
Fairfax, Virginia 4th of July parade. Photo by: U.S. Department of State (IIP Bureau)

Fairfax, Virginia 4th of July parade. Photo by: U.S. Department of State (IIP Bureau)
美国人有不同的肤色和民族。美国人信奉不同的宗教,有许多不同的生活方式。在地理区域之间,农村与城市之间以及社会阶层之间存在着重要差异。此外,来自世界各地的数百万移民为美国带来了自己的文化和价值,给美国生活增添了更多的多样性与特色。虽然美国人并不总是彼此同意,但他们被一个非常特别的东西联合在一起,那就是200多年前最初在美国宪法中所描述的价值观和理想。
也许高于一切的是,美国人认为自己是独立的个体。他们有强烈的家庭关系及对团体的强烈忠诚,但个人及个人权利是最重要的。如果这样的态度看起来好像很自私,它也让美国人真诚地尊重他人及坚持人人平等。
与这种尊重个人有关的是美国人独立与自力更生的特性。孩子们从小就被教导“要用自己的双脚站立”,这是一个表达独立的成语。诚实与坦率是美国人独立个性的另外两个方面,它们对美国人来说比个人荣誉或“面子”更重要。
美国人高度重视成就,这导致他们不断地相互竞争。你会发现友好及不太友好的竞争无处不在。美国人还痴迷于在体育、商业或甚至更平凡的事情上取得成就。另一方面,即使美国人经常是相互竞争的,他们也有良好的团队合作意识及与他人合作实现一个特定目标的意识。
美国人经常被指物质主义和以成功为趋导。一个人有多少钱,一桩商业交易赚多少利润,或一个人积累了多少物质财富往往是他们对成功的定义。这回到了美国的竞争性。然而,许多美国人不同意这样的成功定义;他们享受生活的简单快乐,既不过于野心勃勃,也不咄咄逼人。许多美国人在物质上成功的同时,仍然有时间去欣赏文化、精神和生活的人文层面。
在线阅读
公民权利
- The Civil Rights Movement and the Legacy of Martin Luther King, Jr. (PDF 155 KB)
- Free at Last: The U.S. Civil Rights Movement (由美国国务部国际信息局发布) (PDF 218 KB)
- Justice for All: The Legacy of Thurgood Marshall (由美国国务部国际信息局发布) (PDF 1.65 MB)
犯罪与司法
- Crime in the United States (美国司法部 – 联邦调查局)
- Sourcebook of Criminal Justice Statistics (美国司法部司法统计局)
多样性与移民
- The African-American Mosaic: A Library of Congress Resource Guide for the Study of Black History & Culture (PDF 1.11 MB)
- Immigrants Joining the Mainstream (美国国务部国际信息局电子杂志发布) (PDF 2.11 MB)
- Muslim Life in America (美国国务部国际信息局电子杂志发布) (PDF 1.39 MB)
- Now That I’m Here: What America’s Immigrants Have to Say About Life in the U.S. (公共议程的报告)
- Portrait of the USA: One from Many (美国国务部国际信息局电子杂志发布) (PDF 71 KB)
家庭生活与青年
- The American Family (美国国务部国际信息局电子杂志) (PDF 474 KB)
- American Teenagers (美国国务部国际信息局电子杂志) (PDF 1.89 MB)
- Growing Up Healthy (美国国务部国际信息局电子杂志) (PDF 1.59 MB)
人口及人口统计
- The Changing Demographic Profile of the United States (CRS报告) (PDF 161 KB)
- Population Profile of the United States (美国人口普查局)
宗教
- Americans Struggle with Religion’s Role at Home and Abroad (由皮尤论坛和皮尤研究中心为人民和新闻联合调查) (PDF 306 KB)
- A New Religious America (摘自Diana L. Eck著作的《一个新宗教美国》) (PDF 149 KB)
- Portrait of the USA: Separating Church and State (PDF 60 KB)
- Religion on the Stump: Politics and Faith in America (皮尤宗教与公共生活论坛) (PDF 141 KB)
- Religious Freedom as a Human Right (美国国务部国际信息局电子杂志) (PDF 144 KB)
社会福利
- The ADA: Your Employment Rights as an Individual With a Disability (美国平等就业机会委员会)
- Disability and Ability (美国国务部国际信息局电子杂志) (PDF 5.44 MB)
- Disibility Rights Movement Timeline (美国交通运输部联邦运输管理局)
- The Future of Social Security (美国社会保障局) (PDF 883 KB)
志愿服务与慈善
- Giving: U.S. Philanthropy (美国国务部国际信息局电子杂志) (PDF 3.86 MB)
- The United States: A Nation of Volunteers (美国国务部国际信息局电子杂志) (PDF 865 KB)
- Volunteering in the United States (美国劳工部劳工统计局) (PDF 146 KB)
女性
- Making a Difference in the U.S.A.: Women in Politics (由美国国务部国际信息局电子杂志发布) (PDF 1.44 MB)
- Women of Influence (美国国务部国际信息局电子杂志) (PDF 1.61 MB)
网页链接
- Civil Rights
– A Call to Conscience: The Landmark Speeches of Martin Luther King, Jr. (Martin Luther King, Jr., Papers Project, Stanford University)
