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What It Means To Be An American Essay

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What does it mean to be an American? Many people believe it's just a status, and there is no culture or difference in it. The thing is being American is more than just a citizenship status, it is a symbol of resilience, diversity, freedom, and becoming better. It means embracing differences and coming together as one nation under the principles of liberty and justice for all. It is about representing the American Dream, the belief that through hard work and determination, anyone can achieve their goals and attain success. It is about being proud of the country because it is simply the best. To be American is to embrace values, stand up for what is right, and never stop fighting for freedom. Authors also agreed on this and even more elaborated …show more content…

They understand being American from a cultural standpoint that differentiates them from other countries.To start with a story that was literally recited in a Presidential Inauguration; In “The Hill We Climb” by Amanda Gorman, She speaks on A better in-text example is when she recited “It's because being American is more than a pride we inherit, it's the past we step into and how we repair it” (Gorman lines 52-54). Amanda Gorman is emphasizing the idea that being American is not just about passively inheriting a sense of national pride, but actively working to shape and improve the country. By talking about the past, she acknowledges the historical injustices and struggles that have characterized the American experience, but also states that it is within our power to repair these wrongs and create a better future. All this leads to our point on how Amanda Gorman thinks about what it means to be American because we want to get …show more content…

To conclude, Amanda Gorman's poem "The Hill We Climb," is about acknowledging past challenges and injustices and taking responsibility for creating a better future. It involves being self-aware, critical, and proactive in working toward progress and justice. This understanding of what it means to be American is not just limited to Gorman's poem, but is a sentiment shared by many people in the US, emphasizing that being American is not just about celebrating past achievements, but also about taking up the ongoing responsibility of shaping and improving the country. All of this is what defines part of being American, another writer who continues on this is Kal Penn. Kal Penn writes about growing up as a first-generation Indian-American and how that shaped his experiences and identity. He states being American is about being able to have equal and better opportunities to create a more inclusive and equitable society. He states “I con- vinced the school board to let me wake up every day at 6:00 a.m. to go take AP history at another high school in a different town”(Penn

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