Explain What It Means To Be An American

Improved Essays
What does it mean to be an American? This is a very basic question with a not very basic answer. As tensions with people of all different skin colors and very different belief systems erupt the definition of what an American is lost among the arguments or for some is never even found. The American can be described by some people as a person who has citizenship by their birth or by their life in the United States. As I walk among the streets of California there is no way of knowing if everyone walking around is an American because there is no face that every American shares, some Americans originate from Africa while others may hail from China or from Japan. Despite physical differences these people can all be Americans. My father and my

Related Documents

  • Improved Essays

    What defines an American? Is it what a person looks like? Is it where a person comes from? These are the questions that Dwight Okita and Sandra Cisneros try to answer in their writings. Okita's, "Response to Executive Order 9066," is about how some Japanese Americans reacted to the executive order that made it legal to put Japanese Americans in internment camps during World War II.…

    • 536 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    What Defines America

    • 1411 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Interviewer: Two renown authors, two incredible short-stories depicting american life. One pressing question. What Defines America? Vonnegut: Ladies first.…

    • 1411 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    I used to believe that being American meant that we accepted ourselves and others, after reading this unit, I’ve learnt that being American is much, much more than that. Whilst accepting ourselves and others is absolutely something important, it’s not what being American necessarily is. To be an American, which the definition varies upon whom you ask, is to understand what language everyone is speaking. Not literally, although it would be quite helpful to understand what someone is actually saying, but I mean in a sense of the allegory.…

    • 370 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Decent Essays

    Being an American means to have freedom. There are a few ways to explain this freedom. The first example is freedom of speech. Second is freedom of religion. Lastly, is the freedom of press.…

    • 365 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Improved Essays

    What does it mean to be a proud American? To me it means that we can be free and have rights. You can make a decision like where you want to work, live, who you want to marry, etc. It is being proud that you have people who risked their lives for your freedom. So many citizens don’t know or care that there is so many wars and disasters going on in other countries.…

    • 724 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The answer to what seems such a simple question, “ What does it mean to be an American”, is actually quite difficult. Being an American is an abstract idea. Everyone’s experience is different, which creates the diverse nation that we ourselves live in. After researching for and reading on different views of what being an American means, a possible answer has been formed. To be an American one must act as an American.…

    • 993 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Decent Essays

    What is an American? Well, in my opinion I believe that an American is someone who sets out for the American dream. American's are people who convey American like traits and live by the culture. We stand up for what we believe in and we live by the rules of the government. An American has the right to “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.”…

    • 233 Words
    • 1 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Decent Essays

    What America Means To Me

    • 250 Words
    • 1 Pages

    What America is to me, it is my home, it is my home country, and it is the home of the brave. What America means to me, it means that I am part of the people and must remember and respect that. What America is to me, it is a country which stands up for what it believes in. What America is to me, it is a country which knows what it's fighting for. What America means to me, it means freedom, equality of people, and bravery from our soldiers.…

    • 250 Words
    • 1 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Improved Essays

    When I was a child I was taught about America in a glorified light. They would teach us about American history and how great and powerful the country had become, but they would not talk about the terrible actions the government took to get where it is today. This year I took a human right class, doing so opened my eyes to the truth about the history and brutality of the society I live in. This allowed me to take America off a pedestal; which made it possible for me to criticize and form my feelings about my country. I believed my awareness allows me to be a more competent and less naive…

    • 114 Words
    • 1 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Are there things in your life that you wanted to do, yet are afraid of doing because of failure? Well, it’s time to put yourself out there. Usually the things that scare us can be the same things that make us happy. PBA is the personal bank account that helps us build our self esteem.…

    • 663 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    I am two parts of two cultures, but still American. Born in England, I was raised as English with many influences from American figures in my life. Despite all of this I am still as American as those born and raised in the heart land. America is one great melting pot where all are formed into new members of a greater society. We are no different than Bill Gates, Donald Trump, and Spencer Hutchins, all True Americans.…

    • 1043 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    What it Means to be an American (A Discussion of what it means to be a True American) "I 'm not going to quit. Why should I quit? This country is worth fighting for." Hillary Clinton said the thing that is always on many Americans ' minds. We are always complaining about the country not being the way that they want it to be, but maybe if we become true Americans, the country will be strengthened automatically.…

    • 1039 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Great Essays

    There are some things people of America say or do that signifies the American culture. When witnessing it happen, you cannot help but think to yourself, “that is a very American thing to have happened.” An American is someone who believes that everyone is born with the god given rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. An American is someone who has a voice, and by that I mean they are allowed to say what they mean without resistance.…

    • 1332 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Decent Essays

    Means To Be An American

    • 185 Words
    • 1 Pages

    What does it mean to be an American? Being an American is usually defined as being from America. People would just tell you to act like an American and embrace its way of life. Could that be what an American really is? In this essay, I will explore the American way of life.…

    • 185 Words
    • 1 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Improved Essays

    What does it mean to be an American?To be American can be different to a variety of people some explicate as “Oh it signifies to be free.” or “ To be any race , religion and be at liberty to do anything .” Matter of fact , You will infrequently ever aurally perceive the same answer since it’s an open question which has dozens of answers .In integration , You have the liberty to cull your religion which North Korea doesn't or women can be in business or have a job which other places don’t even sanction them to get an education and should just stay home . In additament , Being an American betokens equal gender rights, liberation of religion, and liberation of your own expression whether it's attire or art .Another…

    • 557 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays