makes Americans impatient when they have to

makes Americans impatient when they have to

wait. It also makes it difficult for Americans to

relax.

The desire to save time and do work more

quickly and easily leads Americans to buy

many kinds of machines__ from office equipment

such as calculators, photocopy machines, and

computers to dozens of home and personal appli‑

ances, such as microwave ovens.

The Importance of Money. After visiting the U.S.

in the 1830s, the French historian Alexis

de Tocqueville wrote, "I know of no country...

where the love of money has taken

stron,vx hold •.." Americans are often accused of

being materialistic, of valuing wealth

and possessions above all else. Money is valued

both as a symbol of success and also

for a more obvious reason its purchasing power.

Purchases are made in order to "keep up with the

joneses," to show friends that one can afford a big‑

ger house or a better car. Also, advertising encour‑

ages people to keep buying things far beyond what

they need. In the nineteenth century, the American

author Henry David Thoreau advised his country‑

men, "Simplify your needs!" I lowever, Americans

im^patient iim'oeiranti Hereoliermabitl

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