Since the beginning of time people have been divided because of their different cultures, values and beliefs. Centuries have passed and societies still have problems with the acceptance of others. Nowadays it is very difficult for people from Latin America, where they are less competitive and use their free time for other purposes, to adapt to countries like the USA where time is the most important resource, and competition is the key to success.
In the USA, time is considered gold. That means that Americans see it as an instrument to make money. They do not waste their time in what they consider meaningless or unimportant things. They also do not waste other’s time. People use their time to have some privacy in their homes and to rest after a hard day of work. They are very respectful with their schedules and that is why they are so punctual. The US is a very well organized society and that may be the main reason why they are so successful and superior than other countries.
Another aspect of the American culture is that they are very competitive. Individualism is very important in order to reach their goals and to work hard, only worrying about their own destiny in order to be successful. High school students in the US spend most of their time focusing fully in their studies in order to get good marks so they can guarantee going to a good university and being a well known professional in the future. They generally do not work or study in groups because they try to overcome others in order to be the best ones who can apply to the best universities. American teenagers see high school as a place in which they must study and make a lot of sacrifice, and they do not enjoy it very much. That is because the system encourages them to study and get good marks in order to have the best education. This behavior may be directly related with the USA’s economic system capitalism, which is based on competition in order to be the best ones and the one that succeeds.
On the other hand, in other cultures like in Latin America’s, specifically in the country where I live, Argentina, these values are considered and taught in very different ways. To begin with, here in my country, people think they are the owners of their time. They give priority to work and sometimes studies, but in their spare time they feel free to do whatever they want. It is very common, mostly in students of high school to consider free time as a space to do whatever they feel like doing. Watching TV, playing computer games, hanging out with friends or simply sleeping are the most common ways to spend your spare time in Argentina when you are a teenager. Of course, adults perform less of these activities because they have more responsibilities as work, a home and in most cases a family to take care of. As I explained before, students are the ones that most enjoy themselves in their free time. High school is a place where you go to study, of course, but it is mostly a time to spend with friends and to have a lot of fun. Argentineans do not worry too much about their marks and performance during high school because the only thing you have to get in order to enter universities is a high school diploma.
So in Argentina, time is spent in various ways, but it is not considered as an essential thing in order to make money or to be more successful. Anyone in this country can be a great professional and make good money just with a regular education. Here there is not much respect for the other’s time like in the US. These things may be good in the sense that Argentineans are able to make a lot of friends and know how to spend good moments with in their free time. However, society is not so well organized, and people tend to be mediocre because they do not need to make a great effort in order to be successful or just get what they want. In Argentina, people are not as competitive as in the US. Competition exists although it is in a healthy and normal way and not in all of the cases. That means that there is competition, of course, but it is not considered as the only thing to succeed. People focus a lot more in relationships between their colleges and classmates so the cases of competition are less. Here it is commonplace for people to work or study in groups because there is more cooperation than competition among people.
It is clear that values are different when we consider them in different societies as Argentina and the USA. Although they are not totally antagonist countries they are very different in how they organize their time and the way people compete with each other. I think that the ideal society would be the one that mixes the different ways to deal with time and competition and other values, in order to balance both of them. The key for peaceful living between different cultures is tolerance, acceptance and finally, and most important, the celebration of other’s values and culture.
In the USA, time is considered gold. That means that Americans see it as an instrument to make money. They do not waste their time in what they consider meaningless or unimportant things. They also do not waste other’s time. People use their time to have some privacy in their homes and to rest after a hard day of work. They are very respectful with their schedules and that is why they are so punctual. The US is a very well organized society and that may be the main reason why they are so successful and superior than other countries.
Another aspect of the American culture is that they are very competitive. Individualism is very important in order to reach their goals and to work hard, only worrying about their own destiny in order to be successful. High school students in the US spend most of their time focusing fully in their studies in order to get good marks so they can guarantee going to a good university and being a well known professional in the future. They generally do not work or study in groups because they try to overcome others in order to be the best ones who can apply to the best universities. American teenagers see high school as a place in which they must study and make a lot of sacrifice, and they do not enjoy it very much. That is because the system encourages them to study and get good marks in order to have the best education. This behavior may be directly related with the USA’s economic system capitalism, which is based on competition in order to be the best ones and the one that succeeds.
On the other hand, in other cultures like in Latin America’s, specifically in the country where I live, Argentina, these values are considered and taught in very different ways. To begin with, here in my country, people think they are the owners of their time. They give priority to work and sometimes studies, but in their spare time they feel free to do whatever they want. It is very common, mostly in students of high school to consider free time as a space to do whatever they feel like doing. Watching TV, playing computer games, hanging out with friends or simply sleeping are the most common ways to spend your spare time in Argentina when you are a teenager. Of course, adults perform less of these activities because they have more responsibilities as work, a home and in most cases a family to take care of. As I explained before, students are the ones that most enjoy themselves in their free time. High school is a place where you go to study, of course, but it is mostly a time to spend with friends and to have a lot of fun. Argentineans do not worry too much about their marks and performance during high school because the only thing you have to get in order to enter universities is a high school diploma.
So in Argentina, time is spent in various ways, but it is not considered as an essential thing in order to make money or to be more successful. Anyone in this country can be a great professional and make good money just with a regular education. Here there is not much respect for the other’s time like in the US. These things may be good in the sense that Argentineans are able to make a lot of friends and know how to spend good moments with in their free time. However, society is not so well organized, and people tend to be mediocre because they do not need to make a great effort in order to be successful or just get what they want. In Argentina, people are not as competitive as in the US. Competition exists although it is in a healthy and normal way and not in all of the cases. That means that there is competition, of course, but it is not considered as the only thing to succeed. People focus a lot more in relationships between their colleges and classmates so the cases of competition are less. Here it is commonplace for people to work or study in groups because there is more cooperation than competition among people.
It is clear that values are different when we consider them in different societies as Argentina and the USA. Although they are not totally antagonist countries they are very different in how they organize their time and the way people compete with each other. I think that the ideal society would be the one that mixes the different ways to deal with time and competition and other values, in order to balance both of them. The key for peaceful living between different cultures is tolerance, acceptance and finally, and most important, the celebration of other’s values and culture.
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