Preview

Pros And Cons Of Being An American

Satisfactory Essays
Open Document
Open Document
429 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Pros And Cons Of Being An American
[11:50:44 PM] Jeremiah: What is American? Is it the ability to enjoy an outdoor barbeque with your family? Is it fighting to defend freedom from the evils of this world? Being American isn't just simply a list of stereotypes and Kodak moments. Being an American consists of the ability to use the freedoms that one has been given and the consequences of that freedom.
Say America and most people automatically think freedom. Yet, what is the nature of this freedom? Surely there are restraints to it. There are of course. These can be found in our Constitution. In spite of the rules placed, Americans are still able to enjoy the rights that many other countries can not. Americans can enjoy freedom of speech, women are able to hold positions of power and no American has to worry about their basic human rights being stripped of them. Again, all this freedom while great doesn't come without consequence.
…show more content…
For the most part it is. Still there remains that gray area that intersects with hate crime. Take for example WestBoro Baptist Church. A group that is notorious for picketing Funerals of Soldiers and gay people. Not to mention their picketing of the Holocaust museum. An act that would make most cringe. Despite these hateful acts, they're still allowed to continue, due to it being a form of expression.
Is it right for Americans to be able to do this? The answer is no. Americans should be responsible enough to use the freedom that they have earned. Being American isn't just about freedom and being able to enjoy it. A true American uses their freedom responsibly. They use the

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    America was founded on the idea of freedom and it is crucial that freedom is always maintained throughout the country. The United States guarantees its citizens freedom…

    • 1184 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In this quote Adams is talking about how America fought for their lives so that America could be free. One should be proud to be an American. To be considered an American one must still fight to be an American as well as fighting for one’s beliefs. then being diverse, along with being free.…

    • 1005 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Ellen Goodman Hate Speech

    • 767 Words
    • 4 Pages

    There is a fine line in what is considered freedom of speech and what impedes on another person’s freedom. In fact John Stuart Mill states in his book On Liberty, “the only purpose for which power can be rightfully exercised over any member of a civilized community, against his will, is to prevent harm to others” (1978, 9). The use of hate speech has a strong impact, especially in minority groups where the support system is not very strong. One example hate speech being persecuted is in an article from the website Grapevine titled Ten Charged with Hate Speech Towards LGBT Community. While some individuals may argue that the freedom of speech is the right of all Americans, there are definitely limits when it comes to the hatred and harassment of a particular group. The law enacted which included sexual orientation in the group where hate speech is not allowed stemmed from the fact that the suicide rate for LGBT teens is much higher than it is for other teens. The Trevor project found LGBT teens are 4 times more likely to attempt…

    • 767 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    What is an American? Americans are self-spoken individuals full of radical ideas and egotistical spirits. This spirit has created the supreme economic monster that is America today. America is about freedom of speech and press, freedom of religion and most importantly freedom of choice. These three key components make up what it means to be an American.…

    • 497 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    While America prides itself for it's values of freedom and liberty, these rights have historically been granted to a select few of Americans. History has shown that the concept of freedom and liberty in this country has always been contradictory. During…

    • 380 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    When the term the “American” was coined it meant something new, something unknown. Initially, the unknown quantity was the land and the Native Americans. Then the Europeans traveling to the new world and finally, at least in this essay, the blacks. The one common quality through these three different unknowns is self-reliance. The form of self- reliance varies from striving to maintain an individual identity to forming an identity to being allowed to have an identity.…

    • 1396 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Freedom is the single most well known attribute of our great nation. But just how free are we really? I would argue that America is one of the freest countries in the world, though it could be freer. The rights and freedom described in the US Constitution, the Declaration of Independence, and the Bill of Rights, as compared with what current society actually allows creates many different pictures of freedom from several perspectives.…

    • 632 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Bill of Rights was specifically established to protect citizens from the government and its power. Our founding fathers based the Constitution off of freedom, and we shouldn’t be able to make adjustments to it because of how society views specific forms of communication. How would we even be able to justify what hate speech is in the eye of the law? Laws are created with the…

    • 615 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    You ask me "What freedom means to me? " I don't really think about these things. Now that I am I think that I have something to say about it. Freedom is something that shouldn't be taken for granted. Freedom for me is something we abuse. For example freedom of speech we use that like its nothing people in other places don't have that freedom. Most people don't think about freedom as we do stuff during are day. We don't usually think "How did we get our freedom? " well that's a good question. People fought for are freedom we don't think about that, people risked their lives for us. There are still people who risk their lives for freedom people who can't do what we do, people who don't have equality. They cant say what they want or do what they want. I couldn't imagine myself without freedom not being able to say what I want or do.…

    • 321 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    The first group that I belong to is American citizens. Being an American citizen I have the freedom of choice. It permits me the liberty to decide what and who I want to be. I can obtain a high education and make a respectable living without any type of cultural oppression or judgment. I also have the right construct my own decisions without requiring permission from anyone but myself. Being an American citizen also has its cons, for example, the high education we are allowed to obtain does not come cheap. We have to pay highly for our education. Moreover, we also have to pay different types of taxes.…

    • 310 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Throughout the course of a mere few decades, the makeup of the US and her citizens has evolved immensely. Along with the great racial and religious diversity, a constrained set of options when determining how one’s life should be lived is abolished. Nearly anyone from any racial/cultural background is exposed to an unlimited amount of routes to take through life. In addition to the vast lifestyle choices, a myriad of options pertaining to religion, education, housing, and employment are available in America. Despite the unfathomable span of possibilities, each American essentially strives to live one Dream—the one previous denizens of this land strived to reach as well. The epitome of this Dream consists of three chief factors—“life, liberty,…

    • 170 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    “May we think of freedom,not as the right to do as we please,but as the opportunity to do what is right.”-Peter Marshall.Many people around the world view America as a place of freedom,but most just seek for its stereotypical features.Such as,gun-lovers,violent,patriotic valued hardworking,people,and a place full of obesity and gullibleness. Most of these aren’t true for, they haven’t been through the viewpoint of those who actually lived in the world of America.Who wake up everyday and walk out of their houses, in hopes of having a fulfilling day and who breathe the “American air”.Americans are those who prove to be vulnerable,kind people who work to provide needs for themselves and/or their families.They can be greedy at times but they are…

    • 1378 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    American Dream Vs Freedom

    • 378 Words
    • 2 Pages

    The United States of America has more freedom than many other countries in the world. Americans are free to celebrate whichever holidays they choose, observe the traditions they choose, and uphold whichever belief systems they choose. One of the many benefits of “chasing the American dream” is one’s freedom to make his or her own choices. It can be much easier to focus…

    • 378 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Citizenship In America

    • 209 Words
    • 1 Page

    When I think about America my mind tends to wonder towards freedom and citizenship. As citizens, we possess many freedoms such as the freedom of speech and religion, the right to vote, and many others. An individual born in the United States is given these rights. Bainbridge Colby stated, “The test of good citizenship is loyalty to country.”…

    • 209 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The constitution of this country suggests that every person who lives on American soil is free. First of all it means the freedom of choice. Every person is able to make his own decisions in order to reach some goals which are valuable in order…

    • 878 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays