What Makes an American - Emil

What makes an American?

I would like to approach this question by first inspecting an analogous one: What makes anyone part of a nation? I know we discussed this question earlier in the semester, and reached some interesting conclusions. To be part of a nation is to be share in a sort of commonality with your neighbors and peers. A nation can be composed of many people who come from different backgrounds, but share in some sort of common heritage or set of ideals. Taking that an applying it to America, we can say that to be an American means to be like other Americans. Other than following a bit of circular logic, it makes sense. What it means to be an American is that a person is able to connect with other people in this country, who also call themselves American.

I, as I've mentioned before, am fairly new to this country. I am in that gap generation that has to be constantly trying to figure out what it means to be part of a culture, or what my own race is. I consider myself an American because I can relate to my fellow Americans. I speak the language, both colloquial and formal, and blend in with the culture.

So I would say that to be an American means to be able to relate to your fellow countrymen, no matter where you are in the world. There is something special knowing if you meet someone across the world who considers themselves to be from the same country as you, you both automatically have something in common, something that binds you two completely.