The Great American Experiment Summary

"The Great American Experiment", a phrase that implies that America is some sort of trial run of multicultural republicanism, often finds itself lodged between the margins of editorials that attempt to define America. The issue with that phrase is not what it implies about the experimental aspect of America; rather, it is the way in which it ignores the fact that there are many generations who have and will live in the middle of the experiment. Those people have not and will not live long enough to view this country outside of the immediate. To them, America is the place where their children took their first steps, or where they held their grandfather's hand as he exhaled his final breath, not a long-term social experiment. To those living inside the American experiment, America is something that can be felt, not seen. America is a spirit.
There is nothing as frustrating as turning on the television and hearing politicians, most of whom are in the right-wing, boiling this country down to a small set of founding principles. It would not be unimaginable that if a politician were to be asked to define America, he or she would say something along the lines of "America is a place that should provide equal opportunity to succeed, but also equal opportunity to fail". To those who have never struggled, vague promises of …show more content…
America is the undefinable silent force that draws all people under its flag together. It is the weight that pulls on the tears that form as "The Star Spangled Banner" is sung. It is the smiles, the waves, the held doors, and the "pleases" and "thank-you's" that are shared between Americans, regardless of outside factors. The true definition of America is not a definition at all. America is an ever-present spirit that draws its people together, and can only be defined by