Change of America

Ever since man has enjoyed the comforts and benefits of civilization, he has been afflicted by the despondency that effects all contemplative peoples. The only satisfactory cure for this melancholy, as various peoples have found, is hope. However, in a world full of uncertainty, hope is hard to come by. As such, different cultures explore different means of achieving widespread hope. America has done so in ways specific to American culture, for reasons as unique as those that brought it into existence. The American people have relied primarily on three ideas: god, nation, and self, as a means of salvation and a path to hope. America has changed it focus sequentially between these ideas as it has matured and people’s attitudes have changed, but since the early days of the United States, when it was simply a collection of English colonies, at least one of these concepts has been at the forefront of the collective American psyche.
 
In the early days of American culture, god was the focus of everyday life, because belief in god provided tangible hope. When one looks at early American culture, they are apt to see it as a “stony”, harsh society, colored by strict Puritan guidelines and customs. Given these circumstances, it is quite a leap, it seems, to suggest that these early Americans were actually immensely satisfied people. However, that was exactly what they were. The colonists had managed to find hope in the little civilization they had created for themselves in the “New World”, a hope based on an intense religiosity that differed greatly from it European predecessor (the protestant church). The Puritans (early Americans/colonists) managed such a feat of faith by essentially turning the customs and traditions of the Protestant church on their head. They gave up what they saw as the futile pursuit of attempting to please god with ceremony and glamour, as they believed the church of England did. The Puritans saw man not as a being that could please god. In fact,...