(AMERICAN CULTURE) Traditional Values and Beliefs

Traditional Values and Beliefs Traditional Values and Beliefs Traditional Values and Beliefs Traditional Values and Beliefs Traditional Values and Beliefs Traditional Values and Beliefs Traditional Values and Beliefs Traditional Values and Beliefs Traditional Values and Beliefs Traditional Values and Beliefs Traditional Values and Beliefs Traditional Values and Beliefs Traditional Values and Beliefs Traditional Values and Beliefs Traditional Values and Beliefs Traditional Values and Beliefs Traditional Values and Beliefs Traditional Values and Beliefs Traditional Values and Beliefs Traditional Values and Beliefs Traditional Values and Beliefs AMERICAN CULTURE Traditional Values and Beliefs

THUONGMAI UNIVERSITY ENGLISH FACULTY -o0o - DISCUSSION AMERICAN CULTURE Topic: Traditional Values and Beliefs Teacher : Nguyen Bich Hong Group : 01 Class : 2109ENTI0511 HANOI – 2021 Table of Contents INTRODUCTION .1 BODY I THE CONTEXT OF AMERICA Culturally Diverse 2 Racial and Ethnic Diversity 3 Religious Diversity II SIX BASIC TRADITIONAL VALUES AND BELIEFS: Individual Freedom and Self-Reliance 10 Equality of opportunity and Competition .15 Material wealth and hard work .24 III AMERICAN DREAM 29 IV AMERICA TODAY AND ITS IMPOSITION ON THE REST OF THE WORLD 33 Covid-19 .33 Some American Presidents 34 Racism 41 Make America Great Again 43 Foreign Policy and American Benefit 44 CONCLUSION 45 REFERENCES 46 INTRODUCTION Living in a foreign country and adjusting to a new culture can be a very rewarding experience But it can also be a difficult one if you not understand the values and assumptions of the society "Values" are ideas about what is right and wrong, desirable and undesirable, normal and abnormal, proper and improper "Beliefs" as the term is used here, are the unquestioned standards about people, life, and "the way things are." People who grow up in a particular culture share certain values and assumptions This means that most of them, most of the time, agree with each other’s ideas about what is right and wrong, desirable and undesirable They also agree, mostly, with each other's assumptions about human nature, social relationships The values and beliefs of a culture shape the way people act Rich cultural diversity which makes America a unique place to live in In America, a diverse population has impacted history in the United States from the very start Rich in ethnic and cultural diversity is what makes America a country replete with varied races and religions, traditional values and belief As we travelled to different States, one of the most interesting experiences is to see the fusion of cultures that is indeed unique and exceptional The overwhelming number of Hispanic or Latino origin, African American, Asian and American Indians is making America a land of opportunities where no group can call itself more American than another Every community seems to be exercising and thriving in an environment which is more tolerant to other beliefs, school of thoughts and religious obligations The cultural diversity has encouraged the kind of environment where people tend to understand each other to rise above their cultural insensitivity, bias, or prejudice Despite growing pains with diversity that have led, at times, to immigration restrictions and nativist attitudes America, on the whole, has found itself better for its diverse population BODY I THE CONTEXT OF AMERICA The United States of America, due to its immense size and diverse heritage, has one of the most complex cultural identities in the world Millions of immigrants from all over the globe have journeyed to America since the Europeans discovered and colonized the land back in the 17th and 18th centuries The blending of cultural backgrounds and ethnicity in America led to the country becoming known as a “melting pot.” As the third largest country in both area and population, America’s size has enabled the formation of subcultures within the country Specifically, when the 21th century began, the US has the greatest diversity of racial, ethnic, cultural and religious groups due to the large immigrant Culturally Diverse Of all the nations in the world, America has been diverse from the start The United States is called the melting pot Contrary to common belief, American is actually not a “ melting pot” It’s a salad bowl Each region may have different lifestyles, cultural values, business practices and dialects The United States is the third largest country in the world with a population of more than 325 million, according to the U.S Census Bureau A child is born every seconds, and a person dies every 12 seconds In addition to Native Americans who were already living on the continent, the population of the United States was built on immigration from other countries Despite recent moves To Close The U.S Borders To New Immigrants And Refugees, a new immigrant moves to the United States every 33 seconds, according to the Census Bureau Because of this, the United States is one of the most culturally diverse countries in the world Nearly every region of the world has influenced American culture, most notably the English who colonized the country beginning in the early 1600s U.S culture has also been shaped by the cultures of Native Americans, Latin Americans, Africans and Asians The United States is sometimes described as a "Melting Pot" in which different cultures have contributed their own distinct "flavors" to American culture Just as cultures from around the world have influenced American culture, today American culture influences the world The term Western culture often refers broadly to the cultures of the United States and Europe The way people "melt" in the United States differs "Different groups of immigrants integrate in