The last few years have been really tough, causing many of us to ponder who we are and what our life priorities should be. On a personal level, we have been forced to weigh balancing work and family. On a national level, we are subjected to increasingly acerbic debate about who we are as Americans, and what our national priorities should be.
Since co-authoring American Ways: An Introduction to American Culture, I have given a lot of thought to American values. First published in 1984 as an English as a Second Language reading textbook, and now in its 4th edition, American Ways are designed to help non-natives understand what makes Americans tick.
My dear husband George has been after me for over 30 years to write a non-textbook version specifically for Americans, and this is it: Making Sausage: Our Unique American Values at Work.
The purpose of this book is to remind us of what makes us “Americans”—our unique cultural values—where they came from, how they developed, and what has been their impact on our lives.
There is something truly unique about the cultural values of the United States—a power that has allowed us to accept immigrants from all over the world and enable them to become “Americans.”
What is the source of this power? Is it still working today, or have we lost our sense of common identity?
What are our ideals? Are we living up to them? Do they still matter?
These are important questions, so let’s consider them together. Join me in watching the sausage being made, as we explore the messy process of living up to our highest ideals and what makes us “Americans.”
Making Sausage: Our Unique American Values at Work
Draft October 1, 2021 – Copyright©️ Maryanne K. Datesman. All rights reserved.
Introduction
When I was a child, my grandfather took me to a hog butchering on the family farm. I’ll spare you the images burned into my memory, but suffice it to say, it was several years before I could eat sausage again.
The phrase “watching sausage being made” implies some messy, unpleasant process of accomplishing an important task. The quote is attributed to Otto von Bismark. “Laws are like sausages; it is better not to see them being made.”
The early 2020s could well be remembered as “the years of making sausage.”
Four crises emerged in the summer of 2020: a coronavirus epidemic, a resurgence of the quest for racial equality, an unsteady economy, and a bitterly divided electorate.
Add to this, there were serious questions about the federal government’s response to these crises. Some argued that it did not adequately address these critical problems, while others bemoaned government intrusion into their private lives.
The challenges the United States faces may vary from year to year, but one thing is clear. Finding acceptable solutions to national problems is a messy process in our democracy.
The good news is that our Founding Fathers set up a system of government that has allowed our country to deal with crises, dissent, and even a bloody Civil War.
- As the Constitutional Convention of 1787 drew to a close, Benjamin Franklin was asked what he thought the Convention had produced. “A Republic,” he replied. And then he added the cautionary words, “If you can keep it.”
- Happily, Americans have kept it, so that today the United States has become the only nation in history to maintain a constitutional system of ordered liberty for more than two centuries. But the system and its liberties are not a perpetual-motion machine that can run indefinitely without the attention of the American people.
- In each succeeding generation, it is necessary to develop a firm understanding of the core documents of American liberty—the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution, including the Bill of Rights—and a reasoned commitment to their values and principles.
The bad news is that many Americans are either ignorant of or have forgotten these basic values and principles.
How do Americans learn the basic values and principles of our democracy?
One would assume that this information is taught in American schools. The standards are, in fact, articulated in The National Assessment for Educational Progress (NAEP Civics) cited above.
The NAEP Civics document also describes the standardized tests American students take. The tests are
According to the NAEP Civics report, civics education is sorely lacking in American schools today, in spite of requirements stated by school districts and state departments of education.
- Less than half the states require secondary school students to take even a one-semester course in civics or government.
- Students in K-8 get some information about civics and government in their social studies classes, but these topics lack substantial treatment.
- As for American history courses, these tend to emphasize social history, with little attention to political history, the founding period, or the development of the Constitution.
Why is it so important to understand civics and the story of the founding of the United States?
Because this shared narrative tells us who we are and reminds us what our country stands for.
- Our ancestors came to America for freedom and a better life for themselves and their children.
- They created a totally new nation with an innovative system of government designed to protect their liberty and the free lifestyle they desired.
- As a result, a system of cultural values evolved that became the guiding principles of our nation.
This book will define and explain each of these cultural values in detail.
It is critical to remember that these are aspirational values, ideals that are imperfectly realized.
How well have we lived up to our cultural ideals?
Perceptions vary. Certainly, there are obvious inequities in the United States today, with 40% of the wealth in the hands of the top 1%.
- Those on the left see the glass as half empty, emphasizing the plight of the poor and the minorities in the United States, and how they have been denied the promised ideals of our founding documents.
- Those on the right see the glass as half full, emphasizing that we need to embrace our traditions and take pride in the progress we have made in achieving success and building a great nation.
What is the purpose of this book?
In this time of chaos and confusion, we need to stop and remember who we are and what our country stands for.
The purpose of this book is to remind us of what makes us “Americans”—our unique cultural values—where they came from, how they developed, and what has been their impact on our lives.
There is something truly unique about the cultural values of the United States—a power that has allowed us to accept immigrants from all over the world and enable them to become “Americans.”
Think about that. We’ve added in all these different languages and varied cultural traditions, and yet our fundamental “American-ness” has endured for over 200 years.
Where did this cultural identity come from?
It all started with our founding documents.
The Constitution begins:
WE THE PEOPLE of the United States, in order to form a more perfect union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.
But in 1787, “WE THE PEOPLE” did not include enslaved African-Americans, indigenous peoples, or women.
We have been working ever since to achieve “a more perfect union,” striving to include all Americans in “WE THE PEOPLE,” and endeavoring to make our ideals more of a reality.
Living up to these ideals is a continuous, never-ending struggle, and securing the blessings of liberty and justice for all is often a messy process, like watching sausage being made. Thankfully, however, our unique cultural values are still at work.
Question: For you as an individual, what is the most important thing about being American?
Table of Contents:
- Introduction
- Chapter 1: Are we really that dumb? The past is prologue.
- Chapter 2: Entry Level Civics: What do you know?
- Chapter 3: Who are we? Do we have a common identity that transcends polarization?
- Chapter 4: What makes us “Americans”?
- Chapter 5: The Land of the Free
- Chapter 6: Colonial History 101
- Chapter 7: WE THE PEOPLE: Our Unique Constitution
- Chapter 8: Self-Reliance: The Price for Individual Freedom
- Chapter 9: Equality of Opportunity: A Mighty Aspiration
- Chapter 10: Equality of Opportunity: A Vexing Paradox
- Chapter 11: Competition: The Price for Equality of Opportunity
- Chapter 12: The American Dream: Illusion or Reality
- Chapter 13: Hard Work: The Price for the American Dream
- Chapter 14: Culture Wars, and Rumors of Wars: What divides us now?
- Chapter 15: Chipping away at the Cultural Iceberg: What unites us?
- Chapter 16: Values, Beliefs, and Behaviors: “We’re all in this together.”
- Chapter 17: Confronting the Legacy of Slavery: The Origins of Our Discontents
- Chapter 18: Confronting the Legacy of Slavery: Repairing the House Divided
- Chapter 19: Past, Present, and Future: Patriotism is not a dirty word.
- Chapter 20: Final Thoughts: Learning How to Live Together with Forgiveness and Grace
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