What Being An American Means To Me Essay

According to Merriam-Webster, the definition of an American is a person born, raised, or living in the U.S. but is that what it truly means to be an American? Millions from all around the world come to USA to turn their life around because they weren’t doing so good at their home country. Many people have their own meaning of being an American which most are similar or have a similar idea but I feel like my meaning of an American is meaningful to me because of the state our country is in. Clearly, it means different things to many different people. America was founded by people who wanted to avoid persecution and immigrants seeking a better life. “They came to us speaking many tongues-but a single language, the universal language of human aspiration.” (Roosevelt 10) Every year, hundreds of thousands of immigrants, legal and illegal, from all around the world. come this country. These immigrants
Some say “leave the past in the past” but as of today, I do not agree with that. If that’s the case, why is racism still present today? Whether it is the treatment by the police or whatever, one’s skin color can determine how one is treated. The hate crimes then and now were all because of one’s skin color. “Besides, they’ll see how beautiful I am and be ashamed- I, too, am America.” (Hughes 13) My interpretation of that quote is that they’ll appreciate what his culture brings into the country. But there is a difference between culture appreciation and appropriation and with those, so you have to be aware, politically, about those things before you just adopt them and call it your own. With the whole Black Lives Matter movement going on right now, it’s very important to be open minded. Many believe that it depends on if a person is born racist or not but it’s not like that. A person cannot be born racist but to grow and be taught to be one or have a mindset of a