Americanism

Essay by akadir1999High School, 10th gradeC-, October 2014

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Abraham Kadir

Saulyer

AP English 3

9/12/14

What it Means to be an American

"It is not always the same thing to be a good man and a good citizen" (Aristotle). Patriotism drives a modern civilization; without pride in your state, there is nothing left within the society. An American should have nothing but pride in their state, everything that is done is set to a certain standard: "How does this benefit my society?" Every American has his or her own qualities that individually make him or her a better citizen. You are American if you have the latest smartphone, eat the junkiest of foods, talk with the most westernized vocabulary, watch endless reality TV, call America by its modernized name: 'Murica, etc. A true American is someone who shows nothing but loyalty his state, puts others in front of themselves, and one who strives to be a better citizen than his neighbor.

I can say that I believe that I fit well enough in that definition to be portrayed as a true American.

To start off, loyalty to your specific state is the strong feeling of support for, in this case, America. It means you show a certain amount of respect for everything you do pertaining to it. "When you're in a gang, you stick up for the other members. If you don't stick up for them, stick together, male like brothers, it isn't a gang anymore" (Hinton, 33). Sticking with your neighbors is the number one philosophy that America is built on. Since the beginning of colonization in the new world, no colony could have survived without the loyalty and support for each other from all of its inhabitants. Many colonies did in fact fail because of the lack of loyalty and discipline, where...