different ways," De Rossi told Live Science "For example, in the United States, Catholic Spanish-speaking communities might keep their language and other cultural family traditions, but are integrated in the urban community and have embraced the American way of life in many other ways." The Northeast, South, Midwest, Southeast and Western regions of the United States all have distinct traditions and customs Therefore, each region may have different lifestyles, cultural values, business practices and dialects Racial and Ethnic Diversity The United States is a very diverse, multi-racial and multi-ethnic country; people from around the world have been immigrating to the United States for several hundred years  Racial Groups Six races are officially recognized: white, American Indian and Alaska Native, Asian, black or African American, Native Hawaiian and other Pacific Islander, and people of two or more races The United States Census Bureau also classifies Americans as “Hispanic or Latino” and “Not Hispanic or Latino,” which identifies Hispanic and Latino Americans as a racially diverse ethnicity that composes the largest minority group in the nation  Ethnic Groups In the United States of America, the term “ethnic” carries a different meaning from how it is commonly used in some other countries This is due to the historical and ongoing significance of racial distinctions that categorize together what might otherwise have been viewed as ethnic groups For example, various ethnic, “national,” or linguistic groups from Africa, Asia and the Pacific Islands, Latin America, and Indigenous America have long been combined together as racial minority groups (currently designated as African American, Asian, Latino and Native American or American Indian, respectively) 3 Religious Diversity From the beginning of its history, religion plays an important role in American people’s lives, compared to 33% in Great Britain From early colonial days, when some English and German settlers moved in search of religious freedom, America has been profoundly influenced by religion Several of the original Thirteen Colonies were established by settlers who wished to practice their own religion Americans believe in individual freedom and the right of individuals to practice their own religion The United States federal government was the first national government to have no official state-endorsed religion - The most popular religion 90% of all American say that they believe in God The most popular religion in the U.S is Christianity, comprising the majority of the population (73.7% of adults in 2016) Roughly 48.9% of Americans are Protestants, 23.0% are Catholics, 1.8% are Mormons The Protestantism is a branch of the Christianity Although the overwhelming majority of Americans are Christians, all religions make important contributions to the American culture - Other religion Almost as many Muslims living in the United States as there are Jews People of Hispanic origin make up nearly one-half of the Catholic church The Asian immigrants have brought with them the traditional religions of East Asia (Daoism, Buddhism, ) This is the exact statistic: Protestant (51.3%), Roman Catholic( 23.9%), Other Christian(3.3%), Jewish(1.7%), Buddhist(0.7%), Muslim( 0.6%), Hindu( 0.4%), Other religions (1.2%), no religion( 16.1%) II SIX BASIC TRADITIONAL VALUES AND BELIEFS: Six basic traditional values and beliefs explains the value system that has allowed the United States to assimilate millions of people from diverse cultures all over the world and create a unique, enduring American identity There are three pairs of values consisting of three reasons why immigrants have come (and still do) to the United States and three prices that are paid for these benefits: Individual Freedom and SelfReliance, Equality of Opportunity and Competition, The American Dream and Hard Work The first is for Individual Freedom and the price for that is Self-Reliance We cannot be truly free if we cannot take care of ourselves and be independent The second is for Equality of Opportunity, and the price for that is Competition If everyone has an equal chance for success, then we have to compete The third is for The American Dream, the opportunity for a better life and a higher standard of living The price for the American Dream has traditionally been Hard Work “The relationship among these values—the rights and the responsibilities—creates the fabric of the American society It is this fabric that defines the American Dream— the belief that if people take responsibility for their lives and work hard, they will have the individual freedom to pursue their personal goals and a good opportunity to compete for success” It is important to note that these six values are cultural values and not moral values, or even personal ones They are the foundation of our democratic nation Rooted in the beliefs and visions of our Founding Fathers and reinforced by historical experience, these cultural values are what distinguishes our country from all others They are what make us “Americans.” “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” (The Declaration of Independence 1776) One of the most intriguing questions about the United States is what makes people “American”? With immigrants arriving from all over the world with vastly different cultural traditions, values, and customs, what holds the country together? And how did a nation of such diversity produce a recognizable national identity? John Zogby, an American pollster who surveys public opinion, says that what holds the United States together today is that “we all share a common set of values that make us American We are defined by the rights we have Our rights are our history, why the first European settlers came here and why millions more have come here