Body Ritual Among The Nacirema Essay

Don’t ask why it is necessary that you duck boots, just get them. They are not really that fashionable, and they are very expensive. Everyone else has them, though, so I have to get them, no doubt about it. In the article Body Ritual Among the Nacirema, by Horace Miner, American culture is satirized due to the way some practices and beliefs are so deeply indoctrinated into us that the American people fail to recognize how strange all of them really are. In “1848: When America Came of Age,” by Kurt Andersen, American society from the 19th century, most specifically the year 1848, is described by a series of movements and the emergence of the many beliefs that dominate American culture. In American culture, faith without question and with the

In fact, many practices in modern American culture depend on the faith of the people. New dietary plans and magical weight losing programs are always the buzz on the internet and some people do indeed have faith that these work. With nearly no science to back up these trendy magical programs that are supposed to improve your health, many people still their money in them with the hope they will progress. While there are inherent negative aspects of faith in this way, there are also positive things that can come out of it. Whether it be hygiene, health, or the economy, the American people have been thrust into situations of uncertainty but have somehow prevailed. Sometimes it happens by pure luck, like when gold was struck in California and began a movement of people of the west. Sometimes by sheer hard work and hard headedness. In retrospect, many decisions are made in good faith that the results will be favorable, and there are a plethora of historical examples to back this claim up. For example, Thomas Jefferson, as president, took a major decision against the wishes of congress when he completed the Louisiana Purchase, and this decision changed the future for the better. Though never certain if what we put our faith into will catapult us into success, it is a gamble the American people are always willing to take as long as there is a purpose and a vision of progress in