Why Americans are Restless: Interpretive Questions

2. A society devoted to total equality weakens individuals greatly. When people are too focused on equality, they forget why they are doing it, and often them become selfish. If people get used to having equality, than they will forget about the large issues that they are having, but focus on the lesser problems that would have less of an effect than the larger ones. Societies that have equality confuse people into thinking that they can do great things with very little work, but this often is corrected after the people attempt it and commonly brings about the ruin of the particular person, which would weaken the society as a whole. Alexis de Tocqueville explains this when he writes, “An ambitious man may think it easy to launch on a great career and feel that he is called to no common destiny. But that is a delusion which experience quickly corrects. The same equality which allows each man to entertain vast hopes makes each man by himself weak.” Although equality must be given to all, the people with equality must realize that with equality comes responsibility to use it correctly, and not “waste” it.

5. In his writing, Alexis de Tocqueville explains why Americans are so restless. He explains that we are restless because we are always trying to get what is often impossible to get, not matter the cost. He writes, “Men are often less afraid of death than enduring effort toward one goal,” this just shows that Americans, can never be satisfied with just one things, and they feel they must have more and more, even if it means the death or ruin of themselves. He also gives details on how if Americans see something that other people have, they automatically try to get it no matter how extreme. Tocqueville illustrates this opinion when he writes, “One can be sure that each and every citizen will be aware of dominating positions near him, and it is a safe guess that he will always be looking doggedly just in that direction.” And this illustrate how when someone has a more important place in society, the lower people will want to have that position no matter what. According to Alexis de Tocqueville, restlessness in America is caused by the want for things that are impossible to get.