since.” The system of basic American values emerged in the late 1700s and began to define the American character in a nation that has always consisted of people from many different countries By the time the Frenchman Alexis de Tocqueville visited the United States in the 1830s, he was able to see these American values in action Almost 200 years later, his book Democracy in America is still cited as one of the most insightful and definitive descriptions of American values Historically, the United States has been viewed as “the land of opportunity,” a place where immigrants could have individual freedom, an equal chance for success, and the ability to have a better standard of living In order to have these benefits, however, they had to take care of themselves, compete with others, and work hard to fashion a new life In time, their experiences led to the development of the core American cultural values that still shape America today This system of values consists of three pairs of benefits—individual freedom, equality of opportunity and material wealth (or the American Dream)—and the price people paid to have these benefits—self-reliance, competition, and hard work These three pairs of values have determined the unique culture of the United States and its people Another way of thinking about these basic values involves rights and responsibilities Americans believe that people have the right to individual freedom, equality of opportunity, and the promise of material success, but these all require substantial responsibility: self-reliance, a willingness to compete, and hard work “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable right, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” So, their experiences led to the development of the core American culture values that still shape America today Three represent traditional reasons why immigrants have been drawn to America the chance for individual freedom equality of opportunity and material wealth In order to achieve these benefits, however, there were prices to be paid self-reliance competition, and hard work In time these prices themselves became part of the traditional value system This system of values then consists of three pairs of benefits and the price people paid to have these benefits individual freedom and self-reliance equality of opportunity and competition material wealth and hard work number These three pairs of values have determined the unique culture of the United States and its people Another way of thinking about these basic values involves rights and responsibilities Americans believe that people have the right to individual freedom equality of opportunity and the promise of material success but these all require substantial responsibility self-reliance a willingness to compete and hard work After examining the historical origin of each of these pairs we will discuss the current state of these values in the United States today Individual Freedom and Self Reliance number The earliest settlers came to the North American continent to establish colonies that were free from the controls that existed in European societies They wanted to escape the controls placed on many aspects of their lives by kings and governments priests and churches noblemen and aristocrats number To a great extent, they succeeded In number the British colonial settlers declared their independence from England and established a new nation the United States of America The second important reason why immigrants have traditionally been drawn to the United States is the belief that everyone has a chance to succeed here Generations of immigrants have come to the United States with this expectation They have felt that because individuals are free from excessive political religious and social controls they have a better chance for personal success Of particular importance is the lack of a hereditary number of aristocracy numbers Many found that they did indeed have a better chance to succeed in the United States than in the old country Because millions of these immigrants succeeded Americans came to believe in inequality of opportunity When Tocqueville visited the United States in the numbers he was impressed by the great uniformity of conditions of life in the new nation He wrote The more I advanced in the study of American society the more I perceived that equality of condition is the fundamental fact from which all others seem to be derived number It is important to understand what most Americans mean when they say they believe in inequality of opportunity The third reason why immigrants have traditionally come to the United States is to have a better life—that is to raise their standard of living For the vast majority of the immigrants who came here this was probably the most compelling reason for leaving their homeland Because of its incredibly abundant natural resources the United States appeared to be a land of plenty where millions could come to seek their fortunes Putting these six values together into a system creates something new As Aristotle said the whole is greater than the sum of its parts The relationship among these values —the rights and the responsibilities—creates the fabric of American society It is this fabric that defines the American Dream—the belief that if people take responsibility for their lives and work hard, they will have the individual freedom to pursue their personal goals and a good opportunity to compete for success These values are so tightly woven together that if any one of them is pulled out or even disturbed the entire fabric is affected and may unravel number Finally, these six cultural values— individual freedom self-reliance equality of opportunity competition material wealth and hard work—do not tell the whole story of the American