American Self Perception Vs. The Truth Essays

The soil of the middle-east stained with the blood of our American soldiers just so we can not take advantage of our right to vote. Though sometimes questionable, America's overall image portrayed to other countries is an honorable one. America is known for its democracy and as well as being a land of opportunities and many freedoms. America's assortment of ethnicities and cultures is proof that our country is a desirable one. Wars are being fought at this very moment to defend these freedoms.

In Edward L. Hudgins article, What is an American?, Hudgins defines an American in ways I had not thought of before. Hudgins stated all these ideas about Americans being driven to do their best and meeting challenges head-on. I would like to think that being an American means everything Hudgins stated, however I think Hudgins is giving the optimistic answer of what being an American means. What Hudgins explains as being an American is what I believe most Americans were like when the country was first founded. The idea of taking risks and working until the risks paid off is one that most Americans do not believe because the possibility of actually achieve one’s dream is extremely less likely today than it was when the country was first established.

What does it mean to be an American? In my eyes to be an American means to have privileges, rights, and freedom. America isn't perfect, but it is one of the only countries that have rights given to people of different diversities and gender. America does not have tremendous poverty. Instead we have choices given to us by the people who fought and died for the American people. Without George Washington and the other patriots who planted the first seed in the ground and help plant the American nation we live in now who knows what America would be like now.

The physical side is at one time they did love each other because kids were born. The shared activities are the fact they have children and they still do things as a family.

What it means to be American? Everybody you ask this question to will have a completely different response. Some responses might have similarities but none will be exactly the same. In the beginning of the year my response was “To be an American means having a rich history, having opportunities to better ourselves, and having freedoms.” Unfortunately not everyone has had the same opportunities or freedoms. Native Americans, who are indigenous, dealt with having their freedoms taken away, less opportunities even though they had rich history in this land before it was taken away from them. Look at what Zitkala-Sa endured. Not only that, but African Americans have fought long and hard for freedom and equality as well. W.E.B. Du Bois stood for

Defining what really is to be an American does not sound as easy as it seem. It will always be complex process. As immigration continues to fuel the growth of the population of our nation, racial and ethnic gap increase and evolve along with it. Racial and ethnic identities become more and more convoluted and difficult to understand. Race and ethnicity continue to intermingle and push a cultural shift in the US– a shift that plays a significant role in redefining America in a day-to-day basis.

During the Cold War, America and the Soviet Union were competing to develop more sophisticated weaponry than each other. Because of this, Americans dreaded the Soviet Union. They also feared communism– which according to Achieve 3000’s passage,“Case Against Rosenberg Falls Apart”,“It is the political theory that the Soviet’s lived by” (1). Also according to Achieve 3000, “The Americans thought that the Soviet Union had spies that were in the midst of the American people” (1). This fear lead to many precautions that the government made to prevent the American people from fearing the Soviet Union which was called the “Red Scare”.

How does our generation define what it means to be “American”? Being in America gives us the freedom to become who we want to be and, to do what we want to do. We are using technology to get places or to make a point. We want to support things we don’t know anything about. For example, Black Lives Matter. I’m not saying I know everything about it but I know enough. So one day as I was scrolling through Facebook I came across a post. The post was about a 9/11 “Never Forget” picture. A teen one or two older than me had said something along the lines of “When is our never forget day?” along with the hashtag “#Blacklivesmatter”. I got pretty upset by that. Not to mention it was said on 9/11. I was thinking about how they have a whole month to

A question most fascinating to me is where in history does the first hint of American ideals and identities originate from? If we were to look at where the fiery passions of an American identity first arise we have to look to where the colonists first fought for their right to be a recognized citizen of America. American colonists formed their identity through the ideas of liberty, resistance to unfair British jurisdiction, and cultural diversity. Their identities formed between the Seven Years War and the American Revolutionary War as these two events deeply brought out what the colonist’s ideals were and what they fought for so passionately. Between these years 1763 and 1775 we see the first American ideals being born in the colonies. An example of such ideals is the want and need for Liberty. A reason for wanting liberty was that British control suppressed the lives of the people living in America and over time grew harder for colonists to live with. Americans are revered to have a passionate patriotic view of their country and this is true as it is seen throughout history but in my research I will try to explain where these ideals first arose.

Many people dream about being an American. They dream because they envision America as the land of peace and prosperity. But is it? At times it has been, and at times its not. It is hard for the United States to be correct all the time because they have been unwilling designated as the “World Police”. Throughout history there have been examples politically, economically, and socially, where being an American is rewarding and times where it is embarrassing. To be an American means progress. We evolved from a world ruled by white men to a world of equal opportunity.

Throughout the life span of the United States, from its infancy after the Revolution to the present, people have asked, “What is an American?” This question goes far beyond asking who is a citizen or who resides in this land. No, it asks what the identity of an American is? Through popular, art, film, and literature, the American image is defined as being based on embracing our individual identities.

Americans have not only defined themselves by their religious, ethnic and racial identity, but also by their individual freedom and common values. America has become a nation where its people can fight for what they believe in. Our founding fathers have formed America to be “the land of the free and the home of the brave”. Being apart of the American culture and living on the land founded by our leaders specifies the meaning of the American Identity.

American identity has been created by many events throughout the course of history. This country was founded on the clashing and mixing of many different cultures and lifestyles. One of the most important periods of time for this country was during the period of conflict between Americans and Native Americans over land rights. Americans had an idea of manifest destiny and that this land was theirs for the taking. The Americans were going to walk through anyone who opposed them in this quest for land. The treatment of the Indians during this time period was harsh, cruel, and violent to say the least. It is in this treatment that Americans came to view the Indians as a ?racialized other? and

The role of America at the end of World War II was where the origins of policing the world originate. America had been engaged in a very costly war in terms of dollars as well as lives. But, despite the expense the United States came out of World War II better than any other nation that was involved. The Second World War was a battle between the Allied and Axis Powers. The Allied Powers consisted of the United States, Great Britain, the Soviet Union, China, and France. This war was seen as the fight against Nazi Germany, and therefore resulted in a majority of the battles fought on German and Russian soil. The aftermath left the Soviet Union in bad shape. Close to twenty million Russians

During the early 1900’s, The United States government was ruled by white men that have captivated the American patriotism. The patriotism of the American society was greatly enchanted by the white superiors wanting to establish a strong American values and culture. The era of the time gave little hopes and dreams of living in a land that its purpose was to give the opportunities to all newcomers. However it was a different scenario among the Mexican American community. The Mexican communities within the United States are force to adapt to a new tradition due to the defeat of Mexican-American War. The Mexican government efforts to persuade its people to leave the United States were no effect because of their disloyalties to its government. From here on the Mexican-American community in the United States will decide its own self recognition of identity.