American history and culture is heavily influenced by the Protestants that made up the early US. The Protestant work ethic is a commonly referenced aspect of American culture, and most Americans regardless of religion are not free of its influence.
When was the last time anyone overtly referenced the protestant work ethic except for the purposes of tearing down a straw man.
Many cultures, in the far east as well as Europe have similar "always be doing something productive" undertones.
I agree that the moralizing zealots that set the tone for early American culture were insufferable (and being so insufferable likely helped accelerate the settlement of the east coast states) but "muh protestant work ethic" isn't really unique to the US.
Yes, but when literally none of the founders of the largest IT-companies - the very richest of the "Nouveau riche" that we are talking about - are Protestant, whereas much of the old money is, the comment is quite off.