character Rather they form the basic structure or framework of the American culture They enable a nation of enormous diversity to create a national identity number These realities, however, not diminish the luster of the American dream as an ideal and a beacon to all nations  Positive aspects of the American Dream - The American Dream has been used as a tool for progress and the promotion of unity - The American Dream has served as inspiration for people to fight for their rights and promote equality in the society - The American Dream has promoted the capitalistic economic system, which is the most favorable system for economic growth and development - The American Dream contributes to the growth of the country’s economy since when individuals pursue and achieve their dreams; the economic outcomes of the country are improved  - Negative aspects of the American Dream The American Dream creates an illusion of equality while the reality is that power and wealth influence the socio-economic outcomes of an individual in the United States - People are only concerned with their wellbeing therefore creating a society that does not care for its less fortunate - The ideals of the American Dream wrongly equate economic prosperity with happiness - The dream exhorts materialism above everything else and this may be harmful for the society The American Dream has become a nightmare in reality since compassion for human beings has all but disappeared as more people become preoccupied with making more money Despite being the richest country in the world, there is significant poverty and socio- economic inequality in the US This situation can partly be blamed on the American Dream The American Dream is not one dream but a set of ideals that have been developed over time While the dream constitutes a wide range of ideas, they are all based on achieving prospering, success, and living a good life The United States is a land of opportunity and liberty, but these opportunities are not available equally Instead of promoting the universal prosperity and equality, it assumes to uphold, the American dream has encouraged immense inequality within this great nation 32 IV AMERICA TODAY AND ITS IMPOSITION ON THE REST OF THE WORLD Covid-19 The COVID-19 pandemic in the United States is part of the worldwide pandemic of corona-virus disease 2019 (COVID-19) More than 29.7 million confirmed cases have been reported since January 2020, resulting in more than 541,000 deaths, the most of any country, and the tenth-highest per capita worldwide The U.S has nearly a quarter of the world's cases and a fifth of all deaths More Americans have died from COVID-19 than died during World War II COVID-19 became the third-leading cause of death in the U.S in 2020, behind heart disease and cancer US life expectancy dropped from 78.8 years in 2019 to 77.8 years in the first half of 2020 On December 31, 2019, China announced the discovery of a cluster of pneumonia cases in Wuhan The first American case was reported on January 20, and President Donald Trump declared the U.S outbreak a public health emergency on January 31 Restrictions were placed on flights arriving from China, but the initial U.S response to the pandemic was otherwise slow, in terms of preparing the healthcare system, stopping other travel, and testing Meanwhile, Trump remained optimistic about the future of the coronavirus in the United States The first known American deaths occurred in February On March 6, Trump signed the Corona-virus Preparedness and Response Supplemental Appropriations Act, which provided $8.3 billion in emergency funding for federal agencies to respond to the outbreak On March 13, President Trump declared a national emergency In mid-March, the Trump administration started to purchase large quantities of medical equipment, and in late March, it invoked the Defense Production Act to direct industries to produce medical equipment By April 17, the federal government approved disaster declarations for all states and territories By mid-April, cases had been confirmed in all fifty U.S states, and by November in all inhabited U.S territories The second rise in infections began in June 2020, following relaxed restrictions in several states, leading to daily cases surpassing 60,000 The third rise in infections began around mid-October, leading to daily cases reaching over 100,000 by the end of the month State and local responses to the outbreak have included prohibitions and cancellation of largescale gatherings (including festivals and sporting events), stay-at-home orders, and school closures Disproportionate numbers of cases have been observed among Black and Latino 33 populations, and there were reported incidents of xenophobia and racism against Asian Americans Clusters of infections and deaths have occurred in many areas Some American Presidents a George W Bush George W Bush is the 43rd President of the United States He was sworn into office on January 20, 2001 after one of the most tightly contested presidential campaigns in U.S history Bush expected to focus on domestic issues such as education, the economy, and Social Security But his presidency changed irrevocably after the Sept 11 attacks President George W Bush focused on a policy of global leadership in a war on terrorism The US conducted military operations in Afghanistan in response to the 9/11 attacks President George W Bush then involved the United States in a war to overthrow the ruling regime in Iraq While the media at that time initially gave favorable coverage to the decision to go to war and to the military operations in Iraq, subsequent revelations about errors made both before and during the war brought about media criticism of the administration’s decision to go to war and its conduct of the war b Barack Obama He