Culture is defined as a way of thinking or behaving within a society or organization, but in America, culture can simply be defined in one phrase, the American dream. The concept of being a self made woman or man is ingrained into American society, as well as the belief that one can achieve whatever they put their mind to. This leads to many Americans, myself included, developing a task-oriented culture that is obsessed with personal achievement and climbing the corporate ladder. Though on the surface this may seem like a culture that leads to a happy life, it can also be a devastating culture that leads to a life full of emptiness. My culture is defined by success at all costs, and this can evidently be seen in the lack of sympathy shown towards …show more content…
This fear ties in with the previously stated mindset about the nothingness of life. If one’s whole world is oriented around proving their existence through achievement, then aging can be considered the ultimate death. Personally, I fear becoming old more than I fear physical death. Though not a physical death, from this cultural perspective, aging is viewed as the death of achievement. The older one becomes, the less their body and mind is capable of doing, and the less purposeful their life becomes. When one’s body gives out and there is no work left to be done, this person is left with only one option, to sit and be. This is the most terrifying thought of all thoughts. Task oriented culture is so programmed around doing, that the concept of simply being is never even explored. An identity, beyond the scope of personal achievements, is rarely ever developed or discovered. This ultimately results in feeling as though one’s existence is nothing more than waste of space in the world. Instead of being the purposeful one achieving great things in the world, suddenly the roles are reversed and one finds themself being the obstacle in the way of everyone else’s achievement. Through aging, the person becomes what they once valued so lowly and viewed as a waste of human life. There is nothing more terrifying than being left alone to deal with one’s self, because it is in that moment that one realizes beyond the achievements, there truly is nothing there defining their life. Perhaps this is why the drunken old man in the story tried to kill himself. As the story says, “he was in despair about nothing” (91). Perhaps he, too, feared aging because of the nothingness of life that comes along with
Culture often means an appreciation of the finer things in life; however, culture brings members of a society together. We have a sense of belonging because we share similar beliefs, values, and attitudes about what’s right and wrong. As a result, culture changes as people adapt to their surroundings. According to Bishop Donald, “let it begin with me and my children and grandchildren” (211). Among other things, culture influences what you eat; how you were raised and will raise your own children? If, when, and whom you will marry; how you make and spend money. Truth is culture is adaptive and always changing over time because
...at the American culture places economic success at the pinnacle of social desirability, without listing legitimate ways for attaining the desired goal (Merton 672-682). Today, the American Dream no longer reflects the dream Adams had, but instead, the idea that one can only call themselves truly successful if they have become rich, regardless of the way they got there. The American Dream does not guarantee happiness, but rather the pursuit of it, but with the media strongly persuading people that money guarantees happiness, people are encouraged to do whatever it takes, even it means disregarding their morals, so that they achieve ‘success.’ The inability to achieve this goal often leads people to destructive, and ultimately life-threatening criminal behavior as their feelings of anxiety and frustration over this vision of the “American Dream” get the best of them.
Death “The fear of death is deeply embedded in us” (Cave 1). Death is something everyone fears. As humans, we like to believe that we are inhuman and that death will never affect us. It’s the ugly side of life that no one likes to think about. It doesn’t matter what race, culture, or region we are in, we’ll all die.
Fear of the unknown, and fear of what is to come in our lives, has generations of people wondering what will our lives be like tomorrow or the next day. Death is always there and we cannot escape it. Death is a scary thing. Our own mortality or the mortality of our loved ones scares us to the point that we sometimes cannot control how we are dealing with such a thing as the thought of death. Why do we fear such a thing as death? We don’t know what happens after we don’t how it feels. The fear of death is different for most but it is most certain to come and we cannot hide from it. For death is just around the corner and maybe it’s will come tomorrow or the next day! We fear not death, but the unknown that comes from death, that is the
Society has imposed the "American Dream" on individuals for as long as the United States has been in existence. People are manipulated into believing that hard work and perseverance will lead to their ultimate success in life. The government, the media, and corporations alike create and exploit the "American Dream" as a system of mass control. Greed propels the dream by adding to the power it hold over individuals. Society is told that everyone should be striving for success, which is defined a...
