Roughly speaking, I'd conjecture that it is because America has always been an idealistic country. As the Declaration of Independence says, "We hold these trut

Roughly speaking, I'd conjecture that it is because America has always been an idealistic country. As the Declaration of Independence says, "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness." This is not a uniquely American sentiment, indeed the phrase was largely borrowed from the writings of John Locke, an Englishman -- but it does feel very American to me. (Moreover, the fact that about half the signers of the Declaration were slaveholders puts an odd twist on it, which also feels quite American.) If some aspects of your life are going well, and not others? It feels American to me to believe that you can have it all, that if you're experiencing problems then you should not grin and bear it, but rather that you can and should solve them. This is my personal conjecture, and of course is highly debatable.