American Society’s Individualistic Culture: The Impact on the Pandemic
The issue of societal division is pretty much constantly at the forefront of my mind these days; as seen with my multiple posts about the subject. This may be because over the past few years people have been more willing to show their true opinions about things (for better or for worse), and the pandemic has just shined a brighter light on this. If you would have told me a couple years back that a reason for so much division was a mask I would have laughed. This pandemic has definitely given me more time to think about what I consider to be the most important things in life, and I have come to the conclusion that along with self-purpose and helping others, human connection is essential to a meaningful existence. So, why are we fighting against each other when we should be trying to fight this thing together?
As of last week, the first appropriately-tested, viable vaccines were administered to recipients in England. Many people are extremely excited about this because it means a hope for our collective lives to return to “normal,” which is something that everybody wants. I know that I am looking forward to the FDA approving the Moderna COVID vaccines for recipients in the United States; but not everyone here in the U.S. is. And, as of today, the first vaccines by Pfizer are being taken by highly-essential healthcare workers in the United States. Just like last week for the UK, this is a major moment in United States history.
According to a poll by CNN, only about 51% of Americans in the survey said they would be willing to get the vaccine if it was affordable. While 45% of the participants indicated that they will not be taking the vaccine.* However, a survey conducted by the Wall Street Journal in collaboration with NBC News indicated that closer to 70% of the Americans surveyed would be willing to get the vaccine. About half of those 70% said that they would wait until they were more sure it was safe after dispersal and 20% said they would take the vaccine right away. In this WSJ/NBC survey, 27% of the participants said they would not be getting the vaccine.** Although there is a large disparity between these two surveys one notion is clear: there is a large group of Americans who are not willing to receive the vaccine. This is a problem because for herd immunity to work, then a large majority of people need to be vaccinated. Even more than the 70% of participants who said they would receive the vaccine in the the WSJ/NBC News survey would be needed for herd immunity.
For many, this is not surprising news because for better or for worse, this pandemic has brought to light some characteristics of the American people. Although many studies by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and World Health Organization (WHO) have shown the possible threats of the Coronavirus and the safety benefits of the use of a mask when in public, many Americans refuse to use the mask. Many of those who refuse to wear a mask in public cite medical restrictions, that the Coronavirus is a hoax, and state their rights to bodily autonomy.
While these views are all problematic, I want to discuss further why we see this issue of rights to bodily autonomy above other essential elements to consider, even when the person citing this claim recognizes the dangers of the virus. This is due to the United States having an individualistic culture.
Let’s first begin with what an individualistic culture is.
Individualistic cultures emphasize individual needs and wants over the needs and wants of the collective group. In these societies, personal characteristics like being independent and self-sufficient are celebrated. So, many aspects of these societies are tailored toward the desires of the individual. This includes preferences towards political opinions, religious theologies, and personal interests; as long as those inclinations do not harm oneself or others. We mainly see individualistic cultures in the United States, western European countries, and Australia.
The main characteristics of this culture are self-autonomy, self-reliance, uniqueness, and, of course, independence. On the flip side of this, dependency on others may garner judgement and when one is going through a difficult time they are typically told to “pick themselves up by their bootstraps” and to plow on. If you can’t do that without the help of others, then, well, some may take this as a weakness.
Unfortunately, a major side-effect of an individualistic culture is the promotion of selfishness because we are taught to be so focused on the rights of the self over others. That is why we are seeing such differing opinions when it comes to the usage of the mask and if one will take the vaccine when it becomes available to them.
Typically, independent thoughts and actions are revered or even considered innovative. Sometimes, we may get into arguments with others based on our differing opinions, but we can do this and move on knowing that it is not causing much harm. In a lot of cases, having discussions with others who think differently than yourself may even be an illuminating experience, but what we are seeing today is anything but that. Our differing of opinions on the pandemic is harmful, and has turned fatal in many cases.
For myself and many others, we understand that wearing a mask outside, though uncomfortable, may mean saving a life. Our own or someone else’s. This is our main reason for wearing masks and one day in the near future receiving the vaccine, but there are other reasons, too. Such as making sure we don’t make others feel uncomfortable while we are standing in line at the coffee shop. However, not everyone sees it this way and may even consider these opinions as an infringement to their civil rights.
In collectivist cultures, such as Japan, India, Argentina, and South Korea, characteristics that are appreciated are loyalty and interdependence. Working for the common good is celebrated and expected.
In Japan, there have been about 2,481 deaths due to COVID since the global pandemic began with a population of 126.5 million. In the state of Illinois, with a population of 12.6 million, there have been approximately 15,340 deaths due to COVID since the beginning of the pandemic. Obviously, the difference in cultures can not attribute to all of the disparity in these cases of deaths, but it is certainly a contributing factor. And, a significant one at that.
Although there are many aspects of both types of cultures that I can appreciate, I certainly wish that we could use this pandemic to come together as a nation instead of using it as another reason to move further away from one another. It may be cheesy, but at the end of the day, all we have is each other. We need to focus more on our similarities rather than the things that make us different. For right now, we need to think more about what is good for the whole as opposed to the individual because that is the only way out of this pandemic and to return to a more normal way of life.
*Howard, J. (2020, October 06). The percentage of Americans who say they would get a Covid-19 vaccine is falling, CNN poll finds. Retrieved December 14, 2020, from https://www.cnn.com/2020/10/05/health/covid-19-vaccine-willingness-cnn-poll-wellness/index.html
**Hopkins, J. (2020, October 15). Ahead of Covid-19 Vaccine, Half of Americans Indicate Reluctance, WSJ/NBC Poll Finds. Retrieved December 14, 2020, from https://www.wsj.com/articles/ahead-of-covid-19-vaccine-half-of-americans-indicate-reluctance-wsj-nbc-poll-finds-11602734460
Further Resources:
https://www.verywellmind.com/what-are-individualistic-cultures-2795273
https://www.cnn.com/2020/10/05/health/covid-19-vaccine-willingness-cnn-poll-wellness/index.html
