What Is To Be An American

The traditional concept of being an American is to be a citizen of the United States of America; however, I prefer the Merriam-Webster Dictionary definition of the word American, which is “a person born, raised, or living in the United States.” This definition more accurately captures the true idea behind what it is to be an American in a number of ways. The first is the fact that it does not include being a citizen, which pays heed to the origins of America where people were seeking out a new land, one of opportunity and freedom, the first people to pursue the American Dream. Today the idea of being American is too often skewed with being a super patriotic “true blooded American,” which is used as justification for chastising the “unamericans,”
when in reality no action could be less American. America was founded on the idea that you could come here and escape the oppressions of your old life, have a clean slate, work hard, and make something better for you and your family. We as a country are so often complaining about our immigrant problem, when our nation was born from an immigrant problem, as if the timing of when your family was able to immigrate to America reflects negatively on you as a person. In my opinion, to be an American is to be a supporter and a pursuer of the American Dream, the idea that everyone deserves the shot at a better life if they are willing to take it for themselves, and that dream does not have a color or religion, it belongs to the land of the free.