(AMERICAN CULTURE) Traditional Values and Beliefs

Traditional Values and Beliefs Traditional Values and Beliefs Traditional Values and Beliefs Traditional Values and Beliefs Traditional Values and Beliefs Traditional Values and Beliefs Traditional Values and Beliefs Traditional Values and Beliefs Traditional Values and Beliefs Traditional Values and Beliefs Traditional Values and Beliefs Traditional Values and Beliefs Traditional Values and Beliefs Traditional Values and Beliefs Traditional Values and Beliefs Traditional Values and Beliefs Traditional Values and Beliefs Traditional Values and Beliefs Traditional Values and Beliefs Traditional Values and Beliefs Traditional Values and Beliefs AMERICAN CULTURE Traditional Values and Beliefs

THUONGMAI UNIVERSITY ENGLISH FACULTY

-o0o -DISCUSSION AMERICAN CULTURE

Topic: Traditional Values and Beliefs

Teacher : Nguyen Bich Hong

HANOI – 2021

Table of Contents

INTRODUCTION 1

BODY 2

I THE CONTEXT OF AMERICA 2

1 Culturally Diverse 2

2 Racial and Ethnic Diversity 3

3 Religious Diversity 4

II SIX BASIC TRADITIONAL VALUES AND BELIEFS: 5

1 Individual Freedom and Self-Reliance 10

2 Equality of opportunity and Competition 15

3 Material wealth and hard work 24

III AMERICAN DREAM 29

IV AMERICA TODAY AND ITS IMPOSITION ON THE REST OF THE WORLD 33

1 Covid-19 33

2 Some American Presidents 34

3 Racism 41

3 Make America Great Again 43

4 Foreign Policy and American Benefit 44

CONCLUSION 45

REFERENCES 46

Living in a foreign country and adjusting to a new culture can be a very rewardingexperience But it can also be a difficult one if you do not understand the values andassumptions of the society "Values" are ideas about what is right and wrong, desirableand undesirable, normal and abnormal, proper and improper "Beliefs" as the term isused here, are the unquestioned standards about people, life, and "the way things are."People who grow up in a particular culture share certain values and assumptions Thismeans that most of them, most of the time, agree with each other’s ideas about what isright and wrong, desirable and undesirable They also agree, mostly, with each other'sassumptions about human nature, social relationships The values and beliefs of aculture shape the way people act

Rich cultural diversity which makes America a unique place to live in In America,

a diverse population has impacted history in the United States from the very start Rich

in ethnic and cultural diversity is what makes America a country replete with variedraces and religions, traditional values and belief As we travelled to different States,one of the most interesting experiences is to see the fusion of cultures that is indeedunique and exceptional

The overwhelming number of Hispanic or Latino origin, African American, Asianand American Indians is making America a land of opportunities where no group cancall itself more American than another Every community seems to be exercising andthriving in an environment which is more tolerant to other beliefs, school of thoughtsand religious obligations

The cultural diversity has encouraged the kind of environment where people tend

to understand each other to rise above their cultural insensitivity, bias, or prejudice.Despite growing pains with diversity that have led, at times, to immigrationrestrictions and nativist attitudes America, on the whole, has found itself better for itsdiverse population

I THE CONTEXT OF AMERICA

The United States of America, due to its immense size and diverse heritage, hasone of the most complex cultural identities in the world Millions of immigrants fromall over the globe have journeyed to America since the Europeans discovered andcolonized the land back in the 17th and 18th centuries The blending of culturalbackgrounds and ethnicity in America led to the country becoming known as a

“melting pot.” As the third largest country in both area and population, America’s sizehas enabled the formation of subcultures within the country Specifically, when the21th century began, the US has the greatest diversity of racial, ethnic, cultural andreligious groups due to the large immigrant

1 Culturally Diverse

Of all the nations in the world, America has been diverse from the start

The United States is called the melting pot Contrary to common belief,American is actually not a “ melting pot” It’s a salad bowl Each region may havedifferent lifestyles, cultural values, business practices and dialects

The United States is the third largest country in the world with a population of

more than 325 million, according to the U.S Census Bureau A child is born every 8

seconds, and a person dies every 12 seconds

In addition to Native Americans who were already living on the continent, thepopulation of the United States was built on immigration from other countries Despite

recent moves To Close The U.S Borders To New Immigrants And Refugees, a new

immigrant moves to the United States every 33 seconds, according to the CensusBureau

Because of this, the United States is one of the most culturally diverse countries

in the world Nearly every region of the world has influenced American culture, mostnotably the English who colonized the country beginning in the early 1600s U.S.culture has also been shaped by the cultures of Native Americans, Latin Americans,Africans and Asians

The United States is sometimes described as a "Melting Pot" in which different

cultures have contributed their own distinct "flavors" to American culture Just as

cultures from around the world have influenced American culture, today Americanculture influences the world The term Western culture often refers broadly to thecultures of the United States and Europe The way people "melt" in the United Statesdiffers "Different groups of immigrants integrate in different ways," De Rossi toldLive Science "For example, in the United States, Catholic Spanish-speakingcommunities might keep their language and other cultural family traditions, but areintegrated in the urban community and have embraced the American way of life inmany other ways." The Northeast, South, Midwest, Southeast and Western regions ofthe United States all have distinct traditions and customs Therefore, each region mayhave different lifestyles, cultural values, business practices and dialects.

2 Racial and Ethnic Diversity

The United States is a very diverse, multi-racial and multi-ethnic country; peoplefrom around the world have been immigrating to the United States for several hundredyears

 Racial Groups

Six races are officially recognized: white, American Indian and Alaska Native,Asian, black or African American, Native Hawaiian and other Pacific Islander, andpeople of two or more races

The United States Census Bureau also classifies Americans as “Hispanic or Latino”and “Not Hispanic or Latino,” which identifies Hispanic and Latino Americans as aracially diverse ethnicity that composes the largest minority group in the nation

 Ethnic Groups

In the United States of America, the term “ethnic” carries a different meaning fromhow it is commonly used in some other countries This is due to the historical andongoing significance of racial distinctions that categorize together what mightotherwise have been viewed as ethnic groups

For example, various ethnic, “national,” or linguistic groups from Africa, Asia andthe Pacific Islands, Latin America, and Indigenous America have long been combinedtogether as racial minority groups (currently designated as African American, Asian,Latino and Native American or American Indian, respectively)

3 Religious Diversity

From the beginning of its history, religion plays an important role in Americanpeople’s lives, compared to 33% in Great Britain From early colonial days, whensome English and German settlers moved in search of religious freedom, America hasbeen profoundly influenced by religion Several of the original Thirteen Colonies wereestablished by settlers who wished to practice their own religion

Americans believe in individual freedom and the right of individuals to practicetheir own religion The United States federal government was the first nationalgovernment to have no official state-endorsed religion

- The most popular religion

90% of all American say that they believe in God The most popular religion inthe U.S is Christianity, comprising the majority of the population (73.7% of adults in2016) Roughly 48.9% of Americans are Protestants, 23.0% are Catholics, 1.8%are Mormons The Protestantism is a branch of the Christianity

Although the overwhelming majority of Americans are Christians, all religionsmake important contributions to the American culture

- Other religion

Almost as many Muslims living in the United States as there are Jews

People of Hispanic origin make up nearly one-half of the Catholic church TheAsian immigrants have brought with them the traditional religions of East Asia(Daoism, Buddhism, ) This is the exact statistic: Protestant (51.3%), Roman Catholic(23.9%), Other Christian(3.3%), Jewish(1.7%), Buddhist(0.7%), Muslim( 0.6%),Hindu( 0.4%), Other religions (1.2%), no religion( 16.1%)

II SIX BASIC TRADITIONAL VALUES AND BELIEFS:

Six basic traditional values and beliefs explains the value system that has allowedthe United States to assimilate millions of people from diverse cultures all over theworld and create a unique, enduring American identity There are three pairs of valuesconsisting of three reasons why immigrants have come (and still do) to the UnitedStates and three prices that are paid for these benefits: Individual Freedom and Self- Reliance, Equality of Opportunity and Competition, The American Dream and Hard Work The first is for Individual Freedom and the price for that is Self-Reliance We

cannot be truly free if we cannot take care of ourselves and be independent The

second is for Equality of Opportunity, and the price for that is Competition If everyone has an equal chance for success, then we have to compete The third is for The American Dream, the opportunity for a better life and a higher standard of living The price for the American Dream has traditionally been Hard Work.

