As for values, my first thought about changes in America's values is that we are all much more materialistic than when I grew up, and making money seems so much more important to both individuals and to businesses. But I also think this is a value change that seems to be going on world wide, including China. Do you agree? Obviously I don't know what it is like in China, but the Chinese who live here have strong beliefs in both being well educated - and accumulating lots of wealth. And they tend to be very wealthy, at least in this part of the country. Lately the real estate market here has been booming, raising values, but the newspapers have all sorts of stories about how a lot of the buyers are wealthy Chinese buyers, both from here and from China. They are either buying here for investment reasons, or buying here to provide their children with homes. Frequently, they are paying all cash, which has not been that usual here, considering how expensive real estate is in this area.
The other change in American values, and I have no idea if this is happening in China, is our focus on children. Families seem to revolve around their children's needs, buying them lots of toys, clothes, etc., even if they do not have a lot of money. In fact, a few years back, I read a study that when families go to restaurants, 80%
of the time, the children choose the restaurant. When I was growing up, frequently the children didn't even go out to eat with their parents, and if they did, they were not asked which restaurant they wanted to go to. It's almost funny. I think there are both good and bad things with this change - children do seem to be more confident, but they also have more of a sense of entitlement.
The other thing that I think is a strong American value, but becoming less so, is raising our children to be independent. Now more children, as they become adults, choose to stay living at home longer and seem to be better friends with their parents, really enjoying their parents more, than previous generations. I think the Asian cultures stress less independence from families, and more staying close and responsible for each other. I bet more American elderly end up in nursing homes than Chinese elderly as a result, although I really don't know.。