Contradictory Nation - The Origins of American Culture

Author: Michael Kammen
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-12-01
Features: In the book The Conflicted Nation: Exploring the Origins of American Civilization, Michael Kammen primarily reveals the theme that instability in diversity is the main characteristic of American civilization. However, he does not present his theory through a fixed explanatory system but rather bases it on the various conflicting phenomena that have emerged in the cultural sphere of the United States. In this book, he conducts a detailed study of the conflicting phenomena in American colonial society, attempting to trace the roots of American civilization from this special historical period. He argues that these conflicts persist in every stage of cultural development that follows and have had a profound impact on American society. In the book, he also proposes that this cultural diversity is inherently unstable, characterized by both horizontal homogenization and vertical temporality. The various conflicts accumulated during America's development collectively form the overall fabric of American culture. The author analyzes and concludes that a series of dual combinations giving rise to conflicts may be the unique characteristic of the United States. Therefore, to resolve these conflicts and bring opposing sides together, diversity emerges. Moreover, the tension between conflicting opposing forces also contributes to the survival and development of culture. Thus, American civilization is composed of pairs of conflicting opposites, and how these conflicts are managed becomes the most remarkable and profound aspect of American civilization. In the end, the author summarizes that in American society and culture, there is always a continuous struggle between various opposing viewpoints, and this struggle can only be temporarily balanced: American civilization is an ever-conflicting battleground, a culture of the survival of the fittest, which seeks harmony and unity only through constant renewal and natural selection.