INDIVIDUALISM AND PRIVACYLet's look

INDIVIDUALISM AND PRIVACY
Let's look at a few these values more closely. One of the guiding principles in American society is the value of individualism, which has a long political and historical basis. This value affects many aspects of typically "American" behavior and attitudes, including the attitude toward privacy. Some foreigners do not understand the American "brand" of privacy. As an example, let's look at what sometimes happens when American businesspeople go to Japan. Their Japanese counterparts meet them at the airport, and often, from the beginning of the trip to the end, they take care of the Americans, rarely leaving them alone. After a certain point, many Americans feel that they want to be alone and that they need more privacy. It is not uncommon to hear an American say something like, "They are really nice and friendly, and they take good care of me, but I just want some time to myself."
Americans want and value privacy. Privacy, to an American, does not mean isolation or loneliness. However, this is sometimes the way it is interpreted by people of different cultures. Certain languages, such as Arabic, Russian and Japanese, do not even have an exact word for privacy. It does not mean that these cultures have no concept of privacy. However, when and how privacy is expressed may be different from when and how the "American" concept is expressed. Americans may feel the need to give people their privacy or to have their own privacy at times when a person from another culture might not feel the need. In some American homes, parents and children do not enter each others' rooms without first knocking. This emphasis on privacy exists because individuals feel that their needs must be respected. In contrast, in group-oriented societies people respect the needs of the group before considering those of the individual.
Equality and Egalitarianism
Another American value is the ideal of equality. Americans, unlike many people from other cultural groups, like to present an image that everyone is equal. For example, employees often call their bossed by their first names and can even sometimes joke freely with the president of the company. This informal behavior and communication occur among people al all levels in the business and political worlds. Obviously, however, the company president has more power than a lower-level employee (not to mention a higher salary!) Despite this, many Americans choose not to be overly polite and formal with a person of a higher status. Instead, many Americans would rather think of the boss as an equal. In other words, the American tendency is to minimize status differences rather than emphasize them.
Future Orientation
Another American value is future orientation. Americans, on the whole, look to the future rather than the past. Tradition and ritual, reminders of the past, play a small part in most Americans daily lives. There is instead a focus on progress and change, goals that many Americans try to achieve. Many people feel optimistic that they can be responsible for some progress and change (however small) in their lives. This is also related to the American belief in personal control over one's environment (and one's life), and the emphasis on "doing" and acting.
Again, these American values are easier to understand in contrast to the beliefs of cultures in which fate plays a more important role. For example, you can often hear in Mexico, "Que sera`, sera`," or in the Philippines, "Bahala na" (both translate to "Whatever will be will be), and in the Arab world, "In sha’alla" (Whatever God will be). Americans do not use such expressions nearly as often as members of some other cultures.
Values such as the ones just described are the backbones of American culture. They influence many Americans thinking and acting. One challenge of cross-cultural communication with Americans is to be able to figure out the difference between cultural behavior and individual behavior, and when you meet Americans from various ethnic groups, to decide if and how they reflect their bicultural American identity. You will probably discover that you are continually changing and refining your generalizations about Americans.