The U.S. Society & Values edition will explore fundamental traits that are a product of, and also shape, American society. We hope to provide an understanding of the entire American mosaic by looking at individual segments, such as artistic accomplishment, ethnic diversity, individualism, religion, education and politics.

In this issue, we take advantage of the upcoming Olympic and Paralympic Games being hosted in Atlanta, Georgia, to consider some basic American values. Invariably, the Olympic Games mirror the culture, spirit, attitudes, perspectives and belief system of every country that participates. However, the nation that hosts an Olympiad has a unique opportunity to reveal itself through the prism of this world event.

America's Olympic summer is unfolding in the fastest-growing region of the United States, in both economic and demographic terms. Yet it is an area known to many primarily through conflict -- the Civil War and the struggle for civil rights. Today, however, the South has moved beyond this identification, and Atlanta is its symbol of determination, progress and success.