds selfish, and America
already has a reputation for being stuck-up, but being a major superpower,
America was already thrust into a leadership position. Technology-wise and as
far as education goes, the U.S is constantly looking to Japan. And Germany
right now has a great economy and the United States is for sure looking at
that. Russia is another large superpower that the U.S is always butting heads
with, but not so much modeling itself after. The idea of Democracy that America
has can go as far back as early Greece, but we twisted it into our own way.
October
Second also brought up the topic of Democracy going up in down, the analogy
being waves. The waves of democracy often start with a war, such as in the
first, which was triggered after the American and French revolutions. Democracy
always seemed like a peaceful idea to me, so it seems strange that violence is
a major triggering point. It makes sense however, for through troubled times
ideas like Democracy guide peoples actions. Economic and Cultural factors also
greatly influence democracy, according to the Stanford News. According to
research, working classes rise up through great economic conditions, and they
then seek power, which is a triggering point for democracy. This goes hand and
hand with capitalism, however, capitalism does not need to be present to
trigger Democracy.
I
think that Democracy is different and varies country to country like we
discussed in class, some countries may want to become more of a democracy, but
do not have the drive, the resources, or the authority to do so. I know that I
take advantage of the democracy I have in the United States. While I was given
it from birth, others are fighting for it, and blood is constantly being spilt.
The majority of the people in the country might not even all want the same
thing, which could pose some problems.
Following
with Samuel Huntington’s democratic waves, there also has to be reverse waves
too, for waves rise and fall repeatedly. The reverse waves are comprised of
military coups and regimes such as the Nazis and Fascists. This is interesting
to me, for neither the Nazi party nor the Fascists had the same values as the
Democracy in America has. Personally, I think it stinks that there are reverse
waves, and I don’t quite understand them. I do not see them as reverse waves as
much as struggles in achieving democracy. Democracy cannot be obtained
overnight, and now both Germany and Italy have some sort of Democracy going on.
They had to learn from their mistakes to get to where they are today.
I
realized while writing the blog that the two topics of conversation in this
class correlate to one another. The leading countries in the world such as the
United States and China set examples for other cultures, even with our freedom
and democracy. This is why the United States and Russia were at odds with one
another before, Communism and Democracy were both being pursued by developing countries,
and neither country wanted to see their ideals slip through the cracks. The
United States of America has a very tough position in the world today. Being a
superpower, all eyes are going to be on her. The Democracy she has is an
example to all others.
www.uio.no
http://www.uio.no/english/research/interfaculty-research-areas/democracy/news-and-events/events/conferences/2012/papers-2012/Strand-Hegre-Gates-Dahl-wshop7.pdf
China.Usc.Edu
http://china.usc.edu/ShowArticle.aspx?articleID=1543&AspxAutoDetectCookieSupport=1
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