Blog Post #1: To Be American

Blog Post #1

The title “American” is a label that many people hold claim to, but most rarely take time to define. For me, to be an American means to be a free, proud, and patriotic citizen of the United States. Ideal Americans are characterized as hardworking, united, patriotic and civilized leaders who strive for success and to achieve the American Dream.

Our discussions in Tuesday’s class reinforced my initial definition, and also reminded me of another key factor: Americans are diverse. By saying diverse, I am not only including the obvious distinction of race, but also factors like culture, social class, economic status, social background, ideals, beliefs, dreams, and many more things that make each American unique. When forming my definition, I quite honestly left out the diversity factor, not because I don’t believe that it is a vitally important factor, but because it simply wasn’t the first thing to come to my mind. Upon further reflection, I realized what a serious error it was to not include diversity in my assessment. Diversity is one of the major characteristics that makes America special. The title “American” is not just limited to the wealthy or upper classes of our society; it includes everyone, even, and especially, the marginalized of society. Langston Hughes’ two poems we discussed in class really drove this point home. No matter what our social, ethnic or cultural classification, we all bear the distinction of being American. It is each of our personal identities, cultures, ideas, hopes, dreams and ambitions that come together to create America itself.

            So therefore, my new and improved definition is: to be American is to be a part of the incredibly diverse, proud, patriotic, united and free country of the United States.