We all have this vision of America and what Americans truly are. Most people go by what is displayed on television: children running and laughing, parents grilling outside conversing with other parents, and the American flag waving in the distant. As happy and peaceful as all that may seem the real question still remains unanswered; what is the real meaning of being American? Honestly, being American comes with its advantages and disadvantages. The main part of being an American is having freedom and endless opportunities offered to you. Taking from the famous words of Jean-Jacques Rousseau he boldly states, “Every man is free; and everywhere he is in chains” (Jacob 178). Being an American breaks you free from these chains. Freedom is the most valued and desired amongst many countries. But embracing the title “American” means you actually get to live, enjoy and experience this profound freedom for yourself. Being American means you have the right to serve any God you please, and even no God if you prefer; being American means you have the right and power to say exactly what you feel and act upon it if need be; being American means you have a voice in the way your country is ran. Compared to other countries such as Iraq and Zimbabwe they do not embrace such freedom and rights because of dictatorship. Luckily, we are entitled these rights by the help and encouragement of Jean-Jacques Rousseau and his most valued assertion written, The Social Contract. For example a section taking from Book I of the Social Contract explains it best, he states, “If I took into account only force, and the effect derived from it, I should say: “As long as a people is compelled to obey, and obeys, it does well; as soon as it can shake off the yoke, a... ... middle of paper ... ... is build up, resulting in the decrease of American suicide. Overall, the good out weighs the bad. Being an Americans means you get to uphold the meaning of liberty and freedom, living from day to day knowing the countless opportunities offered to you, and having the right to live the life you choose to live. All of these opportunities are entitled to us and given to us freely. As an American you determine the path you want to take and act upon it. Works Cited Bryson, Bill. “How You Became You.” n.p. 299-301. PDF file. 14 Nov. 2013. Jacob, C. Margaret. The Enlightenment: A Brief History with Documents. New York: 2001. Print. 14 Nov. 2013. Reimold, Dan . “Student Suicide.” usatodayeducate.com. USAToday, April. 2012 web.14 Nov. 2013. Ripley, Amanda. “Case Against High School Sports.” theatlantic.com. The Atlantic MonthlyGroup. Oct. 2013. web, 14 Nov. 2013.
Overall, to be an American is to be united. We all work hard to ensure our future and support each other so we can be stronger. The founding fathers created this indestructible and predominate nation so that we all may be free, live jubilantly, and last but not least, stick together and we can all be joint under the classic red, white, and blue flag. After all, The United States of America was named that for a
To be an American means more than just living in the country for a set amount of years. It means more than being granted citizenship, and more than just waving a Boy Scout American flag in your yard on Memorial Day. To be an American is to be free, and that is what we as Americans sometimes take for granted and forget. Being an American isn 't just living in the "greatest country in the world", there are plenty of other countries that say the same exact things. There are far less countries in this world, though, that are free, and have the American mindset. Not many countries employ so many freedoms and have the 'American dream '. The American mindset is not just something that
What makes an American an American? Is it the accent, the clothing, the fact that you
In conclusion, everyone has the chance for themselves to make their own definition what it means to be an American. Having the American Dream, otherwise being successful, you can choose how you view being American. As I have previously explained in this essay, I believe being American means that you are a proud patriot of your country and show some type of position in your country, having a voice in your country and using your liberties promised to you by the government. What is your definition of being an
What does it mean to be an American? In my eyes to be an American means to have privileges, rights, and freedom. America isn't perfect, but it is one of the only countries that have rights given to people of different diversities and gender. America does not have tremendous poverty. Instead we have choices given to us by the people who fought and died for the American people. Without George Washington and the other patriots who planted the first seed in the ground and help plant the American nation we live in now who knows what America would be like now.
