In the current political environment, the question “What does it mean to be an American” is one that really caused me to think and reflect deeply. And while some are vowing to “Make America Great Again”, I think there are already a number of things that already make America great and make me proud to be an American. Early on, our founding fathers suggested through the Constitution that at its core, what it meant to be American was simply “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” That’s a fairly simplistic notion and the focus of my essay explores whether this literal interpretation can still apply in today’s more complex society or whether being an American requires more than that.
No one knows who coined the term, but it fit, and the Montauk became the first building to be called a skyscraper.” page 25
The belief that America is an exceptional nation that in several ways does not conform to the norm has been referred to as American exceptionalism. It is our country 's uniqueness that rates it high and special among others. It can be argued out that America is one of the freest nations across the world at both personal and political stories. This is enabled by the fact that the nation is governed by public as well as private interests. These interests that govern the America are based the country 's own constitution, which came to be in order to make each and every individual within the nation a window of success in the ever growing culture. Apart from the constitution, capitalism and faith are among the key pillars that have forced
Many people have asked them self if The American dream still alive? As many ask them self this question many do say it’s still alive but many say it’s not. They have provent why The american dream is alive still. But in fact The American Dream is still alive for many Immigrants and other people that live in the United states. Many have come to this states, because they see that The American Dream Can help them better their lives. Inmigrantes see the American Dream as a way of better their live for them self and their families An finding a better future.
The United States of America is a big, powerful and wealthy country in the world. The division of class, individuality, religion, and race are but a few of the embellishments within the society. The blend of these numerous diversities is the crucial ingredient to the modern nation. America has been formed upon them, with that said the “average American”- have a single means in common; a single concept; a single goal; the American Dream. The Dream consists of a seemingly simple theory; success.
In some of the pieces of literature like “I, Too, Sing America,” “America and I,” “The Bill of Rights,” and “Veterans Day: Never Forget Their Duty” the authors have different ideas of what it means to be American. They also express their ideas using different strategies: negation, classification, and function. With these ideas and strategies a more complex definition on what it means to be American was developed. Being an American means being patriotic, having freedoms, and believing in a dream of something amazing.
These conflicts within America are all a part of people’s internal personality and morals and not with an outside influence. This shows that the main challenges that America face today are from within and can only be solved by people realizing these problems and trying to fix them. Some people need to lose their sense of entitlement and sensitivity and unite together as one to progress America forward. Sense of entitlement, the division between the public, and sensitivity of some people have spread through America like a disease and until cured of these diseases, America is stationary and slowly dying
Throughout American History we have won and lost thousands of battles, earned and spent trillions of dollars, suffered through tragedies, and rejoiced at our successes. One common thread, running through all of these events is that no matter how powerful we are or how low we sink, we must ultimately come together to move on and to grow. To me, American History is all about unity in times of destruction and despair.
America is a “land of living hope, woven of dreams, aflame with longing and desire” people who come to America come here to get a better life or career. Most people who come to America for a few years think they are Americans because they wave a flag, but they don't know the true meaning of what it means to be and American. An American is someone who will die for it’s country, someone who emigrated here for more opportunities, and someone who is encouraged by the history of America.
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.
The fact that the government is implementing and furthering these fears, Smith feels, is preposterous on the grounds that these rights were the “basic principles of Americanism”. Smith then characterizes her idea of “Americanism”; she does this by displaying a strong anaphora supporting it with a syntax consisting of semicolons and individual paragraphs per line. Her characterization is that “Americanism” is,
Many nationalities came to America in hopes of a better life for them and their families. However, it was not easy time for them after arriving in America. Each nationality encountered obstacles, some more difficult than others, but in the end they each persevered.
After reading various poems about our nation, many can conclude that different people have different opinions and views on America. When people hear the word “America” some feel upset or gloomy. Some may feel warm or cheery inside. Some may feel indifferent or confused. There are a million and one ways that people express their emotions towards the land of the free and the brave. The two poems, “America” by Claude McKay and “I Hear America Singing” by Walt Whitman are perfect demonstrations of how people can address the same topic, but go about it very differently.
Tom Hayden, the voice behind the manifesto, was a student at the University of Michigan where the speech was given at in Port Huron, Michigan. He displays dissatisfaction and unimaginable events many young people were feeling in the 1960s. He goes on to say how we were once a nation of strength and wealth, the only with the atomic bomb at our disposal, the least scarred by modern warfare, as well an initiator of western influence throughout the world (2), as if everyone in the world wanted to be like the United States. The idea of the statement set out by Tom Hayden is to promote change and progress for the future, rather than having history re-peat itself all over again. In a period with hatred and bigotry in the south is when we as a whole
“But we refuse to believe that the bank of justice is bankrupt. We refuse to believe that there are insufficient funds in the great vaults of opportunity of this nation” (Martin Luther King Junior). In Martin Luther King Junior’s “I Have a Dream” speech, he declared that although America had treated him and other African-Americans unfairly, he refused to see the country as beyond the point of restoration. King had an underlying faith in his homeland that was steadfast. Similar to King’s outlook on his country, Claude McKay, the poet behind “America,” chose to keep his faith in his homeland in the midst of his struggles. Despite all of the hardships in his life, he remained optimistic. Through McKay’s poem, “America,” he conveys