Back to the topic: "The American Way of Life" is a phrase that was once used when someone was trying to sell a bill of goods in the name of patriotism. It usually was preceded by "to Defend.." or "To protect..." or "to fight for...".

People were pretty wise to it's uses when Jessica Mitford parodied it by naming her expose of the funeral business "The American Way of Death" back in 1963.

There are a couple other aphorisms that we tend to subscribe to, though-- "The Land of Opportunity" and "There is no free lunch"--and of course, the "Golden Rule"--"The one with the gold makes the rules"--