Thoughts on being American
Today is the birthday of the United States of America. I often wonder on this day, as I do on many other holidays, whether people really contemplate what today is all about. America is one of the younger countries in the world, comparatively speaking, but I fear we have already lost a lot of the importance tied to what today really should, by all rights, mean.
Today, I’m thinking about what it means to me to be an American. Like many Americans, I have parts of my family that can be traced back for generations. My ancestors ranged from Rhode Island and Pennsylvania down to Virginia and Tennessee. Somewhere along the way Native Americans (Cherokee) came into my family tree, and they had been here for thousands of years. But also like many Americans, I have parts of my family that have only been American for a short time. In fact, five of my eight great-grandparents were not born in the US. Four were born in Russia and one was born in Switzerland. I know precious little about what their lives were like. I have very few family relics. What items we do have, the meaning has been lost in most cases. As an American I’m sort of like a newly potted plant. I have some deep roots, but not a whole lot. I lean on my identity as an American and can’t depend on a sense of self coming from the past.
As an American on America’s birthday, I am worried for my country. That might seem strange to those of you who feel like the US thinks of ourselves as indestructible. That’s part of the problem. But I fear most that hatred is beginning to reign supreme. Perhaps hatred has always been at the core of the US. African Americans and Native Americans would likely say so. The hatred I see now is not seemingly based so much on skin color, but rather on a sense of people needing to feel that their views are 100% accepted. In the Ken Burns Civil War series, historian Shelby Foote notes that Americans have always been masterful at compromise. I fear we’re losing that. I fear we are losing our capacity for civil discourse. Especially when it comes to the issues that matter most.
I have a lot of wishes for America. I hope that we can continue to emphasize our capacity to do great good. I hope we can come through this election season as a single country, though I’m beginning to wonder. I hope we can make peace with our past and build for a stronger future. I hope Abraham Lincoln remains Abraham Lincoln and not just a vampire slayer. I hope we can remember how big we are and that there is room for plenty of perspectives.
I have a lot of hopes for America. I have a lot of worries, too. My worries for my country stem from the love of my country. I want it to be the best. I want it to be what our founding fathers dreamed it could be in 1776. Onwards and upwards, America. Seize the Day.
Image Credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/jeannerene/4907249541/ via Creative Commons
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Amen!!!
@kevjkirkpatrick thanks 🙂
If we are ever defeated as a nation, it will be because we tore ourselves apart from within. That is what I believe the old Soviet Union believed, which is what they were just waiting out during the Cold War. They set us up to argue with each other rather than fight hotly with them. That is what I believe our new enemies believe. Eventually, one of them will be right.
If you have patience in abundance, you rarely need guns.
@dogwalkblog You know, Abraham Lincoln said something very similar. No despot would tear down America. We’d have to do it ourselves. And we chose his Presidency to give it a try. Poor guy.
While I still strongly identify myself as America, my idea of what that means has changed the past ten years. I’ve been watching America “from the outside”, as an expat.
What strikes me now is the polarization you discuss. We Americans want to be Republican or Democrat, pro-life or pro-choice, and more. I never realized how deeply that is ingrained in our culture (Hofestede calls culture “Software of the Mind”) until recently.
The last time there was a presidential election, my close and extended families were quick to ask what I thought. I spoke the way I speak to my friends overseas – friends who span a number of different cultural and ethnic backgrounds. I said, “I like what [x] has to say about [y] because it resonates with my idealistic view of ‘the way things ought to be.’ At the same time, my practical side likes [z]’s idea of…”
The room was silent. No one was sure how to respond. Was I a fence-sitter? How could I defend the thoughts or policy of ‘the other’ candidate? Did I agree with their worldview or not?
Someone quickly changed the subject – recounting about all the things completely wrong with a candidate running for another governmental office. The room nodded in agreement, bar my aunt who sat in the kitchen and sulked about how the rest of the family was loonier than a hornet’s nest.
Truthfully, I have a difficult time re-adjusting to America even on short visits. The feeling is best known as “reverse culture shock” – which is terribly painful to someone trying to reintegrate to a ‘home’ country. But the discomfort has given me great insight. The insight aligns with my high school history teacher’s adage:
“When you encounter an exit poller who asks you how you voted, smile and lie through your teeth.”
Janet | expateducator.com
America is a great country.. the only thing that i don’t like is that America always thinks that they are the boss of everything and if some one don’t listen to them they will go to war with them! Go America! 🙂