Characteristically American

Written by tonypitt

A joke says that a college professor once declared in class that the height of

American power had passed and America had began its decline around August 30,

1953, somewhere between 3 and 5 pm eastern central time. The exaggeration of

knowing the exact moment of such a change is really funny, but the joke actually

reveals something happens in people’s minds.

Pessimists believe that America is (1) a nation in decline and it must inevitably (4)

follow historical precedent just like the thesis Paul Kennedy states in The (2) Rise

and Fall of (3) Great Powers. Apparently, signs of decline are sure to be found in

America, but to think that America has lost its luster, or that America is now

beginning its gradual fade into (13)a stagnant society, is something I am not

convinced of.

(16)From the perspective of me, America may not decline, but instead (6) fuse

with the Pacific culture to create a new civilization of (7) unprecedented openness

and pluralism. As we know, American culture is unique because it is nurtured,

formed, developed under certain conditions. The major factors contributing to the

making of this new type of (8) cultural pluralism are ethnic diversity and plural

religion. Every year millions of immigrants come to America for (15) a common aim

to level up their (18) living standard. Most of them come from the Third World and

Asia, they bring their own culture to American and later on different cultures are

mixed together. Thus (11) the Pacific Rim civilization of (20)diverse races and
cultures is formed, a common cultural life with commonly shared values. In this

civilization, there has no exploitation but (17) harmonious cooperation which is

the (9) general trend in the development of economic. For instance, a personal

computer company which is founded by three young immigrants (14) shows up in

the (10) high-technology parks of northern Orange Country and it is actually a

product of this new civilization. In the company, people do their best to work

together well such as to form the same (12) conception of time. No matter where

are they from, all of them have the equal chance to pursue their dreams which is

consistent with (19) the essential characteristic of American culture: the chance to

try.

(5)I have the sense that American may achieve the peak which is beyond any

nation’s wildest dreams.