According to Ernest Becker, “The main thesis of this book is that it explains: the idea of death, the fear of death that haunts humans like nothing else; the mainspring of human activity designed to avoid the fatality of death, to overcome it by denying in some way that it is the final destiny for man” (“Becker” ix). The author of this book describes and quotes many other psychological thinkers views on the different kinds of fear and what contributes to the fear of death in man. The author explores several topics like self-worth, heroism, fear, anxiety, depression and many other issues throughout this book.
Media has displayed people of diverse ethnicity and upbringing surpassing their uninamgineable dreams of money, love, happiness, fame, and success. Media has not treated the American Dream very kindly, people sometimes suffer from depression and sometimes death encountered by those being idolized as achieving the American Dream.
America has a culture of greed, selfishness and a system that rewards those characteristics. Success at any means necessary is the real American value the one that governs how people live, work and view the world. This frame of mind makes it ok to put other people down to build yourself up and measures success as the number of digits on a paycheck. All of this built upon greed, reinforced by incentive system that rewards a lack of humility, all of which leads to a society that has a few on top crushing the people below them.
Many people seem to fear death, but philosophers such as Socrates and Epicurus would argue that one has no reason to fear it. Socrates sees death as a blessing to be wished for if death is either nothingness or a relocation of the soul, whereas Epicurus argues that one shouldn't worry themselves about death since, once we are gone, death is annihilation which is neither good nor bad. Epicurus believes that death itself is a total lack of perception, wherein there is no pleasure or pain. I agree with Epicurus because Socrates doesn't give a sound argument for death as a blessing, whereas Epicurus' argument is cogent. I would also argue personally that death is not something to be feared because, like Epicurus, I see no sufficient evidence showing we even exist after death.
nsciousness after death, or maybe a combination of both, which creates this fear. The fear felt is undoubtedly universal. However, the ways in which it is dealt with are varied and diverse. The concept of human mortality and how it is dealt with is dependent upon one’s society or culture. It is the society, which has the greatest impact on an individual’s beliefs.
vital functions: the end of life. When people are faced with the reality of their ultimate demise, they
Epicurus claims that one should not fear death because “Death, the most frightening of bad things, is nothing to us; since when we exist death is not yet present, and when death is present, then we do not exist” (Letter to Menoeceus, 125). Death might be alarming to an individual because they do not know what to expect, or fear that they will not meet expectations. Epicurus states that when one dies, they no longer exist. If one no longer exists then being dead is not bad, and if being dead was bad, one would not exist to experience it. Therefore death
If there is one constant in this world, it would surely be death. Dying is an unavoidable part of life. Indeed, everything that lives will at sometime die. The fear of death is held by everyone. Perhaps it is the correlation of death with pain or the unknown state of the human consciousness after death, maybe a combination of both, that creates this fear. The fear felt is undoubtedly universal, however, the ways in which it is dealt with are varied and diverse.
Culture can be defined by one’s family history. Without a doubt, the way a person a raised has a huge impact on their life. Parents teach their children how to be a good person based on their own beliefs. If a parent grew up from a poor background, then that parent may instill the importance of education and hard work. If a parent grew up being overweight, then that parent may instill the importance of eating healthy and exercising. In other words, the next generation is learning behavior patterns to hopefully better themselves as a whole.
Death will always be universal and is continuously seen or heard of everyday. The fear and death its self affects everyone, but it’s important to feel accustomed and comfortable about it. Sure it will be sorrow or and painful when the day comes for you or a loved one, but that’s the world. We must feel comfortable and learn to accept this topic. Finding motivation or something to distract you from this is a good way to motivate your life and build up a positive lifestyle. Death will always induce fear, but it’s just another chapter in life. Even though death has been studied for many years, it will forever be one of the most debated topics, including the fear of