Being American: Self-Importance and Expression

What does it mean to be an American? Seeing as this is the fundamental question of our American Studies class, I thought I would take a crack at it now. In writing these blogs, I think that we have already uncovered one very important element of the American condition.
      We, as individauls, are able to reach anyone with an internet connection in the entire world. According to http://www.ipligence.com/worldmap/ , North America is home to over half of all the internet access ports in the entire world. Not only that, but our internet here is unrestricted, unlike that in China, where government regulations forbid access to certain websites.

      This freedom of self-expression is one of the main factors causing the attitude of self-importance in America. I believe that in general, Americans today value themselves and their own well-being over that of the country as a whole.

     This does not necesarily mean that we are all selfish and is not necesarily a bad thing. In school we learn to think as individuals at a young age, as we write "All about me" papers every year for our early life. Teachers urge children to have self-worth and good self-esteem to promote mental health. Every day we are bombarded with the feel-good message: You are special.

      Personally I think that this attitidue that values the individual is good for our country. It promotes growth because everyone thinks differently, and therefore can disagree, argue, and come to a conclusion that is stronger than one reached by a single thinking entitiy. I do not mean to say that people in countries like China are like robots with no thought for themselves, only that Americans place an unusally high value on the individual.

     Vauling the individual so much does come at a price, however. The younger generations of America seem to be much less patriotic than their older counterparts. We care more about ourselves and our immediate surroundings and less about American pride. Is this simply the price of thinking for ourselves, or the indication of a serious attitude issue?