How has America changed? Or has it changed at all?

This is a question for my American friends here. I watched this video from 1955 - a whole 65 years ago. They were exchange students talking about American kids, on the question ‘do American kids have too much freedom’.

https://youtu.be/V6iwt-dL4k4

Some expected observations - the casual relationship between students and teachers/parents, being shockingly free in comparison to the Pakistan, Nigeria, Korea and Finland of the time.

And some interesting ones as well. In particular, that Americans while free to do whatever you want, are also bound by social conformity, for instance if you didn't date and party, you were weird. Therefore everyone dates or pretends to. So paradoxically, the youth of that time replaced one set of rules for another. 

Now I don't think conformity is unusual – all human societies pretty much rely on conformity to function, and more so in conservative ones. The surprise was in seeing it in a more free country like the US. 

Was it part of American culture in general back then? Has that changed? There certainly seems to be a lot of pressure to pick a side and to march in step, at least across in terms of political and social stances (which are the only things I can observe, from social media). To the left, one is either woke or a nazi. On the right, one is either USA! USA! USA! or a communist.

Here's the important question: Is the pressure to conform actually stronger in the US than in other less 'free' countries. If yes, how has it affected society and is today's society a result of that? If no, explain why you are wrong (just kidding!) – is it changing and how does that change influence American society?

The other interesting point is this: Americans don't know how to rest. And it wasn't said in a good way - ie it wasn't about industry, but I think, about the need to always be going, going, going.

So folks, what do you think. No offence intended here, simply asking as a curious foreigner.

Side note: The Nigerian woman is a poet but now retired. The Korean dude became an author and an intellectual/professor of some sort.


Posted by Jamie B.


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