Value Of American Values

“There is much more to being a citizen and a patriot than reciting the pledge or raising a flag,” says wrestler, actor, and former governor of Minnesota, Jesse Ventura. He’s right. Anyone can go through the motions, but to be good citizens we should believe in, protect, and defend the freedoms we were granted when this country was founded. These freedoms were based on what the founding fathers valued, and these values are the foundation of our democracy. What I value most as an American is justice, equality, and individual rights. First, justice is similar to the idea of fairness. This means there are consequences for both good and bad. If a person does something good, they should be rewarded. If a person commits a crime, then they may end
“Equality means everybody is created equal no matter your skin color, or you race. Everyone should be treated equal!” says Julia Bohan. Julia is right. In fact, this value is so important America fought a Civil War over it. The idea that people could be slaves and treated as less than equal was not tolerated by Americans and was defeated. However, we know that the problem has not been solved completely. People still treat other people unfairly for many reasons and skin color is still one of them. I would not want to be treated different because I am a certain race or have a certain skin color. But, we still see many examples of this still taking place, like the one of Ryan Rodriguez who was bullied at school because he was not ‘black enough’. His peers often called him “stupid white cracker” because he was half white and half Puerto Rican (Singh). No one should be treated like that just because of the color of their skin. This is why I think equality is so important and value it
Declaration of Independence. These rights include life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. First, Americans are given the right to life when they are born, and the Declaration protects those rights. This means that no one has the right to take away the life of another person. When it comes to the right to liberty, Patrick Henry gave a speech that closed with the words “Give me liberty or give me death! I am not a Virginian, but an American.” These words demonstrate that he would rather die than not be free. Lastly, Americans are also given the right to the pursuit of happiness. Everyone’s pursuit of happiness is different and that’s okay. My happiness might be found in swimming and someone else’s happiness might be found in eating. In conclusion, these individual rights are something people have given their lives to defend, and I’m grateful for it. When I think of all the reasons I am most grateful to be an American, the values of justice, equality, and individual rights are at the top of the list. These are things that truly set America from most other countries. Having been to other countries like Africa and Mexico, having seen the injustice of genocide, the segregation of Aztecan Mexicans, and the lack of individual rights in both places, I can say these are truly unique to America. They are what I appreciate most when I come