Autonomy of the Individual and Society
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American people struggle to synthesize autonomy of the individual with fitting into society. Equal opportunity predominates among the ideals of American society, which tries to achieve this equality using the principle of democracy. However, the discrepancy between the ideal and the functional model creates problems for its members. Despite individualism being a fundamental ideal of American society, the "diffuse and anonymous authority of democracy" may not always favor the autonomy of the individual (Reismann 251). In actuality, equality only applies to those people who belong to the dominant culture, namely, white males. The other, less fortunate members of society face a dilemma: how does one attain these rights that are assigned to the dominant culture without sacrificing personal values? Thus, two basic American ideals, democracy and individualism, not only conflict with each other, but also exist only for a select group of society. Society presents people with a wide choice of aims power, possessions, money, knowledge, fame, goodness these aims are all "ideologically" related. American traditions, even the beneficial ones, restrict a person's goals and inhibit his choice of action. As stratification of society deepens, especially with the immense choice of labor roles, the segmentation of choices increases. All traditions reflect the values of a certain culture, but in order to free oneself, a person has to assimilate the values of the dominate culture.
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tatus, locations, and lifestyles. Since an individual's need for power divides the whole group, the minorities struggle with the difficulty of maintaining unity in the face of strong social pressure and opposition by a seemingly powerful, faceless mass. Money reinforces subordination. The lower classes sacrifice intelligence and integrity for monetary reward. This sacrifice supports the inequalities of the inferior classes and races and maintains the skewed balance of power. The social stratification results from the values of American people. As a result, power in and control of society remain in the hands of the white males.
The dominant culture wants to keep subordinates striving toward shallow ideals of success to avoid their recognizing the enormity of their inferiority and insignificance. The power of the media is their ability to "tell a lie so it becomes the truth" (Ellison 128). The power of communication is to "take these white folks where we want them to go, show them what we want them to see," actions demonstrating lack of openness, honesty, contrived and manipulated interaction with the dominant culture. Many blacks believe the "only way to please a white man is to tell him a lie" (Ellison 127). Does anyon
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Approximate Word count = 2727
Approximate Pages = 11 (250 words per page)
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