served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017 In 2008, the unpopularity of President Bush and the Iraq war, along with the 2008 financial crisis, led to the election of the first African-American President of the United States The Obama administration inherited foreign and national security policy issues such as the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq Accordingly, it must engage with these pre-existing challenges as well as newly emerging threats Following his election victory by a wide electoral margin in November 2008, Barack Obama signed into law the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, aimed at helping the economy recover from the deepening recession The recession officially ended in June 2009, and the economy slowly began to expand once again The president’s policy making ability is buttressed by advantages in information gathering, public appeal, manipulation of intelligence, and the opposition’s struggle to mobilize public opinion 34 c Donald Trump He is the 45th and current president of the United States Trump's political positions have been described as populist, protectionist, isolationist, and nationalist He has proved one of the most divisive presidents in recent US history, after his controversial 2016 run that saw him switch from being a reality TV star and businessman to an outspoken campaigner who appealed to a particular "base" with his nationalistic, pro-American rhetoric He quickly courted disquiet with a move to ban immigrants from Muslim countries, but won plaudits for a tax-cut package that many commentators say boosted the US economy His "America First" policies have angered many on the international stage, particularly China, which Mr Trump sees as benefiting unfairly from an unbalanced world trade system, and have caused concern on the markets, and his withdrawals from the Paris climate accord, the Iran deal and other agreements have drawn many critics d Joe Biden – the latest American president Joe Biden is the current frontrunner for the 2020 Democratic Nomination for the U.S Presidency He is a moderate with over 40 years of political experience He, alongside Senators Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders, has a substantial lead over the rest of the Democratic field Up to now, he has been the 46th American president for two months Joe Biden is politically moderate and is able to sound authentic and genuine to voters which gives him a broad appeal across the American electorate As a political moderate he could potentially appeal to swing voters, conservative leaning independents and moderate Republicans who are not satisfied with President Trump His authenticity can help him appeal the voters who voted for Obama in 2012 and Trump in 2016 His policy views also align closer to that of the general public than some of his more liberal competitors He supports adding a public option to the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obama Care, free trade, campaign finance reform, universal 35 background checks, criminal justice reform, and higher taxes on the wealthy, among many other things These are all policies that are popular with the American electorate as well as Democrats Biden also has more experience than anyone else in the field including serving nearly 40 years in the U.S Senate and eight years as Vice President under President Barack Obama The Democratic Party over the past few years has been moving to the left and many voters, especially younger ones, feel that Biden is too moderate and too “establishment” Additionally, many of his previous views and votes directly contradict those of modern democrats Including his support for the 1994 crime bill, his support for the anti-busing movement in the 1970s, his vote in favor of the Iraq war in 2002, and his support of some anti-abortion policies Young people vote in notoriously low numbers, and if they are not excited about the Democratic candidate, they may be less likely to vote As young people are significantly more liberal than their older counterparts so a low voter turnout would disproportionately harm Democrats There are also concerns about his age Biden was 78 years old when he takes office in 2020 and 82 years old at the end of his first term He would be 86 years old if he, like most American Presidents, ran for a second term in 2024 He has come under more scrutiny than the other older candidates because he keeps responding to questions with long rambling, incoherent answers making errors on the campaign trail This has led many people to question his ability to perform the highly taxing job of the U.S Presidency *New Majority Policies when Joe Biden on president’s seat Progressives think President-elect Joseph R Biden Jr.’s policies not go far enough President Trump and his administration have called Mr Biden a Trojan horse for the radical left 36 Since the primary, Mr Biden has shifted leftward on issues including health care, climate change and education But even then, he has hardly embraced the bold agenda of progressives like Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont Coronavirus Mr Biden made combating the pandemic a central message of his campaign for months, arguing that the nation would be better off if he were in charge Mr Biden has also said he will ask governors to institute a mask mandate in their states; if they refuse, he will work with local officials to get mandates in place And he has said he will impose a national mask mandate in federal buildings and on interstate transportation As for Dr Anthony S Fauci, the nation’s top infectious disease expert, Mr Biden says that he hopes Dr Fauci will also serve in his administration Health Care Mr Biden supports expanding the Affordable Care Act and creating a public option — a plan he has