“The relationship among these values—the rights and the responsibilities—creates the fabric of the American society It is this fabric that defines the American Dream— the belief that if people take responsibility for their lives and work hard, they will have the individual freedom to pursue their personal goals and a good opportunity to compete for success”

It is important to note that these six values are cultural values and not moral values, or even personal ones They are the foundation of our democratic

nation Rooted in the beliefs and visions of our Founding Fathers and reinforced byhistorical experience, these cultural values are what distinguishes our country from allothers They are what make us “Americans.”

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that theyare endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights, that among these are Life,Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” (The Declaration of Independence 1776)

One of the most intriguing questions about the United States is what makes people

“American”? With immigrants arriving from all over the world with vastly differentcultural traditions, values, and customs, what holds the country together?

And how did a nation of such diversity produce a recognizable national identity?

John Zogby, an American pollster who surveys public opinion, says that whatholds the United States together today is that “we all share a common set of values thatmake us American We are defined by the rights we have Our rights are ourhistory, why the first European settlers came here and why millions more have comehere since.”

The system of basic American values emerged in the late 1700s and began todefine the American character in a nation that has always consisted of people frommany different countries By the time the Frenchman Alexis de Tocqueville visited theUnited States in the 1830s, he was able to see these American values in action

Almost 200 years later, his book Democracy in America is still cited as one of themost insightful and definitive descriptions of American values Historically, the UnitedStates has been viewed as “the land of opportunity,” a place where immigrants couldhave individual freedom, an equal chance for success, and the ability to have a betterstandard of living In order to have these benefits, however, they had to take care ofthemselves, compete with others, and work hard to fashion a new life In time, theirexperiences led to the development of the core American cultural values that stillshape America today

This system of values consists of three pairs of benefits—individual freedom,equality of opportunity and material wealth (or the American Dream)—and the pricepeople paid to have these benefits—self-reliance, competition, and hard work Thesethree pairs of values have determined the unique culture of the United States and itspeople Another way of thinking about these basic values involves rights andresponsibilities Americans believe that people have the right to individual freedom,

equality of opportunity, and the promise of material success, but these all requiresubstantial responsibility: self-reliance, a willingness to compete, and hard work.

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable right, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” So, their experiences led to the

development of the core American culture values that still shape America today

Three represent traditional reasons why immigrants have been drawn to Americathe chance for individual freedom equality of opportunity and material wealth In order

to achieve these benefits, however, there were prices to be paid self-reliancecompetition, and hard work In time these prices themselves became part of thetraditional value system This system of values then consists of three pairs of benefitsand the price people paid to have these benefits individual freedom and self-relianceequality of opportunity and competition material wealth and hard work number Thesethree pairs of values have determined the unique culture of the United States and itspeople Another way of thinking about these basic values involves rights andresponsibilities Americans believe that people have the right to individual freedomequality of opportunity and the promise of material success but these all requiresubstantial responsibility self-reliance a willingness to compete and hard work Afterexamining the historical origin of each of these pairs we will discuss the current state

of these values in the United States today Individual Freedom and Self Reliancenumber The earliest settlers came to the North American continent to establishcolonies that were free from the controls that existed in European societies Theywanted to escape the controls placed on many aspects of their lives by kings andgovernments priests and churches noblemen and aristocrats number To a great extent,they succeeded In number the British colonial settlers declared their independencefrom England and established a new nation the United States of America

The second important reason why immigrants have traditionally been drawn to theUnited States is the belief that everyone has a chance to succeed here Generations of

immigrants have come to the United States with this expectation They have felt thatbecause individuals are free from excessive political religious and social controls theyhave a better chance for personal success Of particular importance is the lack of ahereditary number of aristocracy numbers Many found that they did indeed have abetter chance to succeed in the United States than in the old country Because millions

of these immigrants succeeded Americans came to believe in inequality ofopportunity When Tocqueville visited the United States in the numbers he wasimpressed by the great uniformity of conditions of life in the new nation He wrote Themore I advanced in the study of American society the more I perceived that equality ofcondition is the fundamental fact from which all others seem to be derived number It

is important to understand what most Americans mean when they say they believe ininequality of opportunity

The third reason why immigrants have traditionally come to the United States is tohave a better life—that is to raise their standard of living For the vast majority of theimmigrants who came here this was probably the most compelling reason for leavingtheir homeland Because of its incredibly abundant natural resources the United Statesappeared to be a land of plenty where millions could come to seek their fortunes

Putting these six values together into a system creates something new As Aristotlesaid the whole is greater than the sum of its parts The relationship among these values

