I am reading a book called "What's So Great About America" by Dinesh
D'Souza. The book goes into the differences between American and other
non-western cultures such as India. In India, your gender, family
placement, caste, and tribe determine where you go in life and what
you do. The path is paved for you and you don't have much of a choice
even with marriage. In America we "write the script" of our life and
can easily pave our own path and be whatever we want to be. Americans
have control over their destiny. While this American way of life is
appealing to immigrants, America is viewed as an immoral country. I
need two good sources that explain what sets America apart from other
countries (Why do immigrants want to come here over other countries?
What's so great?) and then a look at the negative immoral parts of
America, how other countries see us.

Hello sprocket003-ga,

I happen to be reading a new book at the moment on exactly this topic:
Jedidiah Purdy's "Being America".

"Being America: Liberty, Commerce, and Violence in an American World,
by Jedediah Purdy"
Amazon.com
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0375413073/103-3252868-7559803?vi=glance

A second source is the book to which the Amazon.com review apparently
refers: Thomas Friedman's "The Lexus and the Olive Tree".  This book
is primarily about globalization, not America per se like Purdy's
book.  But Friedman makes clear that America is the leader of
globalization (even if it is a global phenomenon), and that people in
other countries want to move towards an American way of life (or to
America) or want to preserve their way of life against it.

"The Lexus and the Olive Tree: Understanding Globalization, by Thomas
L. Friedman"
Amazon.com
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0385499345/qid=1051503267/sr=1-1/ref=sr_1_1/103-3252868-7559803?v=glance&s=books

As the Amazon.com review explains about Purdy's work, "This new book
is a worthy companion, and in some ways counterpoint, to the more
world-weary work of Thomas Friedman."  You might prefer Purdy, you
might prefer Friedman.  You might (and will probably) agree with some
things and disagree with other things that each author says about
America and what it represents in the world.  But I would say that if
you read one book, you should read the other, just for balance.

I hope that this information is helpful.

- justaskscott-ga

---

Clarification of Answer by justaskscott-ga on 27 Apr 2003 21:47 PDT

I just realized that misspelled Jedediah Purdy's first name.  I
wouldn't want to cause you to look for "Jedidiah Purdy" in a search
engine (though of course Google would suggest the correct spelling).

Incidentally, if you felt like finding out more about "Thomas
Friedman", you might want to search also for "Thomas L. Friedman".

---

Request for Answer Clarification by sprocket003-ga on 28 Apr 2003 06:12 PDT

Thanks for the info, I surely will read Purdy's book. But, I am
pressured for information as I have a projecr due at the beginning of
next week. I'm not sure my local library has these books. Do you know
of an online sources that are similar? Something that can provide
another view on the subject?

---

Clarification of Answer by justaskscott-ga on 28 Apr 2003 07:25 PDT

I'm sorry, your question didn't indicate that you needed Web sources
or were under time pressure.  (You were reading a book, so it seemed
appropriate to recommend other books.)

I would suggest looking for web pages on Purdy's book or for book
reviews either online or in the library.  You can search on Google
for: purdy "being america".  I have tried another tactic to assist
you, which is to look for review in the publications listed here:

"Book Reviews"
Arts & Letters Daily
http://www.aldaily.com/#bookreviews

Here are the reviews that I found:

"Americans Abroad", by Michael Ignatieff (April 10, 2003)
The New York Review of Books
http://www.nybooks.com/articles/article-preview?article_id=16189

"The Global Villain", by Barry Gewen (March 30, 2003)
The New York Times
http://query.nytimes.com/search/full-page?res=9C0CE7D61031F933A05750C0A9659C8B63

"Being America, by Jedediah Purdy", reviewed by Carlos Lozada (Spring
2003)
Wilson Quarterly
http://wwics.si.edu/index.cfm?fuseaction=wq.essay&essay_id=26130

"Return of the Jedediah", by Joy Press (March 7th, 2003)
The Village Voice
http://www.villagevoice.com/issues/0311/press.php

"Your search for ( ( YMD_date=( 10/25/2002 - 04/28/2003 ) ) ) and ( (
purdy ) )"
["Reflections in the World's Eye, Article 6 of 23 found, Reviewed Anne
Applebaum, March 2, 2003"]
The Washington Post
http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=WP&p_theme=wpost&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_text_search-0=purdy&s_dispstring=purdy%20AND%20date(last%20185%20days)&p_field_date-0=YMD_date&p_params_date-0=date:B,E&p_text_date-0=-185qzD&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&xcal_useweights=no

"Search the Monitor Archive - Searched for purdy - 45 matches found,
25 returned" ["from the Feb 20, 2003 edition - Superpower values - By
Merle Rubin"]
The Christian Science Monitor
http://www.csmonitorarchive.com/csmonitor/display.jhtml;jsessionid=2JAYSVQQD4EXRKGL4L2SFEQ?_requestid=96741

I believe that the hallmark of American exceptionalism had always been
individualism.
In his book _American_Exceptionalism:_A_Double-Edged_Sword, Seymour
Martin Lipset claimed that "Other countries' senses of themselves are
derived from a common history...In Europe, nationality is related to
community, and thus one cannot become un-English or un-Swedish. Being
an American, however, is an ideological commitment. It is not a matter
of birth. Those who reject American values are un-American."
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/style/longterm/books/chap1/americanexceptionalism.htm

I hope that was helpful.
secret901-ga

I was interested by the comment "In India, your gender, family
placement, caste, and tribe determine where you go in life and what
you do." This much is quite true. But the next sentence "The path is
paved for you and you don't have much of a choice even with marriage."
is not true. I am from India, and though my gender, caste played a
role in shaping my life, I shaped my own life to a great extent. India
is a free, democratic country where a person is allowed to choose his
destiny, although it means a little social rebellion on the
individual's part. Usually a person with money can write his own
script in India. Most people in India do not view America as an
immoral society. Immigrants from India move to the US for 2 reasons -
greater opportunity for education; and vastly greater pay. The reason
for immigration is certainly not a love for American culture. India is
getting pretty crowded; sometimes even doctors and engineers do not
find jobs.

Please correct me if I am wrong, but even in America, some people are
not considered as equal as others. More so after 9/11.