Individualism In America Essay

Individuals lay the foundation of America. The Founding Fathers of this unique nation broke their allegiance with Great Britain to create an improved governing body. They desired an individual-centered authority as opposed to Britain’s monarchy, which ruled with tyranny. These Founding Fathers experienced a neglectful democratic monarchy that cared little about the ethical treatment of its people. The domineering actions of Britain challenged these historic individuals to form a new cultural identity. This new American identity opposes injustice. Justice stands as an important moral and political concept. A prominent component of justice is liberty, which frees society from oppressive restrictions imposed by authority on one's lifestyle. Another

America has had a tumultuous existence, replete with war, progress, and ideologies. The most formidable of these is individualism, or the shift of society’s focus from the group to the individual and a growing emphasis on their personal needs and desires. Despite wide criticism, it has become the societal norm, spanning all generations, genders, races, and walks of life.

What makes the United States unique and great is not a pledge, a flag, or a song, all of which are more properly labeled culturally temporary symbols of patriotism. The United States is the summation of many ethnic, religious and political backgrounds. David Brooks’ reason for writing “One Nation, Slightly Divisible” included the goal of finding the underlying cause of the divide between the social and economic aspects of our society.

Within the early revolutionary epoch of American history brought various interpretations of the country. Thomas Paine characterized this country in an excerpt from his work the Rights of Man. Unfortunately, Thomas Paine’s characterization of America does not entirely hold truth today, and can be evident in our country’s political and identity ideologies. The key points within the excerpt implies that America is a country where a multitude of cultures, religions, and languages coexist. Paine suggests that our government, which was created “on the principles of society and the rights of man”, is able to overcome the differences of political and racial beliefs. Though the nation being built upon these differences, the school of thought that “every difficulty retires” can be disproved.

Written by Thomas Paine in 1791, the book “Rights of Man” soughts to describe the characteristics of America. Although he did include some accurate descriptions of America in his writing, considering the time the book was written and the fact that he was a revolutionary and a supporter of American independence, there are some descriptions that do not concur with the current-day America and some descriptions that are biased as well.

On October 21st at the noon lecture we had one of our freshmen year experience professors address the issue of immigration. Professor Daniel Malpica started the lecture by stating why immigration is important. He had gave us many reasons but the most important idea that I took from the list was how immigration has changed the face of the United States. It has been said that 13.5% of the United States’ population is made of up immigrants. Throughout the lecture we began to distinguish the differences and similarities between “Old” immigration and “New” immigration. Old immigration often referred to immigrants from Europe such as Italy, Poland, Greece, and Russia. As for the “New” immigration it adverted to immigrants from Latin America and Asia.

Accordingly, the ideals of America used to be we were many ethnicities, all blended into one, but now we are a bunch of discordant ethnicities living in one country under one name just with different groups. Two essays on this topic are A Quilt of a Country by Anna Quindlen and The Immigrant Contribution by John F. Kennedy. JFK regarded that “everybody is an immigrant or the descendant of an immigrant” (JFK page 23). Quindlen characterized that “America was held together by a notion that all men are created equal and that America is made up of bits and pieces” (Quindlen page 13-14). America transpired a unique nation made up of different parts.

People often imagine American identity as unassuming and accepting. America is a place made up of a mixture of cultures, supposedly allowing one to live their life no matter how different it may be from their neighbor. American identity is seeing someone 's appearance, and no matter how different someone 's skin color or clothes, they are sanctioned as an American. Wouldn 't America be a place that welcomes different appearances and heritages as one? Okita 's poem "In Response to Executive Order 9066" and Cisneros 's story " 'Mericans" reveal the illusion of what American identity is differs from the truth of American identity.

The United States of America, is known to be one of the richest and most powerful countries in the world. It has often been referred to by many as a global melting pot or as locals may say callaloo, due to the amassing of diverse ethnicities, cultures and nationalities. Within its borders, resides immigrants or descendants of immigrants from almost every region in the world, and each has in some way added to the American culture and way of life. America is known for its stance on freedom, it is a nation that values equality and justice, this can be noted in the last few words of their national anthem ‘indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.’ However, for many, high levels of economic and social inequalities are daily struggles, a battle that has been fought for decades to claim the most basic rights, in the pursuit of achieving the American Dream.

In the year 1791, political activist and author, Thomas Paine composed a novel called Rights of Man. In the book, Paine expresses his point of view on American society as perfection. He describes the United States as, “Made up, as it is, of people from different nations.” All throughout American history there are many things that make America the diverse nation we are today. America is recognized as the “great melting pot” implying that our country where contrasting cultures along with beliefs blend together to mold a distinctively American identity. We may be “one nation, under God” but, in my opinion, we will always be in an overstuffed pot that will never fully melt. Although the founding father’s opinion of America in Rights of Man is correct on the underlying facts of our country coming together as one nation, his characterization of America does not hold true today in modern society based on our current politics and social ideals.

America a country full of dreams coming true. People from over the globe travel to America in order to find a better life for themselves. As a newly born country, America is able to create this reality by their developing economy. The government helps sustain their increasing economic status by creating the Commerce Clause in the Constitution. The Commerce clause allows Congress to regulate trade between foreign nations, states, and Indian tribes(I.VIII.III). Overall, the Commerce Clause allows the federal government to be able to regulate economic activity throughout the country. It plays a fundamental role in America’s growing economy. This clause is important because it can control what goods are being imported and exported throughout America.

Bethany Parkinson Section 73 American Heritage 100 I’ve chosen to focus on one of the first topics E.J. Dionne mentions in Our Divided Political Heart: America’s fear of decline and how this fear would be impossible if it weren’t for an inherent belief in American exceptionalism. Fear of decline is discernible in history

“America is not just a country, it’s an idea” -Bono. America, where millions from around the world have come to create their ideal community. America was formed, and is constantly being altered by the people who run it. Many countries look at America as a standard, a standard to which they compare themselves, but why? Why is America so sought after, and how did it come to be this way? Many claim it is because the idea of America, was born from the compromise of the people 's utopia, which in turn made a country constructed with a fragment from the ideas of many. Being American means that you are part of the bigger picture, a picture to which millions helped paint, being American means freedom, means choice.

In today's society, the balance between individualism and conformity to society's expectations is a prominent and deceptive conflict. Oftentimes, the individual must put his uniqueness aside and settle for a view of an occupation, hobby, or idea that society agrees with. Instead of expressing original and creative ideas, they are held hostage by comparing themselves with the lives and accomplishments of others and the standards their our society. One of the biggest tools of society, social media, allows people to share ideas and interests with everyone. However, naturally, one will only post what he knows others will accept and enjoy just as he does. This, in turn, does the opposite of what social media were intended to do. Instead of allowing the expression of unaltered and original ideas, it is a platform of suppressed individualism which only encourages mainstream concepts.

Individual identity is exhibited in a person’s characteristics, behavior, likes, dislikes, routine and individual choices that add up to forming a civil identity. That identity affects more than a single person, it affects the hole society and the way the nation would stand and rise. When characteristics from a certain identity are not present in all or most other selves it is very hard to be united; especially with the number of varieties that exist it the United States of America and that combine the hole if a U.S citizen.