—the rights and the responsibilities—creates the fabric of American society It is thisfabric that defines the American Dream—the belief that if people take responsibilityfor their lives and work hard, they will have the individual freedom to pursue theirpersonal goals and a good opportunity to compete for success These values are sotightly woven together that if any one of them is pulled out or even disturbed the entirefabric is affected and may unravel number Finally, these six cultural values—individual freedom self-reliance equality of opportunity competition material wealthand hard work—do not tell the whole story of the American character Rather theyform the basic structure or framework of the American culture They enable a nation ofenormous diversity to create a national identity number

Below is common comparison between American and Vietnam about traditional belief and value:

Religious Roman Catholics, Protestants,

Muslims, Buddhists, Other Christian,

Jewish, Hindu, other religious, no

religious

Buddhism, Christianity, Protestantism,Cao Dai, Hoa Hao, Islamic, noreligious, Dao Mau

Racial Latin American, Asia American,

African American, White American,

Native American, Native Hawaiian…

Mongoloid and Australoid (AsianRace)

Ethnic Quite difficult to count According to

- Material wealth and hard work

- Mostly Believing in God, usually

- Americans generally eat with the

fork and knife

- Americans are generally quite

fond of showing affection to someone

they love in public

- Americans value punctuality,

especially at work

- Americans take ego and

individual very seriously in many

aspects of life

- Vietnamese generally eat withchopsticks and bowls instead of platesand forks/knife

- In Vietnam, you rarely see peopleexpressing affection in crowds becausethis is considered culturally lacking

- For Vietnamese people, timemovement is not a big problem TheVietnamese will come sooner when it

is an important appointment

- Vietnamese people often humblethemselves when they talk

1 Individual Freedom and Self-Reliance

- Freedom in America means the desire and the right of all individuals to controltheir own destiny without outside interference from the goverment, a ruling nobleclass, the church, or any other organized authority

- "Individualism" is the most important thing to understand about Americans They

have been trained since very early in their lives to consider themselves as separate,individuals who are responsible for their own situations in life and their owndestinies

- To get the individual freedom, Americans must be self-reliance They believe thatindividuals must learn to rely on themselves or risk losing freedom

- Americans are trained to conceive of themselves as separate individuals, and theyassume everyone else in the world is too When they encounter a person fromabroad who seems to them excessively concerned with the opinions of parents,with following traditions, or with fulfilling obligations to others, they assume thatthe person feels trapped or is weak, indecisive, or "overly dependent"

- In general, the best beneficiaries are Americans; the most religious people were Europeans; From birth to death, it was full of competition and pressure from being Asian.

* Compare Individual Freedom and Self-Reliance between America and Vietnam:

- Freedom is one of the mostrespected popular words in the UStoday

- Americans believe that they have

a fair degree of control over theirlives; that their action can change

- The purpose of government is tosecure individual and humanrights and remain the government

of the people, by the people andfor the people and a society withfair, democratic, civilized

- In Vietnam, individualism is asnot high value as in America.Family is very strong forVietnamese, family and clan are

or influence their circumstances.

They value privacy and determine

with whom they will share the

initiate details of their lives

- Americans usually view every

person as self-sufficient

individual, and this idea is

important to understanding the

American value system Everyone

is their own person, not a

representative of a family,

community, or any other group

-American individualistic culture

allows and encourages people to

create their own lifestyle Their

self-expression is not obligated to

conform to societal norms or

follow in their parents’footsteps

- Today, Americans are becoming

lonelier and more isolated

- People can express any their own

ideals and opinions freely in

school or in public and they will

protest other ideas, opinions

directly; or they can choose any

lifestyle they want,

- It is not polite when we ask

Americans about their age,

marrige or salary, or any private

questions

- People in individualistic cultures,

valued over individualism

- Boys and girls are not free to dowhat they want With importantdecisions, they often have toconsult their parents, not makedecisions themselves

- At school or at any public place,Vietnamese feel quite shy whenexpressing individual opinions orideas They often push theresponsibilities of others such asnot wanting to take the positionslike leader,

- Vietnamese people have a lot ofself-esteem, so they never want to

be blamed or lose face, especially

in front of many people They caredeeply about their reputations andhow they’re perceived by theirfriends, family and colleagues So,doing anything that will embarrass

or diminish a person in public thatincludes arguing, ridiculing,confronting or even bartering tooaggressively This is also thereason why violent outbursts arerarely seen in Vietnam

