"In [name the ethnicity] culture, family is very important."

One very irritating cliche is the assertion by someone that in his/her culture, "family is very important." In what culture is family not important? While there may be an odd culture or two that values family not at all, don't most cultures place at least some value on family?

What these people really seem to be saying is that "my culture values family more than the dominant [usually "American" or "Anglo," though I assume it depends on the context] culture." That assertion might have something to commend it, or not, even though it is ultimately very difficult to prove.