xlii joins couples together in the sight of God and man. It is not love that sustains the
marriage, but the marriage that sustains love. Marriage is more than a personal relationship between spouses. It is a social institution, with rules, public meaning
and a story to tell. Marriage is a status people graduated into, and it is bigger than any human beings
www.americanvalues.org , accessed on 29
th
May 2006 at 22.00.
This seems like a strange American value in which the truth is that almost everything these days impels people to consider the troubled institution of
marriage. There are many students settling for “uncommitted relationships”, they struggle academically because their single mothers are unable to give them the
economic, emotional and directional support they need. As the result, many young men and young women seem cannot really make sense of their role in modern
life. In this case, American people should not be surprised at the sense of rootless- ness and directionless-ness. Today, fathers are not really necessary and it is not
shocking anymore. There are so many married fathers who are doing a terrific job, very involved with their children, have a pretty good marriage, respect their wives
as equals, and they may look like the best fathers for their family. However, in terms of numbers, families that do not have a father at all are swamping them.
American people seem to be losing the institutional imperatives of marriage, leaving only the private relationship and that is increasingly likely to turn on
personal satisfaction www.americanvalues.org
, accessed on 29
th
May 2006 at 22.00.
3. Thrifty is good both for individuals or society
Thrift is a complex idea that includes the habit of saving, sharing, etc. Thrift is much more than sound approaches to managing one’s finances, and the main
xliii goal of thrift has never been the accumulation of wealth as an end in itself. In
1920s, the slogan of “Thrift Week” which began on January 17 Franklin’s birthday was for celebrating success and happiness. Thrift is therefore flatly
inconsistent with miserliness, or hoarding, or seeking wealth for wealth’s sake. Franklin refused to accept money for any of his many inventions, and spent
much of his life performing public services for which he was not paid. One of the ten planks of National Thrift Week was “share with others”. The idea is
that being thrifty enables us to be generous. More broadly, thrift is a pathway to social awareness and humane moral values. Franklin was an unabashed
moral and civic reformer who viewed the thrift ethic as essential to improving the national character and insuring American progress. In almost identical
ways, the leaders of the National Thrift Movement of the 1920s believed that their movement was vital to the broad goals of moral reform, character
education, and civic progress. Since more than three hundred years ago, Ben Franklin shared his ideas on the values of thrift with American people, it
involved:
- Be industrious and frugal, and you will be rich
- Hope of gain lessens pain
- Beware of little expenses, a small leak will sink a great ship
- Pride breakfasted with Plenty, dined with Poverty, and supped with
Infamy -
Employ your time well, if you meanest to gain leisure -
Avarice and happiness never saw each other, how then should they become acquainted
- Nothing so likely to make a man’s fortune as virtue
www.americanvalues. org
, accessed on 29
th
May 2006 at 22.00. Today, of course, this movement is hardly remembered. Men and women
did good work, in so many ways, they are in their debt just as they were in Franklin’s and others’ debt. Much of what they fought for is still quite relevant to
their lives. The word “thrift” today has a quaint, old-fashioned sound. Our government budget deficits are ballooning out of control. Americans do not save
much at all, even though most economists agree that more savings and investment
xliv relative to consumer spending would be good for them, both as individuals and as
a society. People sometimes seem to think that buying more stuff will make them happy. They sometimes seem confused about the relationship of private gain to
the public good. Instead of inventing a new philosophy to help them wrestle with these important issues, they might consider dusting off an old one for recycling
that would be the thrifty thing to do www.americanvalues.org
, accessed on 29
th
May 2006 at 22.00.
4. Human person is primed for both individualism and deep connection
A conversation in a New York cafe in 2003 led to a report called “Hardwired to Connect: The New Scientific Case for Authoritative
Communities”. The report was co-authored by 33 children’s doctors, research scientists, and mental health and youth service professionals. More specifically,
for what they believe is the first time, the study brought together neuroscientists who study the child’s developing brain with social scientists
www.americanvalues.org , accessed on 29
th
May 2006 at 22.00. The report’s main argument is that too many U.S. children are suffering
from a lack of connectedness. The authors mean two kinds of connectedness: o
Close, enduring connections to other people also known as individualism
o Deep connections, to moral and spiritual meaning
The report argues that the human person is biologically primed and also hardwired for these two types of connectedness. The weakening of both of
these forms of relatedness in American society in recent decades is a primary cause of today’s high and rising rates of mental problems and emotional
distress among U.S. children and adolescents
www.americanvalues.org ,
accessed on 29
th
May 2006 at 22.00. The previous beliefs and values are only several of many beliefs and
values which can be found in American Society between 2004 and 2005. They are
xlv not the exact parameter but they can change and develop from time to time
influenced by many factors in society.
E. Historical Overview of Conspiracy Theories in America: Between 1600s and 1820s