nicknamed Bidencare He has denounced Republican efforts to overturn the health care law, and vowed to ensure that Americans with pre-existing conditions will continue to have access to health care He does not support the universal, single-payer health care proposal known as “Medicare for all” that is advocated by progressives including Mr Sanders And he does not support eliminating private insurance But in a concession to progressives, he announced in April a plan to lower the Medicare eligibility age to 60 from 65 Mr Biden has also pledged to “reduce the premiums and reduce drug prices by making sure that there’s competition that doesn’t exist now by allowing Medicare to negotiate drug prices with the insurance companies.” Economy 37 Mr Biden has a sweeping economic recovery plan, under the moniker “Build Back Better,” that promises to create millions of jobs In his plan, Mr Biden has tied the economic revival to tackling climate change, racial equity and reinvestment in American manufacturing Among his proposals are a $300 billion increase in government spending on research and development of technologies, like electric vehicles and 5G cellular networks, and an additional $400 billion in federal procurement spending on products that are manufactured in the United States To discourage American companies from moving jobs to other countries, known as offshoring, he proposed a 10 percent “offshoring penalty surtax” that would apply to “profits of any production by a United States company overseas for sales back to the United States.” Mr Biden has also said he will change the tax code to reward companies for investing in domestic production And he has promised to take executive action to ensure the purchase of American goods in the federal procurement process Taxes Mr Biden wants to partially repeal the Trump tax overhaul, rolling back tax cuts for corporations and the highest earners He has proposed increasing the corporate tax rate to 28 percent, from 21 percent e Election 2020 According to the BBC news agency, the US president has a huge influence on people's lives both at home and abroad, so when the next election is held on November, the outcome will matter to everyone The US political system is dominated by just two parties, so the president always belongs to one of them The Republicans are the conservative political party in the US and their candidate in this year’s election is President Donald Trump, who is hoping to secure another four 38 years in power The Democrats are the liberal political party in the US and their candidate is Joe Biden, an experienced politician best-known for serving as Barack Obama’s vice president for eight years Both men are in their 70s - Mr Trump would be 74 years old at the start of his second term, while at 78, Mr Biden would be the oldest first-term president in history According to a poll carried out by Pew Research in early August, the economy remains firmly the most important issue for voters, as it was two years before But Pew found a wide divergence among voters with different voting intentions Trump supporters were more likely to rate the economy as important, whereas Biden supporters viewed health care and the coronavirus response as being most relevant to their selection Likewise, race and ethnic inequality provoked a widely divergent range of opinion, with 76% of likely Biden voters saying it was very important to their voting intentions, compared to 24% of Trump voters With coronavirus having had such a major impact on the US economy - despite recent stock market recoveries - and with the Black Lives Matter movement making such an impact on national politics, it is difficult to see how these priorities will play out, considering how little is known about how important all the factors are to Americans of all leanings Climate change remains important for Biden supporters, but is almost completely unimportant to Trump backers The environment has been overridden by the COVID-19 pandemic this year, while gun control - which was a huge issue under Obama - is of only moderate concern to both sets of voters f US-China political relations In recent years, relations between the United States and the China are involved in a prolonged stand-off over trade, and in competition that is spilling from political and military areas into a growing number of other spheres, including technology, finance, and education, severely straining ties on the 40th anniversary of the two countries’ establishment of diplomatic relations Current trends portend steadily worsening relations over the long term, with increasingly adverse consequences for all actors involved Specifically, Beijing and Washington are transitioning from a sometimes 39 contentious yet mutually beneficial relationship to an increasingly antagonistic, mutually destructive set of interactions The two lead the world in the size of their economies, their defense budgets, and their global greenhouse gas emissions Both countries are permanent members of the United Nations (U.N.) Security Council In 2018, they were each other’s largest trading partners During the Trump Administration, competition has dominated the relationship and areas of cooperation have shrunk The 2017 National Security Strategy (NSS) describes both China and Russia as seeking to “challenge American power, influence, and interests, attempting to erode American security and prosperity.” To pressure China to change its economic practices, the United States has imposed tariffs on approximately half of U.S imports from China and proposed to impose tariffs on the remaining imports on September 1, 2019, and December 15, 2019 U.S tariffs and China’s retaliatory tariffs have reordered global supply chains and hit U.S farmers and manufacturers particularly hard Twelve rounds of