American Essay
What does it mean to truly be an American? Being American can mean many different things. People can say what it means to be Amercian, what it means not to be, and what they think an American should be.
To be American can have different meanings. People can say that being American has to do with language whether or not they can speak english. The idea of language use relates to the concept of who is considered American because it is a part of who you are, such as being Mexican-American and only speaking spanish. Just because you only speak spanish in North America doesn’t mean you aren’t considered American. Someone speaking only spanish shouldn’t be looked at as a disadvantage but rather an advantage because it is much easier to learn english than it would be to learn spanish. If you were able to learn english it only furthers the diversity in the US and can help build a bigger and stronger community. Therefore it can make the US a better place for more Mexican-Americans to come here and making the definition of what an American more than just being born here. So language is a big role in being American but not proving if you are or aren’t but rather that it helps further your true capability on what an American can be.
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Another thing that has been told is what people think America is based off of what America was built off of. There are examples of this, in the poems, “I Hear America Singing” and, “I Too Sing in America.” In the poem, “I Hear America Singing,” by Walt Whitman he talks about how America is made up of various and everyone here is happy to be here and everyone contributes to building America to make it a better place to live. This is shown when he talks about the mechanics, carpenters, masons, boatmen, shoemaker, and woodcutters where they are singing their own songs and how the singing is special in its own way. Also there is another part of this is in the other poem, “I Too, Sing America,” by Langston Hughes he isn’t as happy to be American. This shows when at the end of the poem it ends with, “And be ashamed-- I, too, am American.” The two authors have differing opinions because of how they both view what it truly means to be “American”.
Lastly, what an American shouldn’t be is another way people can define who “is” and who “isn’t” American. A perfect example of this is the image, “Washington Crossing the Delaware,1851” where in this image it is showing Washington’s army rowing his boat while he is posted up waiting to cross. This image has a deeper meaning because there are people who built their way up to the top in order to be considered American and this image shows how George Washington and his army are going across the Delaware during the Revolutionary War to gain independence from England. This is the first true act of patriotism and the first “true” American. There is also another image that can help portray what it means to not be American. For example in the image, “Manzanar Relocation Center, California, 1942.” This shows an Japanese Internment Camp, WWII and this was the time period when America was in WWII and when there were the Japanese immigrating here for better lives the US was putting them in camps in fear they were spies or traders. This shows America not being American because we have to allow Americans the right of freedom. America does the opposite and doesn’t grant the Japanese their freedom. It is exactly the opposite of what it should be to be American which is to have the basic rights which they were not permitted.
To conclude, to “truly” be American is to have the basic rights despite what your ethnicity or race. Yes there are many different meanings for what it means to be American and it is based off of our differences. Although, if we were able to put our differences aside we could all live in harmony knowing that we are all American despite everything.
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