To be an American has a big picture that can be described in many ways. Personally, to be an American is to achieve everything; however, the person next to may have a different opinion about it. History, America has been attracting immigrants from different parts of the world to live the full freedom and opportunity. To be an American means much more than living in the United States is to be able to expand the beliefs ones have. That is why people view the American Dream. The American Dream is an idea on were a perfect freedom is given to all people no matter social group or race. Many people have a definition of their mind on what is an American Dream. American are viewed as a person who can do the unlimited things. People freedoms and discoveries
What does it mean to be an American? Over the years the answer to this question has varied so much, depending on the culture and influences of that particular time. Yet, I believe that what makes us truly an American is something that never changes with the decades. It isn’t like a fad, or the type of music that is most popular, being an American has to do with something so much deeper than that. So what makes a person American? I think that in order to properly answer this question we have to break it up into smaller, more easy questions to answer. So, let’s merely start with defining the word, American. According to Oxford Dictionaries as an adjective,
What makes a person an american? What is an American? Is it someone who votes for the president? Is it someone who takes a stand in what they believe in? People have very different views on what makes an American. It could be the people that fight for our safety. It could be the people that help make a home safe. It may even be a person who fights for themselves. What makes a person an American is not living in the united states. There are plenty of people that have migrated to America, and have the same believes as any U.S citizen. Each person in this hectic world have their own views politically, socially, and emotionally, but that doesn’t make someone an American. What I have seen in my life what makes a person an American, are these three qualities, integrity, gratitude, and power.
America is the nation of immigrants. America was founded on the principals of freedom of speech, equality, and the pursuit of happiness and this principle of freedoms encouraged people to come to America. To be an American does not simply mean being born on American soil, it means that one believes and supports the beliefs of American principles. Scruton stated that, “to inherit a culture you must identify with it; and if you cannot identify with it, then you must find a new identity by rejecting it.” To be American is to live by its values, such as patriotism, individualism, conformity, success, and equality. While these are American values, the conflicts that occur between values and those that hold these values is what makes an American. These values lead Americans to become loyal yet logical, expressive yet traditional, and hypocritically tolerant or truly tolerant yet discriminating, all because we hold dearly the tenets of freedom to speech, liberty and pursuits of happiness.
Being an American is more than just living in America, or being born in this country. Many people talk about being American’s and they aren't even in this country. Being an American is a way of life that people adapt into by seeing how we act. People all over the world eat the same things that we eat, so that can't really be a way of being an American. To me, being an American is embracing our ways of life, not fighting for the other guys, and loving our anthem and the flag.
What does it mean to be an American? Can this statement ever really be defined since America is a melting pot of different races, religions, political views, social views and so on and so fourth. To be an American can mean virtually anything and whether or not somebody supports national symbols is just another part of being and American. As Americans we have the right to disagree with the government, the right to protest against something unjust, the right to burn a flag in disgrace because after all we have freedom of speech. To some these things are un-American, but to others they are the reasons America is such a wonderful place to live. There is no definite answer to this question, but many different possibilities.
The definition of an American, is someone who is a citizen of the United States. Many African Americans, and immigrants struggled to become actual Americans in their lifetimes, because others didn 't see them as actual people; and based it on the color of someone. In today 's world people who live in America consider themselves as Americans, but to me there is certain qualities that make a person an American. To me being a true American is not based off of what Country they were born in, or what race their parents are, or even if they were immigrated to the United States. People from all over the world would say that maybe people could base this off of someone 's family heritage, or where they were before they came to America. If you were asked what makes an American an American what would you base it off of? To me there are four specific characteristics that make a person a true American; those three things would be, freedom, individuality, belief in the country, and happiness.
An American is someone who is free to do whatever whenever he wants. He is someone who doesn't care about who judges him or what people think. All he cares about is his version of the American dream. His version may be different from everyone else's but an American has the freedom to be different in whatever way he wants to. This is what an American is.
Around the world, being American means many different things ranging from ignorant to arrogant. However, in America we have our own ideas of what it means to be American. There are three values that make any person American: freedom, opportunity, and equality.
America is built on the preconceived premise that all people have the right to work towards happiness. Americans over the years have tried to define what being an American truly means. An American can be defined as one with endless opportunities, pride in their country, and the chance for a future for oneself and their families.