Your post is just gripes about people you disagree with politically and doesn’t mention any culture at all. Blues, broadway, bbq, rap, burgers, road trips, entrepreneurship, etc.
Just because something is identifiable to the US (your war example) does not make it culture. People spend very little time (most none) on any involvement with it so it’s not really an identifiable trait of the culture.
Gun culture is similar in that, apart from a small minority of people obsessed with guns, even the people who do own them spend very little time talking about or thinking about them. It’s like saying we have a “fork” culture because lots of people use them.
Political ideology is very much culture. In fact, it's one of the stronger aspects of culture that shapes everything around it. For instance, blues and rap and rock and roll and road trips and entrepreneurship cultures all exist exclusively because of American politics.
> Just because something is identifiable to the US (your war example) does not make it culture.
National identity is a part of culture and how someone perceives their own culture and that of others.
> People spend very little time (most none) on any involvement with it so it’s not really an identifiable trait of the culture.
Pretty much every single person I know has had a family member in the military. I know at least 3 Vietnam vets, and all of them still hold trauma from it. The military is one of the most brought up topics in American politics because of how much money we spend and shapes how the world thinks of us for 100 years. 9/11 redefined privacy, security, geopolitics, and travel. We have recruiting booths in every high school and university.
To say war is not a fundamental part of American culture seems absurd.
> Gun culture is similar in that, apart from a small minority of people obsessed with guns, even the people who do own them spend very little time talking about or thinking about them.
I won't disagree with you on that, that's fair. And it's heavily regional too.
But when we're talking about how Americans have a loose national identity, I think it's fair that gun culture is very much perceived as part of it. And given the prevalence of mass shootings, it's not a good thing to feel associated with, which causes Americans to distance themselves from the national identity.
Contrast this with the (to be fair, stereotyped and sanitized) identities of Japan being clean or France being cultured or Germany being industrious.
But this is just how I've come to understand the situation from talking to people I've met in my life. Culture is extremely complicated and I'm not an anthropologist by any means. I'd love to hear what you think!
> To say war is not a fundamental part of American culture seems absurd.
Only because it’s in your social circle. Nobody in my family or my friends’ families has served since WW2. Voluntary military service is borderline genetic (kids serve because parent did) and service members tend to form social circles with other service members.
Being in the military is as much part of the culture as is being Jewish is. They have similar population counts.
You’re just fixating on your experiences and gripes and are assuming that equates to “American culture”.
Just because something is identifiable to the US (your war example) does not make it culture. People spend very little time (most none) on any involvement with it so it’s not really an identifiable trait of the culture.
Gun culture is similar in that, apart from a small minority of people obsessed with guns, even the people who do own them spend very little time talking about or thinking about them. It’s like saying we have a “fork” culture because lots of people use them.