What makes you an American? Matt Antezana

In chapter 4 titled "Creole Pioneers," Benedict Anderson informs us how Spaniards (creoles) born in the Americas could never be considered true Spaniards by those who were born in Europe even if he was born within one week of his father's trans-Atlantic migration (Anderson, 58). The creole would be forever excluded from Spanish society by Spaniards born in the motherland even though as Anderson describes "in terms of language, religion, ancestry, or manners he was largely indistinguishable from the Spain-born Spaniard" (Anderson, 58). I bring up this quote this quote because many of these values would be considered vital if not necessary to being labeled a member of any nation/state. In many countries around the world if you don't speak the same language, follow a certain a religion, come from a distinct ancestry, or practice the same mannerisms then you will be labeled an outsider and possibly persecuted.  

My belief is that it is not necessary to have all of these values in common in order to be considered a member/citizen of a nation and that it is possible to have a country with a sense of nationalism without strictly adhering to these values. America is a perfect example of how this is possible. America is considered a melting pot and has a widely diverse population where many people come from different backgrounds with different cultures. Yet even though at times many of these individuals speak various different languages, have different ancestry, different mannerisms, and follow different religions there is still a deep sense of nationalism. There is great American pride present in many citizens in some way or another, and out military is composed of millions of Americans who come from different cultures but fight for the same country. Now while one can argue that many Americans have language (English) and some mannerisms in common, it is nowhere near close to how Anderson describes Spanish nationalism in the colonial era. 

In my case I consider myself an American. I have this view not just because I have lived in America my entire life and because I have been raised here, but because I have sense of belonging to America along with a sense of pride. Of course I share many similarities, such as being fluent in English, with other Americans but I also come from a different background than others. That is the beauty of the US where you can come from different roots and the population can be divided up in terms of their inherent culture, however when it comes down to it much of the population still has deep sense of nationalism. My question is how will this sense of nationalism be affected by the ever growing diversity in the population and further advancements in technology affect this.