Open Blog Posts 7: Heroism in American Culture

The most famous and important component in American culture and ideology is individual heroism. Heroes are usually the incarnation of freedom and justice in society, who are able to challenge, even defeat the dark side themselves. They save people or solve problems after brave and tough fights. In American traditional culture, heroes could get out from huge pressure, overthrow multiple challenges, and usually don’t get limited by groups, communities, even country, which represent the bravely advancing, salvation spirit. Heroism and its origin, spirit have deep connection with American history and ideology, which the early phenomenon of immigration requires America and people have courage to open up new world, to fight for freedom. So, the American culture has not fully affected by other immigration, but keep looking forward to the individual heroism.

As heroism is a historical creation from the development of American culture, it is a core component of American ideology. Individual heroism is the American’ s original need to freedom and liberty, which comes from the appearance of liberalization and liberation in each field and career during early waves of immigration. I believe American’s value of absolute support to freedom and liberty is coming from immigrants’ sense of self-defense, as they can’t adapt the huge differences causing from new living environment and value system. So basically, American’ s trust to heroism is mainly because of people’s crisis awareness as early immigrants were facing an unfamiliar living space. So naturally, American expect society could give them a perfect freedom, a respected and absolutely private freedom.

American culture gifts individual heroism the right to use force, even violence if necessary. Heroes don’t have to follow, or limited by specific social institution and law. They can act when they think they are needed, and even able to fix or create a new law or order if they think fit. And the concept and ideology of individual heroism could be mainly separated into two parts, which is first the ideally seeking to freedom and liberty, and second the insistence and confidence to own ability.