negotiations have not resolved the dispute Moreover, the US has put sanctions on Chinese officials over human rights issues in Xinjiang and Hong Kong while also increasing engagement with Taiwan, including arms sales A trade deal to end a protracted tariff war has stalled and the US has placed more restrictions on Chinese state media Biden, who in a presidential debate referred to the Chinese leader, Xi Jinping, as one of several “thugs' ' Trump has cosied up to, has also promised to take a strong stance against China “The China-US relationship will not go back to where it was before,” said Cheng Xiaohe, an associate professor of international relations at Renmin University in Beijing “The relationship is so bad.” U.S President Joe Biden and his predecessor Donald Trump may disagree about many things, but China isn’t one of them Biden’s team has shown early signs that it agrees with the previous administration on several “extremely touchy” issues concerning China, an American public policy expert said on Thursday The “early signals” show that the Biden administration “may change the tone and tenor of the conversation with Beijing — but they’re not really gonna change the policy,” said 40 Lanhee Chen, director of domestic policy studies and lecturer at Stanford University He pointed out that Antony Blinken, Biden’s nominee for Secretary of State, said during his confirmation hearing this week that he agreed with the previous administration’s assessment that China committed genocide against the minority Uighur Muslims Racism In the 21st century, one of the biggest turning points was the victory of Barack Obama to become the United States’ first African-American president It is believed that Obama's presence in the White House is already one of the great legacies of his presidency because it represented a radical departure from the nation's dark and often brutal racial past to the opening of a new chapter in America's history By 2009, only five African-Americans had ever served in the U.S Senate – and Obama was one of them A public opinion survey immediately after Election Day found that two-thirds of Americans believed that the country’s racial conflicts could be resolved by Barack Obama's administration In fact, over the course of the Obama administration, the quality of black life improved by some metrics (high school graduation rates, hate crimes, and life expectancy) but faltered in some areas (home ownerships, college graduation rates, loans to black-owned businesses) Nevertheless, racism has remained a lingering issue in American society, which can not be resolved by one or two presidencies Still, minority groups in the US are unfortunately often subject to discrimination, ranging from racist comments to violent hate crimes The groups that are most often discriminated against are African Americans, Hispanics, and Muslims, but smaller minority groups, such as Jews, other immigrant groups, and the LGBT community, bear their share of intolerance as well Minorities often face discrimination in the workplace, they earn less than white workers with similar jobs In 2018, the average Black worker earned just 62% of what the average white worker made 41 Research shows that African American and Latinx men are disproportionately represented in all levels of the criminal justice system, from arrest to sentencing to death row African American people are much more likely to get arrested on drug charges than white Americans, even though usage rates are comparable Once arrested, they are more likely than white defendants to be denied bail, and more likely to receive harsher charges and sentences than white defendants who committed the same offenses Moreover, African American people are 2.5 times more likely to be killed by police than white people On May 25, 2020, George Floyd, an unarmed African American man, was killed while being arrested by the police A bystander video recording of the incident showed that a white police officer pinned Floyd to the ground while he was handcuffed The police officer’s knee pressed into the back of Floyd’s neck for more than eight minutes, even after Floyd lost consciousness In the video, Floyd was heard saying, "Please, I can't breathe." The incident was shared widely on social media Since Floyd’s death, there have been protests following the Black Lives Matter movement across the country, in more than 100 cities Those activists are taking to social media to quickly share protest details to a wide audience and raise people's awareness of discrimination, racism Despite having video recordings of many of these deaths, it is very rare for police officers to get arrested, prosecuted, or convicted for excessive use of force This perceived lack of accountability has led to a public outcry for justice and strongly indicated that racism is still prevalent in the US Throughout this country’s history, the hallmarks of American democracy – opportunity, freedom, and prosperity – have been largely reserved for white people through the intentional exclusion and oppression of people of color The deep racial and ethnic inequities that exist today are a direct result of structural racism: the historical and contemporary policies, practices, and norms that create and maintain white supremacy Racism in the United States has existed since the colonial era, and it involves laws, practices, and actions which discriminate against various groups or adversely impact them in other ways, based on their race or 42 ethnicity Whilst most white Americans enjoy legally or socially sanctioned privileges and rights, these same privileges and rights can be denied to members of other races and minority groups Make America Great Again "Make America Great Again" or MAGA is a campaign slogan used in American politics popularized by