Americanism as a Generational Divide Essay

How My Generation Defines What it Means to Be an American What does it mean to be an American and how is an American identity created? My generation defines what it means to be an American by an expression of independence and capability (freedom). Education helps to define my American generation with discovering new topics that shape who we are and what we’ll be. How we socially interact with each other is another way that describes the meaning “to be an American”.

In the article “The Greatest Generation: The Great Depression and the American South,” Jeffrey DeRoven analyzes the economic struggles of the American South during the Great Depression in order to figure out why some people refer to people from that time period as the “greatest generation.” Below, this paper overviews DeRoven’s thesis, purpose, stance, audience, usage of literary techniques as well as logos, pathos and ethos, logical fallacies, and ultimately concludes with an opinion suggesting that DeRoven’s analysis is mostly sound and useful, but limited in proving his thesis.

The 1980’s is one of the most interesting decades that was experienced in the United States. Dealing with the stock market, the coming up of new inventions, all the way to the types of music people listened to. During the 1980s, the only thing that made Americans be “Americans” was because of the things they were provided with. Many Americans had fun throughout the 1980s with materialistic, glamorous, and technological life styles; therefore there were different economical problems that Americans faced.

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

What does being an american mean to me? Being an american means that I have freedom to do things that I want,liberty,and the pursuit of happiness which the military fights for. Another thing I have is rights that means that I have choices to pick things that I want to do in life like pick a job or do whatever because of the military fighting for are country. I also have justice which means that things are fair and you have a fair trial if I go to court and can not just go to jail.

With all the controversy in what it means to be American at this point in history, coming to a consensus on the meaning of the term is crucial. The meaning of being an American can often be tied to one’s emotional connection to the United States of America. If this attachment is taken away from the definition of the word, the most authentic and traditional interpretation of what it means to be an American is revealed. To be an American means to be a citizen of the United States and to align yourself with the ideals of America.

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.

Baby Boomers are the most powerful demographic group in history. Businesses thrives or fails based on their ability to keep pace with the likes and dislikes of this economic powerhouse known as the baby boomers. At 76 million strong, boomers have the influence to rule the marketplace and make sure they keep a place set just for them as the

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.

The first major liability of the United States was that no one had ever established a

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 era of the 1990’s was an explosive time in American history both figuratively and literally. In the 90’s there was an extreme variety of different failures and also advances in technology. We as a nation had new advancements in space travel, our military and the way of life preparing for the turn of the century. As a country we didn’t know what the new millennium had to bring for us, but we were ready. Most significantly changing America though was from our creativeness that took place, the fear we had, and our militaristic ways.

On this morning we were just glad to not have been woken up to bugs crawling in our beds. What I was more excited about today, was our itinerary for the day. The first part of my morning consisted of sitting at the edge of the rocks journaling and enjoying the view from there. With the sun shining as bright as it was that morning, we decided to move under some shade to continue journaling. Under the shade by the kitchen the view of all the huts were also so surreal, I sat that just letting it click that I was in Swaziland miles away and getting to experience this.

How many times have you felt that your parents don't understand you, that they have no respect for you as an individual? How often do you shake your head in frustration and blame it on the 'generation gap'? Parents! They are like aliens from another planet altogether! You and they are in different camps; strangers forced to live under the same roof Right? Wrong! There is a way of bridging what appears to be a yawning chasm. If you genuinely want to improve your relationship with your parents (and give them a big shock in the bargain!) try listening to them, treating them just like you would listen to a valued friend. Instead of always whining, 'You don't understand me", stop and think. Do we ever try and understand