Hola, lectores. El siguiente ensayo es un escrito que realicé en inglés sobre la cultura norteamericana y europea. Visto que somos cuatro pelagatos los interesados en mi blog (yo mismo y pocos más), he decidido poner el ensayo. ¿Por qué no? Aquí tenéis.

Society and Culture: Europe and North America

Society nowadays is a small town. Although each house in this town has its own personal rules – sometimes even its own language – they are all ruled under a system: a system that a hundred years ago was segmented in pieces throughout the globe. Not anymore. The current global society, the current system, is a small town where houses actually depend on the system to survive. Of course, I am talking about countries. Most countries of the world have replaced their own cultural values and characteristics for new aspects of the global modern society, observing their traditions through a cheval glace with sorrow and melancholy. However, many cultural aspects have remained in large continental areas of the world, such as Europe and North America. European and North American culture are both influenced under the sphere of global modern society, but they have both managed to maintain their original social and cultural aspects and expand them throughout the world.

Origin is a major subject to consider in European and North American culture. It is perfectly correct to state that the current European way of life originates from Greece. The system of marriages, inheritance, law, and politics that dominates Europe and North America are an inheritance of the first European civilizations. However, due to historical events, North America only managed to attain some of the European traditions that Great Britain actually had acquired. The fact that the colonies in North America were a British invention also explains many aspects of the American way of life. A clear example of this is urban planning. In continental Europe, cities have always been inclined to have services of similar characteristics spread all around the city. British cities, like London, have the peculiar characteristic of having services of similar characteristics in the same district of the city. This last fact is clearly explained in North America when observing the financial, commercial, and cultural districts of big cities in the United States. Although less reliable, a good example is the disposition of malls and shop centers. They tend to be proximate to one another, in opposite of the ‘spread’ European model. Another case related to urban planning is the fact that North America was made “on wheels”. Car and transport is absolutely indispensable in North America since cities and services are very far away from each other. This example concerns the size of the country rather than history, but it is also true that Great Britain is built in a similar way, having enormous distances between a city and another.

North America and Europe have been defined and built according to their history. As a first example, we must consider a very important matter in American society: guns. The use of weapons in Europe is extremely restricted, being allowed only for certified guards, security corps, and people under death threat. However, the use of arms in the United States is openly received not only by important organizations – like Charlton Heston’s National Rifle Association – but also by the government itself. This is often criticized in Europe. Historical facts are vital to understand this matter: the United States were created in a political context where Americans had the right to defend their lives, even at the cost of human lives. Great Britain was a threat, as demonstrated in the consequences of the Boston Tea Party. If that was not enough, a civil war suddenly appeared, where guns were necessary more than ever. Ballistic research was a major field in the United States in the Civil War, an inheritance that is still being pulled by the North American society. On the other hand, the reticence of Europe to allow ballistics to become a daily-basis matter is based on the history of the last century, when millions of people died in World War II. Europe certainly learned from that mistake.
It is clear that Europe and North America are very different in all the aspects of culture. A clear example is literature. North American writers tend to have a more concrete, straightforward style, whereas European writers have always lead to a more abstract writing, both in style and meaning of their books. A clear example is the manner in which writing skills are taught in school. In continental Europe, students are encouraged to fill their essays with as many rhetorical devices as they can; whereas in the United States, English students are required to be straight-forward writers, avoiding elements like the passive voice. The same thing occurs in paintings and sculptures. North American art has always been concrete, contemporary. European art is abstract, trying to captivate the audience into a labyrinth of feelings and emotions. Also, European art has had many more revolutions than the American one, but it would be a travesty to state this as an important fact since North American history is very recent. Cultural differences are important to consider in a deep analysis of both civilizations. This is because artistic expression is transformed in way of life. The mind of the North American citizen is concrete, with distinctive colors and shapes that are defined by a society of tangible characteristics based in a strong corporative system. On the other hand, Europe has inherited citizens with abstract mind. This mind is surrounded by a society that many times substitutes corporeal elements of the today by melancholy and other feelings that sometimes are imprecise and uncertain but that enrich European culture and art.

Politics are influenced by society and culture. Both the North American and European governmental systems have inherited their characteristics from the Westminster model, based on the British parliament of chambers. In this aspect, it is very important to observe 19th century history rather than older history, since both continents were very much alike in political matters, except for the Manifest Destiny that provoked the United States’ expansion to the west coast and Mexico. The variety of political tendencies in Europe cannot be compared to that of North America. For example, in the United States there are two major current political parties: republicans and democrats. This is not only because of historical reasons from the foundation of the country, but also because of the strong hatred towards everything outside of those parameters. More right-winged would mean fascist. United States was at war with the Nazis. More left-winged would mean communist. United States was, in fact, at war – cold, but war – with the Soviet Union. Europe has suffered both sides of the edge and yet there are millions of people following communist and fascist doctrines nowadays. International political roles have been switched, too. Europe was the threat before, exploiting Africa and part of South America. Europe had the image of the oppressor, of the enfant terrible of world. On the other hand, United States was seen as the revolution to reach the perfect government and country. Roles have been switched. United States, during the last decade, has become into the never-ending threatening warrior that defends its interests at any cost.

Some people believe that there is absolutely no difference between European andNorth American society and culture. To believe this would be a mockery. Globalization has not been able to overarch one culture and the another, and they are still very distinctive societies that survive with each other. Sometimes, the regular citizenship of each of the both civilizations criticizes the other and disrespects it. The truth is that one culture cannot survive without the other and that they complete the world because their breakthroughs and accomplishments are the ones that have marked the pages of history with success and progress.

Although global society has managed to overcome local culture in most of the world, globalization has caused large united extensions such as North America and Europe to maintain a mix of the values and culture of their integrating countries. They have also successfully expanded their traditions through the image they give to the rest of the world. This can be considered a middle step to the total globalization, in which the whole world will be under the same system, the same society.

Antonio Bustamante
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