Polite social relations appear to be on one hand quite important in American society and on the other hand somewhat superficial. The cordiality may be seen in the typical American's behavior toward strangers on the street. A person will quite readily nod, smile. or even say hello to a stranger passing in the street Americans smile easily and extend invitations to people they hardly Know, the other hand, there is certain superficiality to this friendliness since Americans also tend to value the individual over the community. They drive to work in separate cors, each encased in his or her own private box. When they arrive at a crowded beach, they will head for solitude, isolation, a spot on the beach away from other people. Furthermore, although friendships everywhere are necessarily based o a certain amount of trust, that trust is apparently conditional in American asked society. Thus, for example, an American would not find it strange to be to sign an Iou if he or she borrowed money from a friend, For an outsider, therefore, it is often difficult to see at point an American considers another to be a friend and exactly what being a friend entails