To be an American is to live in America and embrace it. To be an American is to have the basic freedoms of man given to you at birth and never denied them. Freedom is the most important word in American culture. “Americans strongly believe in the concept of individualism. They consider themselves to be separate individuals who are in control of their own lives” (“American Culture” n.d.). Everyone is equal, though some may not believe in that, that is what this country was built on. America is a home for people fleeing their countries in fear or in search of opportunity. That’s where we get the name “the land of opportunity”.
Americans value Justice, equality, and freedom most. We value our Amendments and the freedoms they give us. We are allowed to criticize our government and speak our minds without consequence, as long as it doesn’t threaten someone. ”The people shall not be deprived or abridged of their right to speak, to write, or to publish their sentiments; and the freedom of the press, as one of the great bulwarks of liberty, shall be inviolable.” (Annotation 6 – First Amendment, n.d.). We are allowed to bear arms to defend ourselves or even revolt. Though this amendment may be controversial, it is extremely important to our culture. All the amendments are extremely important in shaping America and how we all behave.
Freedom has been ingrained in our lives since we were born and it becomes a normal part of our life. But when we hear of a country or place that doesn’t have those basic freedoms it seems strange and alien to us. It almost seems unbelievable that not all countries have the same freedoms. And this is a reason why we intervene in most foreign affairs. We do this in the hope that we can give those people the basic freedoms we enjoy. The Cold War happened because we wanted to contain the spread of communism. The system put in place by the soviet union was horrible to its people, and we wanted to stop that from spreading to other countries. “The Americans and the British feared the permanent Soviet domination of eastern Europe and the threat of Soviet-influenced communist parties coming to power in the democracies of western Europe. “ (“Cold War” 2019).
Americans love all the things I’ve listed in this argument. Some are more important to different people than others. Some may disagree with others about certain amendments or ideals. But all Americans know that the Amendments, Justice, Equality, and most of all, Freedom is what makes America, America. And all these things are what make up our Culture, Creeds, and Values today.
Works Cited:
- Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedia. “Cold War.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 30 Aug. 2019, www.britannica.com/event/Cold-War.
- “American Culture: Study in the USA.” International Student, www.internationalstudent.com/study_usa/way-of-life/american-culture/.
- “Annotation 6 – First Amendment.” Findlaw, constitution.findlaw.com/amendment1/annotation06.html#1.
- The Great American Patriot,2012,LIC NYC,New York. https://liznyc.com/2012/07/04/the-great-american-patriot/
- Front Image https://imgur.com/gallery/jNRDzQT/comment/1584848693
Hello Ethan,
I like how your essay talked about American values throughout the years, from the start of this country to more recent times. One sentence that stood out to me was: “Everyone is equal, though some may not believe in that, that is what this country was built on.” I believe that Americans are as equal as they can be right now, but it is debatable that this country was built on that concept. Sure, Thomas Jefferson wrote “all men are created equal”, but enslaved more than 600 people and personally profited from it (Monticello). It is also known that other founding fathers turned a blind eye to the slave trade in their home states. About 100 years later, we had to fight a very destructive war to straighten out this issue.
Do you think that the founding fathers truly meant “all men are created equal”, or do you think they just put in in the constitution for later generations to decide? Do you think the founding fathers just added it to the constitution to express their differences from Britain and add legitimacy to the new government?
Your bold statement on the values of Americans really resonated with me, and I enjoyed reading your paper. Good work!
“Jefferson’s Attitudes Toward Slavery.” Monticello, http://www.monticello.org/thomas-jefferson/jefferson-slavery/jefferson-s-attitudes-toward-slavery/.