“The land of the free and the home of the brave,” these closing words of the U.S. national anthem, “The Star Spangled Banner”, sum up the ideas that many citizens of the United States have for their country. Ideals and values play an important role in the cultural life of the United States, just as they do in any country. One of the most important ideals of the United States – and an important part of the way many people in the United States see themselves – is that of freedom. From the time of the American Revolution, when the colonists declared independence from England, the United States has attracted people seeking freedom. A second ideal of great importance in the United States is that of rule by the people. The framers of the Constitution of the United States strove to ensure that political power would lie in the hands of the voters, not a king or dictator. So they created a federal government composed of three branches – legislative, executive, and judicial – to prevent any one part of the government from becoming too powerful. Another key value in the United States is that of the rights of the individual. The Bill of Rights is intended to safeguard the rights of the individual and guarantee protection from unjust treatment by the government or the majority. The importance of this protection is reflected in newspaper articles about violations of individual rights. Family, minority group, worker, student, and professional issues often center on questions of individual rights. However, individuals and groups together struggle for prominence in the United States of today. For all of the importance of individualism, group identity also plays an important role in people’s cultural values.