My grandfather always used to explain to me how lucky I was to be able to be an American. He would inform me on how valuable it was and how I should never take it for granted. He expressed that I should feel honored to be able to have all the opportunities I do. I never understood him growing up. I did not understand how growing up somewhere, like America, versus another country could be any different. I understand now. When I was younger, my mother would tell different stories about her childhood. She would go into saying, “Growing up grandpa was in the service.
I always missed him and did not understand why he had to go fight people “for our freedom,” as he would say. I always felt free, I always felt like everyone in the world got along, I didn’t understand why he had to go out and fight, why he had to go out and risk his life. ” She would inform me on how important it was, as an American, to contribute to our country and to do my part as a citizen. My grandfather served in the army. What could I do? As I grew up I learned a lot more about how I could contribute to my country: paying taxes, voting and serving in jury duty.
My grandmother voted and my grandfather served in the war. My parents vote, pay taxes and go to jury duty. As an American I take pride in the idea that I can help my country. I vote, pay taxes, serve in jury duty and say the pledge of allegiance with pride for my country. Even though I know some American citizens don’t contribute to our country in this way, based on my beliefs I believe an American is someone who contributes all they can to our nation, embracing your rights and taking pride in your country.
The Essay on Attempting To Understand American Culture
What is American culture? What is its significance? These two questions are extremely difficult to answer, let alone extremely difficult concepts to grasp. In fact, almost every human on this planet will derive different meanings of American culture and it will unquestionably hold different levels of significance to different people. American culture is an oxymoronic phrase because there is no ...
In relation to what I believe the definition of an American is, the government legislation somewhat agrees but in addition has other requirements immigrants must portray in order to be an American citizen. According to the U. S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, the current legislation regarding immigration laws states than in order to be eligible for naturalization one must be eighteen years old or older, be a permanent resident for a certain amount of time, be a person of good moral character, have basic knowledge of U. S. overnment and history and be able to read write and speak basic English (1).
Another article which supported these eligibility requirements was in an article called “Overhauling Immigration Law: A Brief History and Basic Principles of Reform,” written by Mary Giovagnoli. She explained that the immigration system meets the American economy very well and does not put native-born workers at a disadvantage. She goes on to explaining that in order to be an American citizen, immigrants should contribute to our country and have long term residents in America.
She believes that immigrants should have a long term commitment to America, and a successful legalization program should have classes which teach immigrants English as a second language and history of American so that they can participate in the American life (1).
In accordance with this information, I believe our government defines what it means to be an American by someone who contributes to our country physically and intelligently and is committed to our country. What the government’s definition of what they believe an American is somewhat relates to what I believe the definition of what an American is.
Just like I always contributed to my country by paying taxes, voting and serving in jury duty, the government also believes immigrants should contribute to our country physically. The government says that they believe an immigrant should be a permanent resident for a certain amount of years, which is another sign of commitment for our country. Having a long term commitment to your country shows the pride you have for America. I believe an American embraces their rights and takes pride in their country.
The Essay on The American Dream America Country Term
The term "American Dream" is well established in our culture, yet it has seemingly managed to escape a clear, concise definition. It can be a state of mind, an expression, and ideological fixation, or even an idea; nevertheless while there is little disagreement regarding the existence of such a term, its true meaning is disputed. "It is the promise inherent in the idea of America itself." ...
Although the government and I do have some similarities on what we believe the definition of what an American is, our definitions are also different. The government believes that Americans should have knowledge of U. S. history and the government. Although that all sounds good on paper, many Americans that have lived in America all their lives are not even educated on the history and government of America. For example, when I first took Political Science in high school, I was clueless on anything pertaining to our government.
My teacher showed us a list that she found online which talked about the fifty things all Americans should know about our government and country. Ninety-five percent of the class was clueless on any of the answers regarding our country. I do not know how the government can require immigrants to be knowledgeable on U. S. history and government when we, as Americans, are not knowledgeable ourselves. The government also believes that an immigrant should be able to read, write, and speak basic English in order to be naturalized. However, I do not agree with this requirement.
America is a “melting pot” of different cultures, languages, races and dialects. With that said, many Americans have a hard time speaking well pronunciated English. In my opinion, that does not affect whether they should be categorized as Americans or not. I have absolute respect for people who choose to learn English as a second language, in fact I think they are more intelligent than Americans. English is one of the hardest languages to learn and for them to have learned two languages is just one stop ahead of most Americans.
I feel they are brave and intelligent. In the short story, Two Ways To Belong In America, by Bharati Mukherjee, Bharati compares the different lifestyles her and her sister have. Although her sister, Mira and her have both lived in the United States for 35 years, they have completely different views on how their lifestyle should be when they reside in America. Bharati talks about how there are two ways to belong in America: illegally or to fit in with society and feel like you belong. Bharati explained that Mira came to America for education.
The Essay on Eyes On America Americans Government Privacy
America The nations new conciseness of terrorism, a product of both fear and anger since Sept l lth has changed the way Americans view security, surveillance and their civil liberties. For many Americans the trade for less privacy and more security seems like a reasonable deal to feel safe in their homeland. For others, it looks as if the government is over stepping the line between national ...
She studied child psychology and pre-school education. After she completed her two-year degree in America, she planned to return to India to marry the husband her father had set up for her. Mira ended up marrying an Indian student and they both got labor certificates. While Mira clings passionately to her Indian citizenship and has hopes of going back to India when she retires, Bharati feels otherwise. Bharati explained that she married an American citizen, which of course was out of her culture.
When Bharati was given the opportunity to become an American citizen she embraced the chance. In contrast, Mira explained that she felt an attachment to India like she did not for America. Mira was basically just in America to obtain her two-year degree than go back to India. Two Ways to Belong In America is extremely successful at discussing what it truly means to belong to America. It goes beyond just being a legal citizen. It goes into how one chooses to embrace America’s ideals.
To be an American you must be willing to truly belong here, to try to “fit into” America and to live independently. I do not believe that in order to be an American citizen you must commit your ideals and love for your country strictly to America. However, I believe it is unfair if one comes to America just in hope of getting something out of being here if they just plan on leaving. Mira explained that she was only in America to obtain a degree and then she was going to go back home to India afterward. I believe that is unfair.
Although I do not believe she should not be able to love India if she resides in America, I also believe she should take pride in America if she is residing here as a citizen. My family has always taught me how important it is to contribute to America by paying taxes, voting and serving in jury duty. They helped me form my definition of what an American means to me. Based on my beliefs, I believe an American is someone who takes pride in America and grasps all the opportunities they are given as American citizens. Although that is my definition, there is not an exact definition of what an American is.
The government believes being an American means you must be eighteen years old or older, be a permanent resident for a certain amount of time, be a person of good moral character, have basic knowledge of U. S. government and history and be able to read write and speak basic English. While Bharati believes that you are only truly an American citizen if you commit to Americas ideal and love strictly America. These diverse definitions of what it means to be an American show that not everyone has the same opinion on what an American is.
The Essay on Boston Tea Party British America American
Boston Tea Party - by m. ems The Boston Tea Party is considered to be the boiling point in a series of events leading up to the revolutionary war against the British. When a group of devout colonists, boarded British tea ships and unloaded their cargo into the Boston harbor, America would be changed forever. What was, at first, seen as an act of mischievous rebellion, turned out to be one of the ...