Donald Trump in his successful 2016 presidential campaign Ronald Reagan used the similar slogan "Let's Make America Great Again" in his successful 1980 presidential campaign Bill Clinton also used the phrase in speeches during his successful 1992 presidential campaign and used it again in a radio commercial aired for his wife Hillary Clinton's unsuccessful 2008 presidential primary campaign Douglas Schoen has called Trump's use of the phrase "probably the most resonant campaign slogan in recent history,” citing majorities of Americans who believed that the country was in decline The slogan became a pop culture phenomenon, seeing widespread use and spawning numerous variants in the arts, entertainment and politics, being used by those who support and oppose the presidency of Donald Trump Since its popularization in the 2010s, the slogan is considered a loaded phrase Multiple analytic journalists, scholars, and commentators link it to racism in the United States, regarding it as dog-whistle politics and coded language The slogan was also at the center of two events originally reported inaccurately in most media outlets, the alleged assault of Jussie Smollett and the January 2019 Lincoln Memorial confrontation This slogan is often used because it hits the minds of the American people, it is the traditional values and beliefs Americans have always wanted freedom, richness, high democracy and number one status in the world Especially at the 2016 election campaign, when the United States was threatened by the Chinese economy, Russia's 43 military potential, Donald Trump used this slogan to successfully attract votes and become became the 45th President of the United States Foreign Policy and American Benefit Throughout American history, America has always considered itself a nation of symbols of freedom, democracy, and wealth For that very reason, America has used its position of power and military power to "give" democracy to other countries with beautiful names like "Arab Spring", helping undeveloped countries in Africa, Southwest Asia, the Middle East, especially Vietnam However, behind this help are benefits that the US wants to expropriate Arab used to be a wealthy country with a developed life Its population is mainly Muslim, so it is very religious The US understands the economic, political, natural resources, oil reserves, and strategic positions of these countries Thus, the United States has gradually established special economic policies, even sponsoring arms, that has caused tensions between nations to escalate As we often see, news of civil wars in the countries of the Middle East, North Africa, and South West Asia occurs every day War between the rebels in the countries is always in tension The special thing is the American involvement This is simply not a help, but a benefit That is the assertion of power, oil interests, taking advantage of democracy as an excuse for this engagement 44 CONCLUSION The United States is home to many cultures and a wide variety of ethnic groups, traditions, and values The six basic American cultural values include individual freedom, self-reliance, equality of opportunity, competition, material wealth, and hard work They are interwoven and related to each other The relationship among these values - the rights and the responsibilities - creates the fabric of the American society It is this fabric that defines the American Dream - the belief that if people take responsibility for their lives and work hard, they will have the individual freedom to pursue their personal goals and a good opportunity to compete for success 45 REFERENCES Quoted in James T Kloppenberg, The Virtues of Liberalism (1998) p 147 J A Leo Lemay, "Franklin's Autobiography and the American Dream," in J A Leo Lemay and P M Zall, eds Benjamin Franklin's Autobiography (Norton Critical Editions, 1986) pp 349–360 Seoshb (2021), "The most prestigious US stock exchanges today" List of largest companies in the United States by revenue, Wikipedia IvyPanda (2019), "The American Dream: Negative and Positive Aspects" Uranus Ngọc Tú, "Top 10 financial capitals of the world" James E Miller, Jr., "My Antonia and the American Dream" Prairie Schooner 48, no (Summer 1974) pp 112–123 Individual and Self-Reliance (StudFiles) What are American values? What us important to Americans? (USAHello) 10 What are some cultural differences between Vietnamese and Americans? (Quora) 11 Vietnamese Traditional Family Values (Vietnamdiscovery) 12 Independence (State Department) 13 Six Basic American Cultural Values- Vintage American Way 14 Harold Bloom and Blake Hobby, eds The American Dream (2009) 15 Nicholas Canaday, Jr., "Albee's The American Dream and the Existential Vacuum." South Central Bulletin Vol 26, No (Winter 1966) pp 28–34 16 Hayley Haugen, ed., The American Dream in John Steinbeck's of Mice and Men(2010) 17 Lloyd W Brown, "The American Dream and the Legacy of Revolution in the Poetry of Langston Hughes" Studies in Black Literature (Spring 1976) pp 16–18 18 Make America Great Again, Wikipedia, 2019 19 Lange, Justin, "Make America Great Again? American Conservatism and Donald Trump" (2019) Honors Theses 2315 20 Adapted from “The Values Americans Live By”, L Robert Kohls 46 ... you not understand the values and assumptions of the society "Values" are ideas about what is right and wrong, desirable and undesirable, normal and abnormal, proper and improper "Beliefs" as the... 0.4%), Other religions (1.2%), no religion( 16.1%) II SIX BASIC TRADITIONAL VALUES AND BELIEFS: Six basic traditional values and beliefs explains the value system that has allowed the United States... Racial and Ethnic Diversity 3 Religious Diversity II SIX BASIC TRADITIONAL VALUES AND BELIEFS: Individual Freedom and Self-Reliance 10 Equality of opportunity and Competition