– Citizens’ Commission on Civil Rights
– Civil Rights: A Chronology
– The King Center (living memorial and institutional guardian of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s legacy, established in 1968 by Mrs. Coretta Scott King)
– The King Papers Project (Stanford University)
– National Gay and Lesbian Task Force
– National Organization for Women
– Native American Rights Fund
– U.S. Commission on Civil Rights
– We Shall Overcome: Historic Places of the Civil Rights Movement
- Crime & Justice
– Crime Issues: Self Defense and Gun Control (National Center for Policy Analysis)
– National Crime Prevention Council
– National Criminal Justice Reference Service (U.S. Department of Justice)
- Diversity & Immigration
– Asian American Studies Center (University of California, Los Angeles)
– Asian-Nation (resource and overview of the historical, demographic, political, and cultural issues that make up today’s diverse Asian American community)
– National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP)
– National Congress of American Indians
– National Immigration Forum
– National Urban League (devoted to empowering African Americans to enter the economic and social mainstream)
– Our Shared History: African-American Heritage (National Park Service)
– Pew Hispanic Center
- Family Life & Youth
– Administration for Children and Families (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services)
– Child and Family Web Guide (Tufts University)
– Council on Contemporary Families
– Harvard Family Research Project
– Youth Law Center - Population & Demographics
– American FactFinder: Your source for population, housing, economic, and geographic data (U.S. Census Bureau)
– Demographics of the U.S. Labor Force (Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor)
– State & County QuickFacts (U.S. Census Bureau)
– The 2008 Statistical Abstract: Population (U.S. Census Bureau)
– U.S. Population Clock (U.S. Census Bureau)
– USA People QuickFacts (U.S. Census Bureau)
- Religion
– American Jewish Congress
– American Religion Data Archive (Association of Religion Data Archives)
– Divining America: Religion in American History
– Freedom from Religion Foundation
– National Council of Churches of Christ in the USA
– The Pluralism Project (Harvard University) - Social Welfare
– Americans with Disabilities Act
– Disability Rights Advocates
– DisabilityInfo.gov (U.S. Department of Labor)
– EPI Issue Guide: Social Security (Economic Policy Institute)
– GovBenefits.gov
– Government Benefits, Grants, and Financial Aid (USA.gov)
– Project on Social Security Choice (Cato Institute)
– Public Agenda Issue Guides: Social Security
– Social Security History (Social Security Administration) - Women
– Center for American Women and Politics
– League of Women Voters
– The Learning Page: Women’s History (Library of Congress)
– National Women’s History Project (NWHP)
– National Women’s Law Center