The impacts of the American myth on the American society

I The American Myth Myths are narrations of origin and describe collective and social phenomena. They implement a sort of values that are passed on from generation to generation. Therefore (donc), the AD mirrors the American society, God plays a crucial role. The American people feel that they are chosen people and America is a new Jerusalem protected by God. Example: in the US ban k notes (billets), one can read « In God we trust ». America is a nation of immigrants who escaped from wars, repression, dearth (famine), poverty and who dreamt of abundance, freedom and good life. The first settlers understood that they had to transform the land of wilderness (desert) into a land of abundance, and this through hard work. The American soil (sol) had to be tamed (apprivoisé). In the American society, achievement relies on (repose sur) hard work, and the ability to start from scratch (rien) and to go from rags to riches. Besides (en outre), success and money are considered as the result of being a self made man. Anyone can climb the social ladder (Echelle sociale). However, the new generation tends to believe that success is a matter of luck and not hard work (cf rap US) The journey of escape and regeneration can be conceived as a biblical mission, the settlers wanted to bring a new order, a new civilization. They wanted to live behind the failings, the oiling (maladresse) and flows (défauts) to build an ideal society. John O’Sullivan, an Irish journalist, developed the concept of « the manifest destiny », based on the idea that god gave the American a land from Atlantic to pacific; which means that the Americans received the mission to expand and to spread democracy and freedom throughout the world. Advocates (avocats) of « The manifest destiny » believed that the expansion was good but obvious (manifeste) and inevitable. This concept came with the belief of the natural superiority of the white race. It justified racism, slavery and segregation in the US. The first settlers had to deal with the Native Americans. Actually (en effet), in order to survive, they had to learn from the Indians how to tame (render docile) the land, but at the same time, they expressed contempt (mépris) towards (vers) the natives, qualified as “savages». At the same time the white settlers felt threatened, that’s why they decided to eradicate them to insure their self preservation. Likewise (de meme), they used Africans to work their fields, but at the same time they enslaved them and later on segregated society. The process of regeneration in the US came with a great deal of violence. The hope of a new life had to be achieved through violence, the land had to be secured from the enemy, the enemy had no rational, but it had to be eradicated.

Even today, violence is still used by American government to secure the US. After 9/11 attacks, the bush government has been retaliating. It has conceived the concept of a pre emptive war in Iraq. In fact, Iraq was not involved (impliqué) in anyway in the 2001 attacks; However Iraq could represent a threat to the US security because of the assumed presence of weapons of mass destruction. That’s why Saddam Hussein had to be taken down with the intention of building a democracy in Iraq. Despite the American effort to implement peace, civil wars are still on and terrorist groups are not about to stop killing their own people to prove the world that the US is in opposition to guarantee peace. America has always been trapped (piégée) in a battle between good and evil on a personnel and national level. In the war against terrorism, the US has often used the expression “war against evil”; As far as the Bush Government is concerned, terrorists represent Evil and the US represent good. Because the Americans are convinced that they have a mission to be fulfilled (accomplir) they want to eradicate Evil from the Earth. Weber explains that Protestantism played a huge (énorme) role in the building of America. Protestants believed that’s people are either saved or damned and they will find out the day they die. In order to be saved they had to respect strict principles related to asceticism. The Americans are puritans. The rags-to-riches transformation is the ideal of American society. Today, it has become the consumer ideal with the development of mass market. Goods are made affordable (accessible) to more and more Americans and consumerism is the extension of the idea of abundance. The US consumption represents ¼ of the global consumption. The American achievement has a materialistic meaning as long as American keep consuming. They support the US economic growth and they still comply (conformer) with the ideal of abundance.

II The need to be afraid In 1933, Roosevelt said “the only thing we have to fear is fear itself”. He understood the threats that come with the paranoid state of mind of the Americans. The 9/11 attacks gave the US a reason to reaffirm its desire for self defense. Actually, this event awakened this fear rooted in the American psyche. For the white settlers, America was a land full of danger and the Native Americans constituted constant threats to them. They believe that the Native Americans could undermine (menacer) their AD because they are uncivilized, savage… In Fahrenheit 9/11, Michael Moore points out (montre du doigt) the fact that Americans have always nurtured (nourrir en soi) the need to be afraid for centuries. Moore made a comparison between the US and Canada when it comes to the sense of security and safety: the Americans need guns to guarantee their safety whereas Canadian don’t even lock their doors.

After 9/11 attacks, paranoia in the US has reached its climax (atteindre son maximum). The Bush government signed “the uniting and strengthening America by providing appropriate tools required to intercept and obstruct terrorism act in October 2001 also called “the patriot act”. This act has contributed to expand dramatically the authority of the American law enforcement. IT has allowed the CIA to eavesdrop (mettre sous écoute) any time it is necessary, to intercept any communication related to terrorism, and any one who provides any false information about terrorism. Besides, this act tries to prevent money laundering /white washing (blanchiement d’argent) that could be connected to terrorist groups. In fact, the patriot act questions the principle of freedom in the US. The “captivity narrative” is the fear of crossing the racial line and of being possessed by the life of savagery. The white settlers feel interbreeding (croisement des races) as much as they needed the skills and the knowledge of the Native Americans to tame the land. At the same time, they wanted to remain (rester) true to the European values with the ambition of perfecting them. This fear let the American to slaughter (abattre) Indians. This fear has also let to develop the principle of “gun ownership” which is a tricky (rusé) issue because the right to defense oneself against potential enemies has become a constitutional right. On the individual level to possess a gun is an inalienable right. But at the same time, ti could be understood as a right to be violent. On the global level, the US has been increasing its military spending. Today, this principle of gun ownership is more and more questioned because of many isolated acts of violence.

III American Imperialism The initial settlement of America was a work of Empire. The founding fathers (pères fondateurs, 1st settlers) intended to take over the British and the Native Americans. Besides they believe that Christian civilization was entitled (en droit de) to dominate the world. O’sullivan while writing on the “manifest destiny” in 1845 stated (affirmer) the right for America “to overspread the continent allotted (réparti) by providence for the free development of our yearly multiplying millions” It’s an imperialist statement. The US also cultivated racist paternalism with the concept of “the white supremacy”. Actually, the whites were superior all over races and for the first settlers; they had the right to be “father of their red children”. In 1898, Beveridge, an US senator, declared that “the trade of the world must and shall be ours”. The US has always considered itself as the “reluctant power”. Most of the time, the US entered wars to pursue the crusade for democracy, which mean that under circumstances, the US had to take over (succéder) and its intervention lead to victory. That’s one of the reasons why the US feels that it has a mission to achieve. The fall of the Berlin wall in 1989 and the fall of communism contributed to enhance (augmenter) American vision of the world. For example, the collapse of communism as an

economic system convinced the Americans that the only option that leads to growth and prosperity is capitalism. Today, the US still pursues its ambition of global expansion. The American corporations spread through their products the Americans lifestyle. The world is an open door for American businesses and without colonies has managed to build its economic hegemony. In many ways, we are all American citizens because the American culture has been shaping (former) the word’s culture.