The definition of an American is very difficult to tackle, it’s a definition that can branch out into so many subtopics. An American cannot have a single definition, especially when America itself is like no other country where its identity consists of just one ethnicity, one religion or one language. America is a unique combination of so many cultures, ideals, traditions, languages, ethnicities that is what makes the definition of an American such a broad one. The variety and rich diversity that is within every American is due to the countries immigrant roots. Whether or not every individual can embrace the diversity this country has to offer, that is the beauty of America.
When comparing American individuals there can be many differences, but there are basic ideas that unify us all. Specifically, a person that identifies as an American has to commit to some shared values such as equal opportunity, equal liberty, and shared sacrifice. To identify as an American, this consists of many promises, that’s why America has become such a tired cliche where it is known as a land of opportunity and hope. This is only skimming the surface of what an American is because to fulfill these promises there’s much more than just hoping for these opportunities to fall in place and take care of themselves. There are sacrifices to be made, a lot of work and dedication, and persistence. It takes a strong and determined individual to fulfill American's expectations. Although the basis of what ties all American beliefs is equality, there have been many shifts in the interpretation of equality, especially as to who has access to this intangible equality. Therefore this affects acquiring these opportunities. A person may hold all the values to identify as American but simply judged by mere color, they must endure more challenges to acquire such opportunities and fulfill these promises. In America, pure equality can be described as intangible because certainly in a country that consists of such diverse ideas, traditions, and cultures, there are going to be those who feel more superior. Those that feel superior to others are those that partake in the majority population; white citizens. Due to the white supremacy, equality is almost inconceivable. This country’s history has molded equality to what benefits the majority. Thomas Jefferson establishes what Americans define equality referring to his infamous quote “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness”. At first, this referred only to white males who owned property, yet 250 years later we can now say that America has accomplished acquiring a much more logical approach as to what true equality is and means but this does not mean that it’s been fully acquired.
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Americans are very complex because they are given so many rights and liberties. When freedom of speech exists that gives everyone the right to express their opinions no matter how derogatory they may sound. There are Americans that take advantage of their right to freedom of speech. These people are what impede others from fulfilling their goals in this country, specifically immigrant's goals. Although America is a nation of immigrants, and wouldn’t be where they're at without them, there is still a lot of hostility shown towards immigrants. Many have forgotten their roots and that unless they are of indigenous descent, they are also of immigrant descent. Meaning that they wouldn't be in this country if their immigrant descendants didn't work to establish a life in this country. Exactly what many immigrants nowadays are trying to accomplish.
When the base of the building blocks of America is equality but at the same time, we are given freedom of speech it's very difficult to balance the two. At this point, freedom of speech shouldn't give Americans the right to trivialize minorities and hinder their goals of fulfilling what this land promises. Much more compassion and understanding should be expected of Americans because they are where they are right now due to immigrant's hard work and dedication. The complexity of this country doesn’t allow freedom of speech and equality to live in harmony. It’s American's right to express their opinions and this includes the bigoted and racist attitudes towards immigrants. By not allowing this to occur, one of America's most fundamental rights is torn away from them and this is simply not possible. One of America's fundamental ideals should be that it doesn't matter where you came from rather than where you will go. An American's past should not define them instead what they are and have accomplished in the present should be what is taken into consideration. That way our freedom of speech and equality can coincide and live in harmony.
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