An American is a man, a woman, a child who came to the U.S. and started to grow and flourish to become the men and women that feel pride for their country and the freedoms they have through salutes to the country and leaving behind their past heritage to become a citizen of the U.S. We as Americans have very well tried to become who we are today by not being prejudice and not being without freedoms. We strive to be the best we can by saying our pledge of allegiances and our doing as much as we can for our country. Just as my grandfather does every morning by saluting of the flag always hanging in his yard up high. The American people are people of belief be it religion or in their country but we all have it. Even through our mixture of blood …show more content…
That evening they returned, opened the door of the cell, called for Mike Christian to come out, closed the door of the cell and, for the benefit of all of us, beat Mike Christian severely for the next couple of hours” (McCain Paragraph 9). Mike Peterson one of the many cell mates in the Vietnamese prison with John McCain had made an American flag inside his coat and was beaten for it pretty bad, but later in the story McCain states in his story “Sitting there, with his eyes almost shut from his beating, making another American flag” (McCain paragraph 13). Even after the severe beating undertaken by the Vietnamese guards, he made another one even though the first one got him beaten bad enough to almost shut his eyes closed. Mike showed the pride in our country that can't be broken by just a mere beating and I believe that’s how all Americans feel with their believe in their country. All Americans wouldn't give up the freedoms they have and the belief that they have these rights in the country they have their pride in. We have become a nation that grew from little to nothing and yet we have always felt pride and happiness in our country and the way that it has grown into a land of the free and home of the brave. The people of this country will forever …show more content…
Americans being, derived from immigrants coming to America on ships, we have a history of being from around the world and having many cultures in our mists. An example of that mixed blood comes from J. Hector St. John de Crèvecoeur’s writing called ‘What Is an American?’ has said “He is either an European, or the descendant of an European; hence that strange mixture of blood, which you will find in no other country” (John De Crèvecoeur chunk 2). He states that we are either from europe or we are born from someone who came from europe and that we are a mixed blood of people that you will never see before unless you are in America. As well as the passage before De Crèvecoeur states . “I could point out to you a man, whose grandfather was an Englishman, whose wife was Dutch, whose son married a French woman, and whose present four sons have now four wives of different nations”( John de Crèvecoeur chunk 2). This elaborates on the subject of Americans being of a mixed blood by giving us an example of how mixed we really are and how many cultures and relations between each of them have come together. Americans are not just a nationality we are a symbol of people coming together under one nation of laws and being one in the same and never forgetting what we had in the past. Americans have come together to
An American can be defined by a variety of things. A natural born citizen is just as American as an immigrant searching for a new life, just like in “America and I” by Aniza Yezierska. An American can be a rich businessman or it could be a dedicated soldier like in “Veteran’s Day: Never Forget Their Duty” by John McCain. An individual’s definition of being an American is shaped by their life experiences. A person’s view on being an American is different because of experiences, such as being a veteran, being an immigrant, or living in poverty, all of which affect one’s perspective.
“American”, such a vague term used by many but understood by few. As time has passed, the country created by our forefathers has changed and prospered. Many events in our country’s history have tested the citizens of America. Through the American Revolution, two World Wars, the Civil Rights Movement, and the terror attacks of September 11th, 2001 one thing has stood the test of time; the citizens of this country. From the beginning of America, the definition of an American has remained. An American is someone with faith in their country and a willingness to persevere through the most trying times.
What really is an American? Being an American is not just being born in the USA as most people would think, that is just the technicality of it. For centuries Americans have defined themselves not by their racial, religious, and ethnic identity but by their common values and belief in individual freedom. Not just being able to say “The Pledge of Allegiance” and being able to vote for the president, but being able to be free and to be proud that you live in the United States of America.
What does it mean to be an American? From my point of view, an American is anyone who understands how to achieve the best in life for a better tomorrow. Someone who understands that achieving the best in life requires risks, hard work, and dedication. Overall, someone who does not give up throughout the difficulties and gives it their all to accomplish their goals in
What is an American? This question cannot be answered by one word. There are so many different characteristics, qualities, and features that can be used to describe an American. Besides features, someone is only a real American if they take advantage of all of the many privileges that are given to them. Any person that is not grateful for the privileges that are given to them to me are not real Americans but this is only my opinion. Real Americans use their privileges to benefit themselves and everyone around them. In today's society there are certain things that are expected from American citizens, for instance being a responsible citizen.
