Does anybody recognize the difference in family relationships regarding Europeans as opposed to All-Americans?

Question

Half of my family are Austrians, the other half are your typical US Appalachians. I grew up with the Austrian side here in America and occasionally visit my All-American half on a monthly basis. From my own experience I have found that Europeans are more family focused on the group instead of the individual... "Get good grades for your grandmother", things like that. Eating is a fun family event. And they are more conscious of worldly issues and personal education in general.
In contrast my All-American side of the family seem to think as individualist. Eating with them seems cold and mechanical (a burdensome necessity). And instead of watching the news or reading a book or newspaper they would much rather listen to a mindless minister at a no-nothing church.
In closing , it has always been a struggle for me to connect with the All-American side of my family (ready to give up). It seems that they think different, act different, and even love different... Opinions please

Answer 1

I wound say your wrong, but I'm an American. Would that be fair ...is this why? you feel like you do because your not American.

Maybe you should spend more than once a month with your, American side of the family, and you will get to know them and their ways better.

Answer 2

Good bless you, you just don't know how hard it is to get people to see what it is you see. Understand it isn't a small matter of american individualism, quite the opposite. See something quite perverse and morbid happens to a person when you tell them to live for themselves..... they loss all sense of purpose! Its just the way it is, people were never met to live just for themselves and the fact is, its destroing us and most of the western thinking world. Without hertiage or family you loss alot of faith in yourself as a person, you become like every one else, expendable, unspecial, and unimportant. Just another Joe, its because of this individual bs that were beganing to actually destory the individual its just a crazy run away process. They forgot what it met to be a special individual, its no longer based solely on were you've been, but has became a big matter of were your going. Since no one can really have a "special" future, (we all share it equally) we end up feeling these feelings. See the only thing that made us "special" that made us individuals is our past! Or family, or history, or individuality. They've got us by the most important thing in the world to a human being's social exsistence, they've tooken away our indentity! Because of this we all might as well be called "Joe"...... and in order to stand up and make a name we need our family, unfornatunely because of the way this is set up, were all to insecure to turn to them for help.... you know the old "I've got my own problems, go live your own life" bs.....