The culture in America
has been a continuing and evolving idea since the founding of this country and
even before. This continuous evolving idea is the identity of the country
making what it is today. “As many native people have observed, to be American is
to be unfinished.”[1]
The identity of the nation and the individuals in it is the most important
component of our culture. Being unfinished leaves the opportunity for the
nation as a people and idea to change and grow.
The overall culture of
the United States is made of many smaller subcultures based on the ethnicity
and traditions of a race. This gives the country an advantage to have the
different cultures mold into a national culture of many differing viewpoints
compared to many other countries that do not. While many groups have blended
into the overall culture of the nation over time these groups still hold onto
the traditions that give them their individual identity. “Although the American
Indian has resigned himself to wearing the Whiteman clothing, working in the
Whiteman factories, and attending the Whiteman schools, he has not forgotten
the traditions of his forefathers.”[2]
Many people might not have an identity like many of the groups that makeup this
country, but there are other things that many people can identify with
overwhelmingly.
One of the biggest
things in our culture that a majority of people identify with is the
automobile. The automobile has been one of the major ways people have shared
their identity due to the freedom that is associated with owning a car. The car
has been a large part of the American culture by influencing art, music and
films. Due to the rise of the car, the creation of the interstate system was
made possible. The building of the interstate system helped expand the freedom
that people were experiencing by allowing cross country travel to be shorter.
The interstates also
benefited the people, the local and the state governments that it was built in.
“Its benefits for some were enormous, with a dramatic rise in property values
and the development of new tourist sites, numerous new motels, truck stops, and
fast food restaurants.”[3]
Those new developments helped add to the identity of America with the help of
the automobile. The creation of these developments, lead to people being
identified as business owner or employee with new jobs creation giving people
more opportunities to expand themselves in this country. “Americans are wedded
to the road, and their freedom to move is one of the most important
characteristics of what they have been and who they are now.”[4]
This link shows a way a band had incorporated a car
into their music video.
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