We are rationalistic. We are scientific. We believe in cause and effect. In hypothesis and theory. Officially, at least, Americans don t believe in luck.
Plucky people are vigorous and focused and dauntless.
They pick themselves up by their own bootstraps. They brave the tide and win the race because they see a particular vision of the future, and they commit themselves to achieving it. Pluck is what America is all about. We are an institution that has always had at its core a devotion to advanced education, and by extension, an expectation of advanced thinking. We see ourselves as a collection of self-made women and men.