Non American Community Analysis

The term American, when used by one who considers themself to belong to this term, is perceived to portray a person containing the traits of strength, duty, and unity. It is thought that the individual characterized by this term should be proud to classified as one. This is the picture painted by media, that when “Uncle Sam” calls on the people of America, everyone would stand up and defend this beautiful, peaceful country till their last breath. The term American gives those classified as such a defined sense of community and of belonging to and relating to those within that community. However, the characteristics that make someone an American is as different as the people that are asked. The term American is a binary in itself and the term …show more content…
According to Miranda Joseph’s article “Community” a community is, “carrying only positive connotations—a sense of belonging, understanding, caring, cooperation, equality—“community” is deployed to mobilize support not only for a huge variety of causes but also for the speaker using the term.” It is this sense of belonging that an American needs because the negative connotations that come with not belonging and being classified as a non-American are distrust, distain and solitude. A human being is a social creature and being subjected to solitude can impact the quality of life for the individual. A person needs to be a part of a community in which they feel accepted but their peers. In order to solidify their place among the community, an individual may cast doubt upon a peer in order for the community’s attention be focused on another’s faults and no their …show more content…
An individual has a need to belong and people use the sense of community to dictate an individuals actions. Companies are using the promise of belonging to a community in order to gain business. Take for an example, a clothing company advertises their clothing being worn by rich, beautiful people but for cheaper prices, the middle class individual might be more inclined to purchase these items in order to appear a part of the elite community. When peers of the first individual see the new clothes and the opportunities it possibly represents, they will be more likely to buy the clothes as well. After a short time period the elites will change their style in order to again separate themselves from the middle class and then the entire process repeats. All this is done due to the need to belong to a specific community and a company’s exploitation of that