- In Vietnam, it is common whenpeople ask about your age, yourmarriage or your salary They see

it as caring for the other

like the United States, tend to

maintain greater personal space

between themselves and others

Example: People from the US and

the UK maintained the largest

personal distance (81.43 cm),

whereas people from Latin

American countries maintained

the least distance (an average of

60 cm)

- American often show the liberal

lifestyle, so in love and marriage

relationships, when meeting

someone they are interested in,

they will boldly pursue and

possibly have a love affair If they

feel another not love them

anymore, divorce is normal

- However, when people value

their individualism too much, they

might forget the common value of

the community That could lead to

protests for their benefits or doing

something which is dangerous for

society

- For example: + Regulations on

the use of guns for self-defense

are always topical topics in

America This has two sides: one

is that humans can protect

themselves from dangers, but the

- Some individuals do not have towork in order to survive becausetheir parents are the ones takingcare of their finances

- Vietnamese people have apeaceful, friendly lifestyle and arenot too liberal, so Vietnamese areoften reserved in relationshipswhen they meet at the first time

In addition, Vietnamese peoplerespect their feelings so they oftenkeep a harmonious relationshipand in marriage, if there is aconflict they will try to endure and

if the conflict cannot be resolveddivorce is the last resort

- Vietnam is a peace-lovingcountry as well as having only oneparty, so citizens always respectand obey the government'sregulations

– For example: + There are veryfew protests happening to claimtheir rights In addition, thegovernment does not allowcitizens to carry guns, so fatalcases caused by guns are veryfew

+ If any scuffle happens, citizenswill be self-mediation or turn tothe intervention of the local

negative side is that causing

unnecessary fatal shootings They

use guns to deal with personal

feuds, to threaten or even

endanger the government

+ During the presidential election

between Donald Trump and

Biden, there were several groups

who brought gun with themselves

organized protests and would that

endanger those around them?

+ During the covid 19, the US

government led by President

Donald Trump and citizens did not

uphold the role of personal

measures such as wearing masks

in public or not gathering crowds

Self-Reliance

- Self- Reliance is the price for

Americans to be paid if they want

to be individual

- They must learn how to rely on

themselves, solve their own

problems or stand on their own

two feet

- Americans do not want to

become dependent or rely on

others too much Because it is

similar to lose freedom and lose

- Because in Vietnam, family isvalued over individualism, sochildren are often dependent ontheir parents so much It iscommon to see two or three evenfour generations living togetherunder a roof

- Obedience and respect were thetraditional virtues whichVietnamese children were taught

to exhibit in their family When

respect of peers And it mayweaken the American character.

- Americans are trained toconceive of themselves as separateindividuals, and they assumeeveryone else in the world is too

- For example: After graduatinghigh school, many Americanchildren move out to go to college,then find a job to earn money forliving without their parents’

support If they continue to live athome, they might be asked to payrent or contribute to the house

- When parents grow old, they willlive with their partner or live innursing home

- In America, receiving financialsupport is allowed but with thesepeople, it is never for them to getadmired in life

these children are disobedience ordisobey, they will be punishedwith discipline or physicalpunishment

- Children adult can live with theirparents all their life without anyabandonment Because manyVietnamese parents think thateven though their children grow

up, they are still the little children

in need of protection

- When parents grow old, childrenwill take care of them tocompensate for the gift of birthand upbringing

- In Vietnam, homeless or beggarsare often given social protectionpayments as well as sympathyfrom people

The reason why there are different between America and Vietnam in Individual Freedom and Self-Reliance:

- In Vietnam: people in collectivist cultures might be more likely to turn to family and friends for support during difficult times and in the US, those living in individualist cultures are more likely to go it alone and try their best

to pass difficulties

- In terms of political institutions, the United States is a multi-party country so there will be a competition of decentralization and American citizens will have different ways of thinking about supporting the government they want

to be able to ensure that individual freedom will not be affected In Vietnam, where there is only one political party, the government will ensure the safety

of citizens and other human rights.

- Vietnamese people have formed collective lifestyles since ancient times, while Americans emphasize and live up to individualism.

2 Equality of opportunity and Competition

a Equality of opportunity

Equality of opportunity mean that each individual should have an equal chance for success and they are free from control Everyone should have an equal chance

to enter the fair race and win.

Generations of immigrants front the earliest settlers to the present day have come:with this expectation They have felt that because individuals are free from excessivepolitical, religious, and social controls, they have a better chance for success.Particularly important is the lack of a hereditary aristocracy

Equality of opportunity is ideal value because people are not equal when they wereborn This means people have different things such as race, parents, siblings, physicalhealth, and parents’ financial situation In addition, people have chance, but quantity ofopportunity is very different, for example, person that have rich parents have manyopportunities because if that person want to go university, their parents can pay thatthe tuition fee easily However, person that have poor parents do not have manyopportunities because if they want to do something, their parents cannot help thatperson about money

Because millions of these immigrants succeeded, Americans came to "believe

in equality of opportunity” When Tocqueville visited the United States in the 1830s,

he was impressed by the great uniformity of conditions of life in the new nation Hewrote:

The more I advanced in the study of American society, the more I perceived that equality of condition is the fundamental fact from which all others seem to be derived.

Even for immigrants, America has an equal opportunity for them to succeed in thisland There are many Vietnamese businessmen who have received opportunities todevelop and advance in their careers after coming to the US For example, Bui TienDung is the Vice President in charge of the global business operations group at IBMComputer Corporation Born and raised in Thai Binh, he went to the US to study at theage of 17 and majored in electrical and electronic engineering at the University ofMinnesota (Minnesota).After graduating from his master's degree, he applied foradmission works at the Rochester lab of the world's largest multinational corporation

In the following years, he was promoted and held important positions such as VicePresident of Latin America Market, General Manager of European Sales andMarketing or General Manager of IT Solutions

Be an immigrant, Mr Bui Tien Dung still has equal opportunities to study and work

in the United States He has a chance to access to cutting-edge education and an idealworking environment, then he has achieved great success in this promised land

Another example, Barack Obama served as the 44th President of the United States.

His story is the American story — values from the heartland, a middle-classupbringing in a strong family, hard work and education as the means of getting ahead,and the conviction that a life so blessed should be lived in service to others WhenBarack Obama was elected president in 2008, he became the first African American tohold the office So, we can see that America has given Barack Obama an equalopportunity to run for the presidency even though he is African-American Everyone’schances of becoming president are equal, with no inequality of origin or ethnicity

It is important to understand what Americans mean when they say they believe inequality of opportunity They do not mean that everyone is - or should be - equal.However, they do mean that each individual should have an equal chance for success

Americans see much of life as a race for success For them, equality means thateveryone should have an equal chance to enter the race and win In other words,equality of opportunity may be thought of as an ethical rule It helps ensure that therace for success is a fair one and that a person does not win just because he or she wasborn into a wealthy family.

by being called "winners" On the other hand, those who do not like to compete andare not successful when they try are often dishonored by being called "losers" This isespecially true for American men, and it is becoming more and more true for women

Learning to compete successfully is part of growing up in the United States.Competition is encouraged by strong programs of competitive sports provided by thepublic schools and community groups The pressure to compete Americans to beenergetic but also places a constant emotional strain on them They may feel uselessand unwanted when retired If competing unsuccessfully, they will not fit into themainstream of American life

This belief in competition as a force for good is clear in all aspects of society Inthe economy, Americans value a free market with little or no government interference,believing that in this way the best, most efficient, most innovative businesses willsucceed Schools are seen as training grounds for economic competition, so students atall levels compete for academic honors, in sports, and for admissions to the bestcolleges, to name just a few

We can see competition in the US through the example below

Recently, the United States has just received a 47th President that is Joe Biden.World media constantly reported on the fierce competition between these twopresidents, Joe Biden representing the Democratic Party and Donald Trumprepresenting the Republican Party These two people have development strategies withdifferent visions and policies that affect the future of America in particular and theworld in general In this race, it is difficult to predict who will be the president in thenext term, the number of votes of each person is always changing and unpredictable

