The American dream cannot be defined, not by the government, not by your parents, and not by anyone but yourself. The reason people flock to America is that their pursuit of their dream is not dictated by social status, family wealth, or class. America gives its citizens’ freedom, to keep their beliefs and to preach them free of punishment and government interaction. All Americans are entitled to these freedoms and to truly have the ability to pursue their goals free of fear and judgment. Risks can and must be taken free of guilt, “A ship in harbor is safe, but that is not what ships are built for (William Shedd).” It is equality that built this nation and it is that strong belief that runs this country today.
These amendments give Americans the right to speak freely, be treated equally, and have power distributed evenly amongst everyone. Not a lot of people have these privileges. The fact that our country is the first to be founded by average, hard-working people is what makes American famous. Many people believed that our nation
This is the first thing you get as soon as you become an American. That for me is considered a dream for the persecuted. Now beyond this lies desire, which is what society thrives from because it is what our economy is based off of. It is said that you only need food, shelter, and clothing. Dreaming is what America is all about; the beautiful houses, the wealth, the power to control things at your fingertips.
The American Flag and the erosion of it’s meaning by popular culture The American Flag represents many things in these United States. It represents our nation as a whole. It represents the freedoms that we as American citizens enjoy every day. It represents the liberties that we hold dear. It is a symbol of freedom and a beacon of truth to the entire world.
Huckleberry Finn begins, “You don’t know me without you have read a book by the name of The Adventures of Tom Sawyer; but that ain’t no matter” (Twain 7). This opening passage helps the reader assume that, due to his use of slang, Huck is not well educated. The way Twain wrote allowed the reader to get a sense of the way people spoke back then and how different society was from the society of today. Due to his use of the common language, “’all modern American literature comes directly from … Huckleberry Finn” (Trilling 6). Alone, this profound influence on all American literature makes Huckleberry Finn worthy of being included in the canon of great American literature, but his exploration into a revolutionary relationship between a white boy and a runaway slave make it even more worthy.
But being an American doesn’t mean only to live within the boundaries of the United States or simply holding a U.S. citizenship. American people are not defined by “blood and soil” but more likely as Teddy Roosevelt said” Americanism is a matter of the spirit and of the soul.” As a diverse country, what unite the disparate people who make up our country are common constitutional principles interpreted by the political culture, which is defined as broadly shared value, beliefs, and attitudes about how the government should function. American political culture emphasizes the values of liberty, equality, and democracy, and that is what sets our country apart from others. As David Miller, a leading liberal nationalist, emphasizes, a shared sets of characteristics constituting a national culture is a necessary feature of national identity. “ As with many other nations in the world, America has to bear the brunt of national identity erosion in the face of globalization.
What does it mean to be an American? The historian Philip Gleason put it this way, “To be or to become an American, a person did not have to be any particular national, learning languages, religious, or ethnic background. All he had to do was to commit himself to the political ideology centered on the abstract ideals of liberty, equality, and republicanism. Thus the universalist ideological character of American nationality meant that it was open to anyone who willed to become an American.” To be an American one must act as an American. They must pay taxes, vote in elections, and serve their country whether at home or abroad.
Evan Cole March 6, 2012 English 101 Mr. Raines American Opportunities Dinesh D’Souza’s essay “Becoming American” notes three reasons why the American life style is sought after, better standard of living, social freedoms, and an egalitarian society. I agree, America is a land where people create their own destinies, a land where people make their own choices and have near limitless possibilities. D’Souza’s gives his views on how the Americans society is seen by other countries. D’Souza states that most American critics have an easy explanation for why the American idea of living is so captivating. It is simply the ability to make money.
RELEVANCE - Relate the concepts found in American Dream with those from another book we have read to date in the course. If I had to compare American Dream with another book that we have read in this class, the first one to come to mind would be Field Notes from a Catastrophe: Man, Nature, and Climate Change by Elizabeth Kolbert. On the surface, these two books don’t seem to go together at all. American Dream is about welfare and the struggles involved with it and Field Notes is about climate change. They actually have a lot in common, as they are both complex issues that are hard to pinpoint the best solution and
Embedded Assessment – What It Means To Be an American To be an American means freedom. America provides endless opportunities to be granted an education that other people living elsewhere dream of every night. It means having the right to proudly chant the Pledge of Allegiance, work wherever my heart and mind desire, standing up for what I believe in, and being able to make a vote to support those beliefs. To me, to be an American is having pride in my country, and expressing my freedom. In What is an American?