Keepin' it real?

Are Americans practical people?  Many cultures celebrate dreams as windows into the soul, the future, or the afterlife, but apart from some "just for fun" dream analysis Americans do not buy into this.  The occassional-special interest "daily horoscope" in America is also a far cry from cultures that seriously consider astrological signs when making a variety of decisions, from naming children to approving potential marriages.  And while superstitions abound -- from crossing paths with black cats to stepping on sidewalk cracks -- it's a rare American that would blame misfortunes of failing to observe such superstitions.  Whether ghosts or curses, prophecies or palmistry, Americans seem to avoid at least publicly endorsing the unproven.  Not even religion is immune from a disregard for the metaphysical.  In America, Christian holidays like Christmas and Easter are largely secular celebrations of family, or even commercialism, and ABCNEWS reports that only 38% of Americans claim to attend weekly religious services.  And consumerism itself, a love for money over other values, could mean preference for the tangible.

But though Americans may consider themselves practical people, their actions speak louder than words.  Large amounts of credit card debts, indicative of Americans routinely living beyond their means, indicate the triumph of the idea of money over its tangible presence.  Though they can get riled up about politics, most Americans care little for the underlying facts, demonstrating a distinct preference for ideology over hard evidence.  (Examine, for instance, the common assertion that America is a Christian nation founded on Christian principles.  The Constitution separates Church and state to form a deliberately secular government, and the revered Founding Fathers were largely deists and atheists.)  The American dream that people cling to is statistically unattainable, but often cited as epitome of freedom.  More still, Americans frequently assert that the United States is the “greatest country in the world,” and they seem to honestly believe it, but where is the evidence for this sense of superiority?  China and much of Asia surpass America in standardized test scores.  India, China, and other nations have higher economic growth rates, and beat the US technological advances.  Most European countries do far more for their citizens than the American government does, and the US does not even make the top ten in standard of living.  By what measure is America the greatest nation?  Wealth?  We have a deficit in the world: over $14 trillion (About.com).  And while an argument can be made for the American military, nearly ten years of war in the Middle East has left it drained and the American people tired of war.  The US isn’t even popular on the world stage.  Yet Americans continue to consider themselves citizens of the greatest nation in the world.

So are Americans practical or realistic?  Some of them are.  But though aspects of US society spurn irrationality, Americans in general are not practical.