In this modern world, prejudice is still a universal problem we still have yet to overcome. Although it is true that our society is much less prejudiced than it was 40-50 years ago, we are still struggling to create racial harmony in a world that is so diverse in terms of racial group, sexual orientations, ethnicity, nationality, religions, and so on. I think the core of prejudice comes from stereotyping, which is the generalization of motives, characteristics, or behavior to an entire group of people. In the world where media propaganda is ubiquitous, often times most stereotypes are not formed on valid experiences, instead they are based on images publicized by the mass media, or even created within our heads after seeing and hearing examples from many different sources, like movies, or even hearsay. Stereotyping is more powerful than we think, because it allows those false pictures to control our thinking that leads us to assign uniform characteristics to any person in a group, without consideration of the actual difference between members of that particular group.
According to Google Dictionary, an American means, “a native or citizen of the United States”. According to my beliefs and experiences, an American is more than a natural born citizen of the United States. An American is an individual who will fight for his/her country. An American is more than a human being with freedoms. An American is an independent leader. He and she are born to be free, to have the right to fight for their freedom, for freedom of religious, freedom of speech, and freedom of press.
New reports fill the air with the same old tired story; an African American male was shot and killed by an armed officer. Most no longer feel fazed by broadcast like these. One simply writes it off as the cultural norm. What’s one more dead black person anyways? In the 1960’s, racism was once something America strove to abolish. Today, in contrast, racism is now embedded into the minds of millions of Americans. In fact, most people have become so accustomed to racism that many have foolishly begun to believe that racism no longer exists. However, in ‘Young, Black, Male, and Stalked by Bias’, author Brent Staples argues racism is still prevalent in America and until the American nation can evolve into a racist free society, noting but hate and death will arise. Unfortunately, the real question regarding racism remains to this day difficult to answer. When do racist thoughts begin? Some may argue that racial preconceptions develop as early as grade school, “where voluminous data show that children of color are far more likely than their white peers to be suspended, expelled or
When considering what an American is, one must first question what makes America the unique nation it is. Is it the feeling of home? Maybe it is the idea of inclusion? Is it the nationwide determination? Could it possibly be the fact that anything is possible in America? Stay tuned to find out the answers to all those questions and more. I believe that it is worth analysis to find out.
Strong racism, disrespect and condescending sight towards black people, immigrants or any other race apart from white´s was very common in the United states during the sixties. The society had wide gaps and divisions between most of all black and white people, but also between men and women, rich and poor to name a few. There was rules that only the black people had to follow, shops and buses. The living conditions were bad, a lot of black people were poor due to bad jobs and living arrangements.
It is a significant topic. The racism is a trend that gets timeless, exists in all countries, cultures, races. racism is exclusive and intimidating. Since your mentioned, I think you're making a good contribution because these talking about how people feel when they are excluded. However, This topic is complicated because there are some different opinions about the racism. Opposite this is that often we find people who is considering appropriately to "the other"people; mentioning "the others" people who think or are different or simply, they are part a minority group.
America has always struggled with discrimination and prejudice throughout its history. On July 2nd, 1964 the United States took a step in the right direction, when it recognized the principle that all men are created equal with the passage of the Civil Rights Act. The Act outlawed all discrimination formed on the basis of race, religious affiliation, gender or ethnic origin. In addition, it ended racial segregation in educational institutions and in the workplace. However, it can be argued that discrimination and prejudice remain today. America has attempted to stop this by instituting anti-discrimination laws, however the laws can only do so much.
In 1776, the Declaration of Independence of the United States declared that, ” We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness” (Rosenstand, 338). Nevertheless, today, there some states in the nation that do not honor this important part of the Constitution. That is, discrimination, prejudice and racism are officially prohibited by law, but unofficially, the nation follows a very different standard, “Whatever rules may apply to a given culture, the leaders of those cultures, who should embody the cultural standards, are often the ones who break those rules” (Rosenstand, 144). Nowadays,
When I think of American culture, one thing comes to mind, sports. Us Americans sit gazing at our televisions for countless hours watching anything from football to hockey to basketball. And even if you’re not a sports fan, we all know that when the Super Bowl comes around, we are all watching. Sports have always been a way to bring people from all backgrounds together. It is what brought a divided racial America together in the 50’s with Jackie Robinson and the Brooklyn Dodgers, it brought nations from around the world together in an event we now call the Olympics and everyday it brings thousands of people from around the nation in light hearted and fun competition.
On July 6 of this year another innocent man was killed by cops in Missouri. Supposedly