Parts of American Culture.

Families are diverse in America. It is a lie to assume that healthy families must only be one way. There are many healthy, strong families that are nuclear, blended, single, and other types of families in America. We live in a new era of time. The nuclear family is about two married adults with biological children. Today, single parent families, childless couples, and fused families constitute the majority of American families currently. A person may grow up in a single-parent family, go on to marry and live in childless couple arrangement, then get divorced, live as a single for a couple of years, remarry, have children and live in a nuclear family arrangement. Unique families are common place. Back in 1970, about 40 percent of all American families were nuclear families. That isn’t the case now as single families have increased. We see a postmodern family reality. Single-parent households are households consisting of a single adult (most often a woman) and one or more children. In the single-parent household, one parent typically raises the children with little to no help at all, from the other. This parent is the sole "breadwinner" of the family. Like any family, families in many cases face poverty, educational issues, and other socioeconomic issues. More families rely on two income earners to survive in America. Another change is the increasing age at which young Americans leave their parental home. Traditionally, a person past "college age" who lived with their parent(s) was viewed negatively, but today it is not uncommon for children to live with their parents until their mid-twenties. This trend can be mostly attributed to rising living costs that are more expensive compared to those in decades past. Thus, many young adults now remain with their parents well past their mid-twenties. This topic was a cover article of TIME magazine in 2005. The real estate markets in large urban centers are very expensive with some monthly rents exceeding $1, 000 a month.   The no-fault divorce revolution began in 1969 in California; New York and South Dakota were the last states to begin allowing no-fault divorce. No-fault divorce on the grounds of "irreconcilable differences" is now available in all states. However, many states have recently required separation periods prior to a formal divorce decree. State law provides for child support where children are involved, and sometimes for alimony. The median length for a marriage in the U.S. today is 11 years with 90% of all divorces being settled out of court. As of 2007, 58% of Americans age 18 and over were married, 6% were widowed, 10% were divorced, and 25% had never been married. Women now work mostly outside the home and receive a majority of bachelor's degrees.


The United States is the world’s oldest surviving federation. We certainly have a political emergency with the racist Donald Trump telling Congresswomen to leave America if they disagree with him, demonizing the press, using a Muslim ban, slandering peaceful protesters, and showing overt racists in policies plus Tweets. America has a system that deals with representative democracy, but gerrymandering plus racist voter ID laws has suppressed the vote among many Americans. We should have checks and balances defined by the U.S. Constitution. Citizens readily vote for elected officials. America has 50 states, a federal district, five territories, and many uninhabited island possessions. We live in a polarized country with the two major parties of Democrats and Republicans. There are many third parties too from the Libertarian Party to the Green Party. The Democrats were formed in 1824 and Republicans were created in 1854. In political culture, most Republicans are conservative and most Democrats are liberal and centrist. The Speaker of the House is Nancy Pelosi and the Majority Leader of the Senate is Mitch McConnell. About 40 percent of Americans support Trump while the majority of Americans disagree with the agenda of him. The modern U.S. tax system was progressive for years, and it became less progressive since 1980. America’s economic system is a capitalist mixed economy. It has natural resources and high productivity.  According to the International Monetary Fund, the U.S. GDP of $16.8 trillion constitutes 24% of the gross world product at market exchange rates and over 19% of the gross world product at purchasing power parity (PPP). Back in the day, classical liberalism dealt with limited government and laissez faire economics. Today, American liberalism deals with government involvement in the economy along with being socially liberal. American culture has debated the role of government from the 1700’s to the modern age of 2019. Lobbyists, activists, and citizens all interact or oppose each other. That is why many people disagree with oligarchy, since a strong democracy requires fairness and the defense of democratic rights for all people not just for the few.



America has the third largest amount of population of any nation on Earth. China and India have more people. Race has always been an issue that has been part of American culture. With recent events from police brutality to the comments of the President spewing racism against four Congresswomen of color, we have to confront race, class, and sex in order to have a society where justice for all is real (beyond just words). America has almost 330 million people. It once had almost 4 million people back in 1790. White Americans are 73.1 percent of the population. Black Americans and Latino Americans are the largest minority groups in America. Asian Americans and Native Americans make up millions of people in America too. Minorities will be the majority of the population of America by 2044. These demographic changes are real. The United States has a birth rate of 13 per 1,000, which is 5 births below the world average. Its population growth rate is positive at 0.7%, higher than that of many developed nations in fiscal year 2017, over one million immigrants (most of who entered through family reunification) were granted legal residence.] Mexico has been the leading source of new residents since the 1965 Immigration Act. China, India, and the Philippines have been in the top four sending countries since the 1990's. As of 2012, approximately 11.4 million residents are illegal immigrants. As of 2015, 47% of all immigrants are Hispanic, 26% are Asian, 18% are white and 8% are black human beings. The percentage of immigrants who are Asian is increasing while the percentage of those who are Hispanic is decreasing. From work in the Civil Rights Movement to being inventors, African Americans have been always focused hard to contribute heavily to the culture of America. About 55 percent of African Americans live in the South. About 82% of Americans live in urban areas (including suburbs); about half of those reside in cities with populations over 50,000. The U.S. has numerous clusters of cities known as megaregions, the largest being the Great Lakes Megalopolis followed by the Northeast Megalopolis and Southern California. In 2008, 273 incorporated municipalities had populations over 100,000, nine cities had more than one million residents, and four global cities had over two million (New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, and Houston). There are 52 metropolitan areas with populations greater than one million. America is a multiracial, multiethnic nation. So, we have a complex history filled with racism and anti-racism efforts. We have a history of bigotry and heroes fighting bigotry.


Throughout the year, many Americans observe holidays whether they are religious or secular. Thanksgiving is followed by many people that dealt with colonial history. During that time, people celebrate football, many eat turkey, and others go out to have family reunion. Also, we remember another point. We know of the point. We have to acknowledge the unjust genocide of the Native Americans too. Many people celebrate Christian, Muslim, and Jewish holidays like Christmas, Passover, and Ramadan. Easter and St. Patrick holidays exist with parades and other forms of celebrations. Christmas in America is a federal holiday. Independence Day is found on the Fourth of July to celebrate the Declaration of Independence from Great Britain. Fireworks and parades are common. It is also important to note that America was founded in the promotion of slavery by many evil people. Many early Americans condoned slavery, and other early Americans fought vigilantly to oppose slavery. Likewise, there is the Juneteenth Day that celebrates the end of the Civil War for African Americans. Halloween, Mardi Gras, and other celebrations are very commonplace. Another federal holiday is Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s day on the third Monday on January. Labor Day, Memorial Day, Veteran’s Day, President’s Day, and other holidays relate to American culture greatly.


One part of American culture is many Americans are known for charitable work and advocacy. It is no secret that many righteous Americans have worked hard to help the poor, gave bottled water to the victims of the Flint water disaster, and committed to social justice. Groups like Goodwill, the Red Cross, and other organizaiton work day in and day out to help the lives of suffering human beings.

By Timothy