An Ideal American

Since this great country was first established many intuitive minds have tried to answer the question; "What is an American". This country is full of individuals of many backgrounds, and diversities and each person has a different opinion on this question. In my opinion, an American is someone who values freedom and equality and pursues the "American dream." Every American exercises these rights and these are great adjectives to describe our country. Each of the seven readings, and the one image I compiled help mold this broader definition into a more precise description of an American.

An American can be defined by a variety of things. A natural born citizen is just as American as an immigrant searching for a new life, just like in “America and I” by Aniza Yezierska. An American can be a rich businessman or it could be a dedicated soldier like in “Veteran’s Day: Never Forget Their Duty” by John McCain. An individual’s definition of being an American is shaped by their life experiences. A person’s view on being an American is different because of experiences, such as being a veteran, being an immigrant, or living in poverty, all of which affect one’s perspective.

The American people strive to make themselves the best version of a model citizen they can be. Each person in America has an abundance of patriotism that keeps them from slacking from the progress they have made in becoming honest, diligent, innovative people. All Americans work toward those characteristics because they are what makes a person an ideal American citizen. Honesty is one of the key qualities to being a good citizen. When a person is honest they are easy to trust and can be counted on in times of need. An honest person is desired in every community because they are simply good people. An American should also be diligent. In today’s society without trying hard to accomplish what a person desires to do, it is nearly impossible.

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.

There are many traits that a person should have to be considered a good American. First he needs to be patriotic. He should possess both a personal and moral Courage, have integrity, loyalty and honor, and demonstrate selfless Service. A man’s love for his country reveals a lot about his true self. Secondly, a good american should have respect. Respect for themselves, others and authority. He should always take responsibility for his actions, contribute to society and take initiative to make things better when he can. A good american should be content and grateful for what he has and always have compassion and forgiveness towards

According to the Scholastic News Online, when individuals were given the question of what it means to be an American, most of them described it as “being free” and having certain rights while others gave explicit examples and mentioned the fact that we as Americans receive opportunities such as “voting”. I somewhat agree with most of these individuals. I believe that being an American consists of having certain rights and a given amount of freedom, to a certain extent. I also strongly believe that by being American, we are guaranteed opportunity if we work hard for something. Being an American also means we have the power to make a difference and express what we feel in order to make this country better than before. Coming from a family that had a much more distinct experience than

Someone who embodies American ideals to me means they show, speak and believes the values of what America should be. George Washington embodies the ideals of what it is to be an American. One example the website georgewashingtonsociety.org points out is when George said “If freedom of speech is taken away, then dumb and silent we may be led, like sheep to the slaughter.” The quote to me is saying that if we don't have freedom in our land we are prisoners. Washington talks equality in the draft of First Inaugural Address that is written out in the book “We Still Hold These Truths”,when he writes ”I rejoice in a belief that intellectual light will spring up in the dark corners of the earth; that freedom of enquiry will produce liberality of conduct; that mankind will reverse the absurd position that the many were, made for the few; and that they will not continue slaves in one part of the globe, when they can become freemen in

“The Land of the Free, the Home of the Brave”; these are the words that since 1814 have been used to describe the spirit of the country that we call America. For many, this country symbolizes a history of just that; bravery and freedom. But what does it mean to be an American? Does it simply mean that a person is born in to the country, or does it mean that they empower the character traits used to describe the country itself? When describing America and what it is to be or behave as an American, there are many traits that are often used such as brave, hardworking, strong, having the ability to overcome obstacles, a belief in equality and freedom for all, being a groundbreaker, and having a strong, direct

Being an American today can mean different things to different people but for me it means to have respect for religion and hope for better days through better ways.Thomas Paine and William Bradford give examples of how they modeled america to be the way it is today. The two passages I am going to be quoting are going to be “The Crisis” by Thomas Paine and “Of Plymouth Plantation” by William Bradford.

“America was not built on fear. America was built on courage, on imagination and an unbeatable determination to do the job at hand.”- President Harry S. Truman. An American is someone who shows bravery, courage, and takes all opportunities that come their way. America accepts immigrants from all of the world, but a true American is someone who shows bravery, courage, can use any obstacle as motivation, and uses every opportunity to rise as high as they are willing to work.

Another ideal America has lived up to is Opportunity. In America, everyone has the same opportunities as others. Obviously, not people who aren’t born in the United States, but yet they’re not treated any different. Illegal immigrants have the same opportunities as citizen, the only difference is you qualify for better and more things being a US Citizen. Although many feel like America does not give the same opportunities to people because there skin color or their race, they do. I know about black men and women who become much more than a person of no color. Everybody has the same opportunity, regardless of skin color or race.

What is an American? This question cannot be answered by one word. There are so many different characteristics, qualities, and features that can be used to describe an American. Besides features, someone is only a real American if they take advantage of all of the many privileges that are given to them. Any person that is not grateful for the privileges that are given to them to me are not real Americans but this is only my opinion. Real Americans use their privileges to benefit themselves and everyone around them. In today's society there are certain things that are expected from American citizens, for instance being a responsible citizen.

Wealth. Freedom. Equality. The pursuit of happiness and opportunity. From John Winthrop’s “The City Upon A Hill” to Thomas Jefferson’s “The Declaration of Independence”, the term America has been universally defined by these ideals. As a citizen living within this country, I have grown up being taught that upholding these values defines being an American. While this was a generic and naive response to what it means to be American, I simply accepted this because it was what others told me. Looking back, I realize that I blindly accepted this definition because of a false and hopeful view of humanity in general. I did not see the world for what it is, rather, I saw it as filled with blissfully optimistic hope, I idealized the world, dreaming that America and, by extension, Americans were shining beacons of freedom, equality, and opportunity in the world, cultivating my previous

What does it mean to be an “American”? To each individual person it means something very different. For the writer Bharati Mukherjee, who wrote the essay, “American Dreamer”, to be a true American someone has to want to be an American, not just prove that they merited citizenship. Her essay “American Dreamer” goes in depth into this idea and her opinion that as an American one should believe in bringing together the cultures in America. “We must think of American culture and nationhood as a constantly reforming, transmogrifying “we” (Mukherjee 438). For the author James Baldwin, who wrote the essay “Stranger in the Village”, an American is a person who is integrated with other cultures, and

According to Webster Dictionary, American Dream is the ideal that every United State citizen should have an equal opportunity to achieve success and prosperity. The American Dream is something that should be for anyone who wants to achieve success, and prosperity through the hard work and determination. According to Webster Dictionary, immigration is the act of moving to another country which is not their native to live there permanently. Many people from all over the world are suffering from hunger, having a polluted country and suffering poverty. Before you want to be selfish think about all those people who wish to have one fourth of what we all have in America and to be part of the El Dorado where people do not suffer a lot as other countries. Several people from all over the world specially from third world countries that are at war try so hard to complete the Odyssey to the United States for a better life where their dreams can come true. Immigrants who make it to the United States face many discriminations which makes their life harder and difficult. Those who many American citizens call teachers, doctors, dentists, engineers, and many more occupations are immigrants and their contributions have a great impact in the United Sates. Not only do Mexicans try to come to America to complete their dream come, for example also Canadians, Syrians, Cubans and Indians as many other more. Every year, more and more immigrants are coming into United States. Although many people do