What cultures or traditions do you think are in decline in the US?

46 comments

  1. Pluralism, the practice of tolerating differing viewpoints, is certainly in decline.

  3. Italian-American culture is starting to fade away I feel like. We’re just too many generations removed from the Italian immigration of the early 20th century. In my city, the Little Italy neighborhood is having trouble sustaining all the old fashioned Italian restaurants because the clientele is literally dying off.

  4. Do kids collect baseball cards anymore? That was my shit back in the day

  9. Knowing and interacting with your immediate neighbors. I couldn’t tell you who my neighbors’ names are, I couldn’t tell you what they do for work, how they view the world, etc.

    I believe we could build a better sense of community just by getting to know who’s around us, I really should make more efforts to do that.

    Until then I’ll just pat myself on the back for shoveling their driveways when it snows, seems like the decent thing to do

  11. Indigenous culture.

    Most tribes of the northern native americans, especially the Cherokee and Chickasaw, are beautiful. Sadly many Americans will live and die without ever having even met a tribe member, or having visited a rez and soaking in the history. Unfortunately the majority of Americans don’t seem keen to preserve their lands, and a lot of tribes themselves sadly are also letting their culture fade away due to mismanagement, poverty, or lack of care for their people.

  12. Not sure if dying out is the right way to put it but I think Mexican and Chicano cultures are definitely competing for the spotlight against other Latino groups who have grown in the last few years. Particularly immigrants from Central America, Colombia, Venezuela, and even us Puerto Ricans even if we aren’t immigrants ourselves. I feel that many Americans are becoming more and more aware that not all of Latin America is just a bootleg version of Mexico.

  14. Single income families. I can’t imagine being a stay at home parent unless your spouse is pulling in six figures.

  15. Fraternal societies (Masons, Knights of Columbus, Order of the Moose, Shriners, etc.). When’s the last time you’ve met a member of one of these whose age was under 50?

  19. The Spirit Of Christmas, the Holiday Spirit

    Christmas should transcend religion, politics, and money.

    We’re losing that magic. Y’all watch Home Alone 2 and remember, for just a month, that kindness rules supreme and we’re all in this together.

    *Hands out a turtle dove, always paired, to anyone that wants one*

  20. The entirety of local folk culture is getting pretty much erased except for the very rural areas.

    It’s a shame to see my own Appalachian culture getting lost with the generations and I really pray there’s a renaissance that modernizes and preserved it for our generations. It doesn’t help that there’s such a broad distaste for the majority of folk culture.

    Most Americans are prejudice as hell towards it and think of it as a backwards way of life, so when we get transplants moving into Appalachia, they belittle the local culture, believing that they are superior, and contribute to it’s decline.

    The local state governments don’t help, as WV, the only completely Appalachian State, opts to use other state education systems instead of basing the English taught on the Appalachian dialect or having a focus on Appalachian history. As for the other states, their Appalachian population are minorities in their own state so they care even less so for their preservation.

  22. It doesn’t feel like people care about award shows as much as they used to. Watching the Oscars used to be a family affair. Fast forward to today, I doubt many people would even know they happened this year were it not for the slap

  24. WASP (White Anglo Saxon protestant) country club culture. People are realizing that golf courses are kind of a waste of space and can be enjoyed by more people if they were turned into natural areas. There are very few new people that are signing up for country clubs and the boomer/silent generation clientele is gradually dying off. I think now people with wealth prefer to travel, and experience new restaurants and recreational activities instead of being tied to a country club. Also, there’s the racist and sexist history of membership requirements which left a bitter taste in people’s mouths.

  26. the rugged individualism , can-do attitude and personal ownership that was a highlight of American success, sadly.

  27. Smoking is declining, thank goodness.

    ​

    However, Vaping is increasing.

  28. Regional ones

    Edit For one example, Dania Jai Alai has closed, and much of the pop in interest in jai alai that south Florida saw in the 20th century has dissipated.

    I’m also not saying some regional cultures or traditions haven’t blown up, so please let’s not go down the rabbit hole.

  29. School band and arts seems like it’s only an extracurricular activity outside of school instead of being a school activity

  31. Knowing your neighbors. Not just in the urban areas, but in the suburbs as well. With kids being so programmed, the neighborhood kids don’t just play together anymore. When we moved to my suburb 15 years ago, a few kids showed up. Our neighbors just showed up with school aged kids and no kids have come by to meet them.

  33. Trick r treating on Halloween. I mean walking door to door and getting candy. At least in my area there’s hardly any kids that still do it, most go to “trunk or treats” or get driven around, or don’t go at all.

  36. Nobody asks for permission to marry anymore. I don’t know anybody who asked the parents of their bride for permission to marry them.

  37. Actually demographers have been tracking the decline in participation of communal activities, specifically bowing leagues, to signify the issue of isolation within our communities.

  38. There’s a dialect of French native to Missouri called Missouri French. (Has a few other names but I forget them). Only a few speakers left.

  39. Going to church. I’m a recovering evangelical and I haven’t stepped inside a church to worship since 1985.

  40. Christian culture is waning. There will never be more than there are now. Indoctrination is proving very difficult in the safe of the Internet.

    Yeah, yeah, roe v Wade and other prayer stuff. This is the last stand, and when the masses soundly reject these onerous cultural éléments, the paint has already dried on their tombstone. More in my lifetime, but the pendulum has reached it’s apex.

  41. I’m steeped in Southern US culture (whether I like it or not), and this will seem silly and insignificant and definitely IS compared to some of the other posts…but here goes.

    The thank you note on personalized stationery.

    I am absolutely terrible about thank you notes. I am really good at verbal thank yous. I did cards on personal stationery for all 3 graduation, interviews (well, thank you emails), bridal and baby showers/meals after babies, and my wedding but haven’t really sent them after that. And to some of you, that will seem like overkill I’m sure.

    My MIL is super old school, and I overheard her at an event telling another person of her age about how kids these days aren’t writing thank you notes (I assume she meant like kids-teens).

    Both my daughters received personalized stationery when they were born (!!!) but we’re really bad at having them write thank yous.

    I mean, if you say a verbal thank you when both giver and receiver are there, why would you send a thank you card when they’re already there to hear it?

    Anyway, like I said it’s a dumb thing to feel badly about when not passing down this tradition, but I do have polite kids who express appreciation. I also don’t have an idea of where to draw the line when determining which situation requires one.

    I just wrote a dissertation. Sigh.

  42. The classic American corn cob pipe is probably something that won’t be around forever

  43. A shared consciousness. Probably global, but there is no shared experience, like water cooler tv. News depends on what you watch.

    There is also no respect for authority. Everyone thinks their opinion, based on whatsoever bullshit the algorithm fed them is a just as valid as years of research and study.

  45. For Latino families, tamale/tortilla-making (there’s the one or two that know how in the family and if something happens to them…). I hope I’m wrong, but this seems to be the case in several families I know.

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