Recommended: National Identity And Its Elements
It seems to be easier for an American citizen to name quotes from movies or lyrics from popular songs than to explain the United States of America’s effect on the world. The Oblivious Empire written by Mart Hertsgarrd discusses how America’s society seems to not comprehend how our government treats other countries and seems too naïve on the reasons why other countries or groups of people do not like us. Hertsgarrd discusses how the United States truly treats countries around the world and the consequences our actions have caused. An analysis of Hertsgarrd essay shows strong points on how our society is oblivious to the world outside our country and do not truly know how our government affects the world. Throughout Hertsgarrd essay he describes how the United States government tends to believe they have the right to be the judge on how other countries’ treatment of their citizens and
What makes the United States unique and great is not a pledge, a flag, or a song, all of which are more properly labeled culturally temporary symbols of patriotism. The United States is the summation of many ethnic, religious and political backgrounds. David Brooks’ reason for writing “One Nation, Slightly Divisible” included the goal of finding the underlying cause of the divide between the social and economic aspects of our society.
Introduction: In the text by Eboo Patel “Acts of Faith: The Story of an American Muslim, the Struggle for the Soul of a Generation,” Patel focuses on living in a diverse faction full of religious prejudice in a world full of materialistic outlooks. At the same time he intertwines his personal experiences and provides a remarkable account in which he says that growing up in America as a Muslim led him to discover the importance of cultural pluralism, the acceptance of all religions, and his huge account that all Muslims aren’t extremists. He believes in ethnocentrism; religions should be able to coexist without feeling that one religion is superior than the other. In a world where the forces that seek to divide us are strong, Patel thinks the meaning of pluralism is that the differences
How can improvements be made without the people who want the improvements don’t make an effort? Giving American citizens the responsibility to improve their own lives may cause setbacks, but it is the outcome of these setbacks that enable change and allow further quality of life. Without American citizens taking initiative to improve their own lives, they will be never be satisfied with the quality of their own lives. Many improvements in this world such as freedom and rights were not established through citizens counting on authority to make this change. It was the people who were affected by this dilemma that took action that ended up giving a new meaning to life.
The United States has always had a lot to be proud of. With features like beautiful landscapes from deserts and forests to mountains and snow, the infamous title of ‘land of the free,’ and of course there hard won independence-which they have always found worth celebrating. The United States serves as the world’s melting pot, where the traditions of different races, cultures, genders, social classes, and any other difference can all be found in one place, though maybe living their lives in many different ways. The United States had always shown promise for so many people.
American Exceptionalism was coined by Alexis de Tocqueville in his book Democracy in America. To illustrate how the American way of thought is superior to the other ways of the world, Tocqueville expresses that the American way of thought is distinctively unique and special. This distinction is exemplified through liberty, egalitarianism, individualism, populism, and Laissez-Faire Economics. These qualities prove America’s exceptionality and difference from other countries. Although American Exceptionalism originated in the early 1800s, the idyllic values Tocqueville paints in his book can be seen throughout American history.
Famous French historian Alexis de Tocqueville once said, “America is great because she is good. If America ever ceases to be good, she will cease to be great.” (qtd. in Carson 651.) In “Recovering America’s Exceptionalism,” Ben Carson explains how we are losing touch with the values that once made America a great country.
The United States is a nation built upon law, democracy, and principles derived from rights. Like anything man-made, there are flaws to be found in this nation, yet also strengths. Since the very first days of the Declaration of Independence’s effects on the colonies to the modern era we live in today, these successes and failures have defined society’s standards. While recently the United States has moved closer to the ideals of the Social Contract and Natural Rights, it has also moved further from the guiding Rule of Law.
The United States of America is a big, powerful and wealthy country in the world. The division of class, individuality, religion, and race are but a few of the embellishments within the society. The blend of these numerous diversities is the crucial ingredient to the modern nation. America has been formed upon them, with that said the “average American”- have a single means in common; a single concept; a single goal; the American Dream. The Dream consists of a seemingly simple theory; success.
Individuals lay the foundation of America. The Founding Fathers of this unique nation broke their allegiance with Great Britain to create an improved governing body. They desired an individual-centered authority as opposed to Britain’s monarchy, which ruled with tyranny. These Founding Fathers experienced a neglectful democratic monarchy that cared little about the ethical treatment of its people. The domineering actions of Britain challenged these historic individuals to form a new cultural identity.
The reality during the time was tyranny; liberties being destroyed; rules being broken; people treated unfairly. What better time was it for such meaningful ideas to come forth? “American exceptionalism refers to qualities that were first observed in the opening century of our history” (Murray 6). Throughout this article, Gordon Wood undoubtedly believes that this rhetoric the Americans possessed was a very exceptional trait. While this rhetoric was exceptional over 200 years ago, sadly it has not remained.
As Americans, we often pride ourselves on our strength. Our grandfathers survived the Great Depression and stormed the beaches of Normandy, and they did not complain. This refusal to retreat from a tough challenge is what makes us great as a nation. And as a result of our strength, we are natural leaders. As the world’s superpower, America has an obligation to lead the world in terms of ideas.
The American person has no true ideals, or beliefs that make him or her up. Americans are free to believe in what they want, think what they want, preach what they want, and most importantly say what they want . Authors such as Ralph Waldo Emerson, Frederick Douglass, and Walt Whitman show in their texts such as “Self-Reliance” , The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass , and “I Celebrate Myself” that there is no true definition of the American identity. The American identity can be seen in the many aspects of peoples lives, and a a quality that many Americans portray is the ability to have individual thoughts and emotions as well as the capability to not conform to society because they stand up for their own individual rights. A
America has had a tumultuous existence, replete with war, progress, and ideologies. The most formidable of these is individualism, or the shift of society’s focus from the group to the individual and a growing emphasis on their personal needs and desires. Despite wide criticism, it has become the societal norm, spanning all generations, genders, races, and walks of life. Individualism, while indeed centered on the individual, is more accurately described as the changing and shifting relationship between the individual and society.
In this interview, it illustrates how power may ignite cultures to have a division based on their cultural group. It may cause a nation to become captivated by misleading mistakes and false representation of a political group. Although, segregation exists, individuals felt the need to react in ways that became unjustifiable causing destruction affecting beliefs, values, and other perspectives amongst other cultures, religions, and beliefs differently than their own. By taking the lives of innocent individuals and shaping and conforming lives according to their biases alters how children may shape their own human world views based on exceptionalism, power and segregation, and improving history and evolution through integration.
