American and European Values Traditionally,

¶ … American and European Values Traditionally, there have been a number of key distinctions found between the values of people in the United States and the values of those that reside in Western Europe. Several factors can attribute to these differences; one of the most notable of these is the fact that American culture spawned from that of Europe, and as a result has been viewed by Europeans as an upstart, individualistic society that has tried to distinguish itself from its 'old world' roots.

These values are still reflected in many societal and cultural conceptions of these two continents today, as denoted by an examination in the differences in opinions between the U.S. And Europe in terms of their respective militaries and conceptions about cultural sophistication and religion. The primary distinction between Americans and Western Europeans in their conception of military force is not so much based on whether or not such force is necessary to maintain civilization and order in the world today.

Although there is a greater percentage of Americans who believe in this concept than their European counterparts, most European nations (with Britain leading the way) seem to share this viewpoint, while only half of Germans have adopted this stance (No author, 2011). What is a major difference in the ideology between Americans and their Western counterparts, however, is the role that they believe autonomous behavior plays in this sort of global policing.

Nearly half of Americans believe that global support from the United Nations is not necessary to engage in military action. Most European countries, however, have approximately three quarters of their population believing that U.N sanctioning is an integral component to any international military engagements, according to the 2011 Pew Global Attitudes Survey (No author, 2011). Americans" individualistic tendencies are readily apparent from this fact. There is also a fairly pronounced difference in the attitudes of Americans and that of certain Western European nations in terms of policies of international isolation vs.

that of engagement. The proclivity of most Americans is to practice the former -- which implies that such citizens believe that it is better to deal with domestic issues before going around the world assisting other countries with their own dilemmas. Notably, this sentiment is echoed by Britain and France, which have historically acted as counterparts to U.S. involvement in most global affairs.

Yet for some European nations, most discernibly Spain and Germany, the opposite viewpoint is evinced by their populations, which actually prefer giving aid to other countries more so than tending to domestic affairs. The role of the current global economic crisis should be noted in comparing this particular belief among countries.

In that respect, the U.S.'s stance is probably related to the belief that it needs to fix its own economic problems, while a country such as Spain, which is also in dire economic straits, appears to advocate the opinion that other countries should help it. Cultural sophistication was one of the fundamental concepts propagated by Western culture throughout history.

This viewpoint was the justification for global colonization, the enslavement of numerous groups of indigenous people, and the massive enforcement of certain religions (such as Christianity) on different peoples throughout the world. There are a couple of interesting facts in denoting the contemporary view of this subject among the Western world. The U.S. was the only country surveyed in which more people still adhered to the belief that their culture was better than that of other civilizations and countries.

All of the European countries have apparently abandoned this notion, or at the very least have more people who disbelieve the fact that they are culturally superior to others than those who do. Germany is nearly evenly divided on this subject (No author, 2011). The category in which the U.S.'s views on autonomy are most prevalent is that in which compares the values of individualism vs. The importance of a state government. The U.S.

is the only country surveyed in which more people preferred the liberty to live freely vs. conforming to state regulations. The vast majority of Western Europe has more citizens who believe the opposite point-of-view, that state regulation supersedes that of individual freedom. This difference between Europe and the U.S. is not surprising, considering the fact that individualism has always characterized the U.S. when compared to its European counterparts.

What is surprising for a country that values political independence is how reserved it is terms of personal independence in the context of religion and sexuality. European nations are far more liberal in terms of their tolerance for homosexual tendencies. Although there is a 60% toleration rate in the U.S. which indicates that this concept is prevalent within this.