In his article “Paradoxes of American Individualism”, Fischer argues that there is a distinguishable feature in American individualism according to Robin M. WIlliams Jr. ‘s textbook American Society. He brings up the idea of individualism vs. collectivism through examples of studies that were done on Americans and non-Americans. In one set of studies, Americans were shown to understand the world in individual terms. On the other hand, in the second set of studies that Fischer brings up, Americans were more likely to view the world in a more collective way. This can be found confusing because in the first set of studies, Americans were found to have more individualistic choices, but in the second set that he presents, Americans were more likely to have non-individualistic choices. He goes on to explain that faith, cultural values, and loyalty play a role in Americans’ decisions. In the end, Fischer shows that it is not individualism that makes Americans stand out, but rather voluntarism, which is the idea that anyone is free to choose any group they want to be apart of (excluding race) and anyone they want to be with, but they must remain loyal to that group or person when the person has chosen it. This is equivalent to “love it or leave it”, where the decision starts with the individual but that person must remain faithful to the decision that they make. 

Both Walt Whitman and Langston Hughes have differing views on America. In Hughes’s Poem Let America Be America Again, he shows that America’s values do not apply to the underprivileged. In the model of individualism, the individual is supposed to be the focus and each human individual is of primary importance. However, this does not apply to the underprivileged in America. He labels some of the underprivileged as minorities with titles such as “Negro”, “farmer”, “immigrant”, “poor white”, and “red man”. Throughout his poem, he shows that the American values of freedom and equality through quotes like “The millions [underprivileged] shot down when we strike?” (line 54) to show that the underprivileged are oppressed even when striving to fight for equality. In his poem, Hughes shows that the “model of individualism” does not apply to every American. 

Whitman, on the other hand, has a different perspective on America. In his poem, it seems as though he views America as a mother who cared for him, especially in his first line when he writes “Centre of equal daughters, equal sons,…” He seems to believe that every American is equal. In his poem, he is talking to the privileged, giving them a sense of nationalism and making them proud to be an American since they offered “Freedom, Law and Love” (line 4). He is speaking to privileged Americans about privileged Americans (so talking to them about themselves) who have respect in the country, while leaving out the underprivileged and the minorities.