Grace O'Donnell America

While reading through the responses to this week’s blog question about what makes us “American”, I found myself getting frustrated. People were dismissing what I find to be essential factors of my Americanness. When I’m asked where my family is from, the best answer I have is America. Is it wrong to say my roots are American? Or that America has shaped my identity? Surely the connection and appreciation I feel towards this country aren’t only in title. So, as I read on and found it harder to resist punching something, I thought about what I would name as the most important part of my Americanness. The first thing that came to mind was individuality. The United States is a place that allows for and encourages a strong sense of self. Even when Americans go abroad, that individualism stays with them. But if my answer to what makes me American is individuality, I can’t be mad that people disagree with my view of Americanness. Disagreement is American. That we all hold such different opinions of what it means to be American is, I think, only possible because of our Americanness.