In the end, the victory belonged to Joe Biden To become the final winner, this newpresident had to go through a fierce competition with President Donald Trump.According to a report from the Center for Responsive Politics, the 2020 USpresidential election could cost nearly $ 11 billion at the federal level, a recordnumber It can be seen that the competition in this country is extremely intense andfierce

c Comparision between America vs Vietnam

- Similarity: In both the US and Vietnam, there is equality of opportunity and

competition for all Equality in most aspects of life without distinction of ethnicity,religion or family origin Everyone has a chance to succeed regardless of whether theycome from rich or poor families And whether it is in the US or Vietnam, there iscompetition To go further ahead, everyone must actively change themselves, hone allthe skills to turn themselves into a winner on the track

to prevent discrimination in all aspects related to employment,

- In Vietnam, gender stereotyping is one of the causes leading to gender inequality, especially in the lives of ethnic minorities Ethnic minorities often focus on living in remote and isolated areas with

including employment hiring,

firing, paying, assigning jobs,

transferring, promoting bonuses,

reducing or increasing working

hours, re-recruiting, etc., up to

extra benefits, retirement

programs, leave , or any other

requirements or working

conditions

Federal government laws on

equality of opportunity to work

also prohibit sexual harassment

and other forms of harassment in

the workplace based on race,

color, sex, religion, source

national origin, disability, age, or

discrimination during pregnancy

These laws also prohibit any

form of retaliation against

anyone who opposes or

existence of long-standing customs, beliefs and customs in the lives of ethnic minorities also makes women become the most difficult social group

- Gender inequality in employment with expression of disadvantage in favor of women still shows quite profound expression in terms of level of participation in the labor force orquality of employment in

Vietnam This can be clearly seen in the very low proportion

of women in leadership positions compared to men with female workers often

participating in the simple job segment, and the average income of female workers is significantly lower than that of men male workers

- In recent years, Vietnam has issued many laws to ensure equality of employment opportunities for all people living and working in the

territory of Vietnam Men and women are equal in

opportunities to access jobs: equal in age standards when recruiting; equal treatment at work in terms of employment, wages, bonuses, social

insurance, working conditions and other conditions Not only men but women also have the right to participate in the state, economic and social

management, to participate in discussing common issues of thewhole country and locality, to make recommendations to state agencies, to vote when the state organizes referendums

Education - Everyone has an equal

opportunity to get a good education from elementary school through college

- The government established the basic system of public schools to ensure the principle of equality

- Over 60% Americans, ages 25

to 39, have taken college courses-.There are about

- Economic difficulties, obsoletereflection and social status distinction have many negative effects on students

- In certain circumstances, some schools have not used properly their rights to increase the quality of training and did reversely such as lower the inputrequirements, exceed enrollment

of the training capacity, too highpercentage students/teachers,

15 million students attending

college now

- Curricula are different from

every public and private schools

and only based on a general form

of educational structure, as there

is no exclusive textbook

publisher, and thus provide a

better environment and

opportunity for students

- Both public and private schools

have yielded a great deal to

public pressure for greater

equality of opportunity in

education

=> Example: Harvard,

MIT, Stanford…

- Learning to compete and

succeed is a part of growing

in US

- Competition is encouraged by

many programs of competitive

sports provided by education

systems

- Americans has been

trying various methods to

achieve desegregation or

social balance in education

system, including many

affirmative actions and

open the faculties according to the tastes of society while the schools have not had sufficient training conditions

- Outdated curricula, centered and non-interactive method of teaching and learning,lack of linkage between teachingand research activities, and a large discord between theory and practical training contribute

lecturer-to a large number of graduates being unable to find a job, while skills shortages drive inflation todouble-digit levels

- According to the survey on graduate employment in 2009-

2010 conducted by Center for Policy Studies and Analysis- University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Vietnam Hanoi,among 3000 respondents, 26.2%are still unemployed with the majority unable to find a job Among those employed, 61% said they lacked sufficient working skill, 42% lacked experience and 32% cited insecure professional expertise.-Public schools are underfunded

-Desegregation busing:

Assigning and transporting students to schools in such a manner as to redress prior racial segregation of schools, or to overcome the effects of residential segregation on local school demographics

- Student council is another popular activity designed to develop competitive, political, and social skills in students

Primary education quality, particularly in poor areas, is below the required standard

→ All lead to disadvantage and loss of opportunities for

Vietnamese students

d Reasons for the differences between Vietnam and America

The reason for the difference between Vietnam and the US is the position andfinancial potential of the two countries America is the world power, this is anextremely rich and developed country And Vietnam is a developing country withlimited economic and financial potential so there are differences between these twocountries in terms of equality of opportunity and competition in some aspects of life

In addition, the difference also comes from the diversity of culture, ethnicity,religion, in each country Each culture has its own unique values

The Positives and Limitations of This Value Pair

- Upsides: Bringing to all about equality of opportunity and competition Everyone

can thrive and succeed in this country without religious, ethnic or family inequality