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__Individualism in America __

 What does it mean to be an individual in America?

 Freedom to wear/look like whatever we want:



Freedom to have radical political beliefs:

"We are of course a nation of differences. Those differences don’t make us weak. They’re the source of our strength."- Jimmy Carter  Freedom to listen to whichever type of music we want:



__But is this always a good thing? __ 

We often loose sight of the community when we become individuals and isolate ourselves from society.

An' I got thinkin', on'y it wasn't thinkin', it was deeper down than thinkin'. I got thinkin' how we was holy when we was one thing, an' mankin' was holy when it was one thing. An it on'y got unholy when one thing, an' mankin' was holy when it was one thing. An' it on'y got unholy when one mis'able little fella got the bit in his teeth an' run off his own way, kickin' an' draggin' an' fightin'." -from John Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath, p. 81 

"It is difficult to draw a man out of his own circle to interest him in the destiny of the state because he does not clearly understand what influence the destiny of the State can have upon his own lot” (De Tocqueville, 625) 

Americans have the tendency to disregard their surroundings

And become ignorant...

What will break the ignorance that individuality can bring?

Reflection on Individualism in America

Consumerism in America