Another trait that Marti admired was the work ethic that characterized U.S. American society. On various occasions Marti conveyed his deep admiration for the immigrant-based society, "whose principal aspiration he interpreted as being to construct a truly modern country, based upon hard work and progressive ideas." Marti stated that he was "never surprised in any country of the world [he had] visited. Here [he] was surprised... [he] remarked that no one stood quietly on the corners, no door was shut an instant, no man was quiet. [He] stopped [him]self, [he] looked respectfully on this people, and [he] said goodbye forever to that lazy life and poetical inutility of our European countries".
Marti found U.S. American society to be so great, he thought Latin America should consider imitating America. Marti argued that if the US "could reach such a high standard of living in so short a time, and despite, too, its lack of unifying traditions, could not the same be expected of Latin America?"
Education had benefited from the attitude of America's society. Marti was amazed at how education was directed towards helping the development of the nation and once again encouraged Latin American countries to follow the example set by North American society.
Another major characteristic that struck Marti was the agricultural advancement of the United States. He found amazing the "common-sense attitude of the Dean of the School of Agriculture in Michigan who defended the advantages of manual work for the students of his college". At the same time, he criticized the elitist educational systems of Cuba and the rest of Latin America. Often, Marti recommended countries in Latin America to "send representatives to learn more relevant techniques in the United States". Once this was done, Marti hoped that this representatives would bring a "much-needed modernization to the Latin American agricultural policies".
In May 1883, while attending political meetings he heard "the call for revolution - and more specifically the destruction of the capitalist system". Marti could not believe that revolution was advocated and was amazed that this could happen because this "could have led to its own destruction"
The works of Marti contain many comparisons between the ways of life of North and Latin America. The former was seen as "hardy, 'soulless', and, at times, cruel society, but one which, nevertheless, had been based upon a firm foundation of liberty and on a tradition of liberty". Although North American society had its flaws, they tended to be "of minor importance when compared to the broad sweep of social inequality, and to the widespread abuse of power prevalent in Latin America".
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