What is the essence of being an American (specifically, a Citizen of the United States)?

2023-07-03T23:27:51-04:00

We are supposed to be a "melting pot." With that said, elements of other cultures can, and do, enter and exist in the US. Many of these elements contribute to the richness of American Society. This is not expected to be an easy question to answer.

Response by MSG Private RallyPoint Member made Jul 4 at 2023 12:52 AM

2023-07-04T00:52:30-04:00

To live peacefully in my home without others telling me how to run my home. To live peacefully with my own beliefs without shoving them in the faces of others. To raise my kids to be good human beings. This, to me, is the essence of being an American. Hell, this should be the essence of the whole world. But we all know that is not possible. So, I'm gonna do me, take care of me and mine. You do you, and take care of you and yours.

Response by Maj John Bell made Jul 4 at 2023 8:12 AM

2023-07-04T08:12:47-04:00

My response is, I fear, no longer in vogue
-Self-reliant and independent, particularly from government intrusion
-Self-sacrificing
-Benevolent
-Tolerant of respectful opposition
-Free in thought and speech

Response by 1LT Private RallyPoint Member made Jul 6 at 2023 5:01 PM

2023-07-06T17:01:07-04:00

I think all American citizens are tempted to define our "essence," our common and shared characteristics, in terms of our own experience. It seems rare to me for people to engage in a wider definition, so I would like to attempt that. After all, we can't just make it up, American citizens have been around for a while.

We are citizens of a constitutional nation compromised of 50 states and five territories, with each citizen expecting to show allegiance to the unified whole. Our geography is a challenge to our essence. We are big and diverse. We have a strong history of valuing democratic ideals and we primarily execute our policies through the outline of a republic. We uphold the rule of law and expect all citizens to respect the rule of law. Our culture is rooted in the preservation of freedom, specifically religious freedom, though we must all admit that the current state of our nation is, at best, confused on aspects of religion. The United States has quickly prioritized inclusivity, and even the concept of consent (when discussing sexuality) has often been given the same consideration as a religious conviction. Having said that, American citizenship is deeply rooted in Christianity, though most modern citizens have rejected traditional Christianity.

We are a violent people. At great cost, we won our independence from a tyrannical government that suppressed our religious values. Most of us celebrate this independence with explosions and alcohol. Most Americans love to compete, to fight and to win, as evident by our involvement in wars around the world and deep passion in the culture of professional sports. We are more often than not, however, terrible losers.

We are, historically, a racist country. We participated in the transatlantic slave trade and many of us persecuted people on the basis of race, for the majority of our country's existence. Yet, we are also the tip of the spear in many civic-related issues, specifically in view of the U.S. military and many of its initiatives that were first, or near first, of it's kind.

We are a powerful people. We have economical and social wealth equal to or greater than many of the empires in human history. Simply achieving status as an American citizen is a near-instant improvement of personal wealth and protection that, relative to other countries, elevates people into higher brackets of society outside of what most would consider poverty. However, we have a complex and diverse stance on international relations, preceded by troubled historical patterns. Even though many citizens choose not to serve or are unqualified to serve, our all-volunteer military is un-matched and feared across the globe and has been for nearly a century. In fact, universally feared. I am pretty sure one of our own nearly took down Thanos by himself.

As citizens, we are often arrogant, narrow-sighted, self-centered, lazy, ignorant, belligerent, and short-tempered. Yet, we are also often compassionate, committed, generous, courageous, humorous, curious, and good in a fight. Some of our cultural characteristics melt together, but most of them just mix without combining, existing in the same space, sometimes with tension and other times with harmony.

Most of this is subjective, as a nation who is experimenting in democracy in this modern age will constantly be shifting its core culture. Yet, I think some traits are rightly attributed to the identity of "American citizen". Whatever we say we are, what we can't do is ignore our history and claim it isn't apart of our identity today, that's non-sense and in my personal opinion, cowardly. We ought never believe that we have the cultural definition down to a science, divorcing ourselves from the huge and varied amount of groups that make up our current population and our historical population. We can narrow down our "essence" but we have to leave room for lady liberty to embrace a multiplicty of cultures under the title of "American citizen".