“When Jefferson wrote ‘all men are created equal’ in the preamble to the Declaration, he was not talking about individual equality,” writer for Stanford News Melissa de Witte said. John Hancock spoke of American founding ideals in 1776, claiming that the idea that “All men are created equal” and of fundamental rights such as liberty, freedom of speech, assembly, and religion, and due process of law were all more acceptable in the abstract than they were in practice. As Americans, we believe it is essential to understand and implement these fundamental or founding principles and civic virtues.” “This set of principles and ideals have guided and shaped the public life and the American character. “These principles, rooted in an understanding of natural rights and the experience of self-rule, outlined the foundations of a new nation,” the Bill of Rights Institute wrote. It just may not be what we see on the news every day.”Īccording to The Founding Ideals of America website, the five ideals that America was built around and emphasizes are the values of democracy, rights, liberty, opportunity, and equality. There’s a lot to be proud of in this country. “Over the past year, a lot of people have come together and worked together, whether it’s creating a vaccine or providing health care, or just really getting through the pandemic. “The majority of Americans want what’s best for them and their family and what’s best for their country,” Pool said. With President Joe Biden beginning his Presidency, the White House website wrote that Biden and his staff will work together in order to deliver action and relief to families including controlling the COVID-19 pandemic, providing economic relief, tackling climate change, and advancing racial equity and civil rights. “I think having pride in being American is important as well.” “I would say the most important factor for a person to be an American is to believe in the American Dream: you can make your own decisions, you can have freedom, you can decide how you want to live,” junior Caroline Rasmussen said. Additionally, Sides reported that most of the surveyed, but not all, rejected an ethnic conception of citizenship: the idea that Americans have to be of European heritage or descent. Sides found that the people surveyed believed respecting American institutions, 93 percent, and having American citizenship, 91 percent, were the two highest qualities most important to being an American. John Sides, a professor of political science at Vanderbilt University, wrote an article published in the Washington Post that presented the findings from a survey sent to 8,000 Americans in 2016. “I do not think it’s good to have traits or characteristics attached to it it’s better to describe what the government expects of us.” “What it means to be an American is something that I struggle with since there is no one simple answer,” Pool said. Kallen introduced the concept of “cultural pluralism” in 1915, stating that true democracy required a population of multiple cultures and that forced assimilation was anti-Democratic and anti-American. Furthermore, American philosopher Horace M. Writer Javed Amir from The Baltimore Sun wrote that American identity was initially based on ideology, not race or ethnicity. “I would also hope that Americans take the job of being educated and well informed very seriously because that’s important in a democracy.” “I think all Americans should strive to understand the truth,” social studies teacher Dalton Pool said. However, what defines American identity is more complicated. The most simple definition of the word “American” is a resident or citizen of the United States or someone who ethnically identifies as American. “Some of which reflect what it means to be an American by constantly working to help others and make America more equal, while others ignore this.” “There are so many different opinions circulating in the political climate,” junior Kathryn Thomason said. Dastagir questioned what it means to be an American, who qualifies, and how Americans should act and found that, despite political polarization in the U.S., 90 percent of people surveyed in a 2018 Grinnell College National poll agreed that being a “real American” meant treating people equally. Dastagir, a New York National correspondent, wrote that “it is a difficult time to celebrate America” in an article published by USA Today in July of 2020. These major events took place during just the first month of the new year.Īlia E. Capitol insurrection, the President banned from social media, Democrats controlling the Senate, a new President, the distribution of a COVID-19 vaccine, a Presidential impeachment trial, and over 25 million reported cases of COVID-19 according to Wikipedia and The New York Times.
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