Reflective Essay on What Does It Mean To Be American?

Being an American is an amazing privilege. It is a privilege to be a part of the best country in the world, and as a nation, we oftentimes forget or fail to realize how lucky were are as a country. People of the United States take their rights as an American for granted. Many people negate being American as having a privilege anymore. Everyone uses the word so regularly, but they hardly know what it means. Hundreds of thousands of people hate the fact that they live in this country, yet never take the time to reflect on how blessed they are to live here. Oftentimes, Americans take for granted our present lives and frequently overlook the lives of those who came before us and who were denied their basic human rights, stripped of their land, and stripped of their freedoms. The United States is not always the perfect country we perceived it to be. But we as a country, have worked to fix these shortcomings. The United States of America will never be a perfect country, but there exists a hopefulness and a sense of pride on which this country is grounded.

Being American is having pride in this country, being able to come together as a community and fight any problems we have as one big family. Being American is not defined by you being born in this country, it’s not based on your race, your ethnicity, or your religion. This country was tested of our pride, but no other test amounted to September 11th, 2001. At 8:46 am, the north tower of the world trade center is hit by a hijacked jetliner plane, 9:03 am, the south tower is hit by another hijacked plane. Our nation was under attack. Our freedom and brotherhood were given the tallest task ever. In a nation of chaos and uncertainty, President George Bush gave one of the most important and impactful speeches ever. In that speech came one of the most impactful quotes ever. George Bush, ¨This is a day when all Americans from every walk of life unite in our resolve for justice and peace¨. ¨None of us will ever forget this day, yet we go forward to defend freedom and all that is good and just in our world¨(Bush, 53). There has arguably never been another time where this country has been so united. When George Bush addressed the Nation, all differences were put aside, all people of all races and ethnicity came together, and as a nation, Americans showed that America wasn't just an improbable idea. Everyone came together in a time of hardship and pain, and showed what it meant to be  American. There is hope for a better America. No one in this country would wish for another 9/11 but anyone would wish for another 9/12. 

Over the last century in the United States, the meaning of what it meant to be American changed significantly. The past 100 years and more were full of hatred and bias. Native people to this land were pushed out, anyone who wasn't a white male was denied their basic human rights, blacks were lynched, and women couldn’t even vote. Reflecting back on our past allows us as Americans to really realize how much this country has changed. Being American was once defined as being a white male. As the US continued to change laws and start to grant natives their land back, it is notable that as a country, it still isn’t where we need it to be. Over the past century, Americans can truly realize that the USA is not a perfect nation, it is a nation that has its flaws, but it is nothing Americans can not be hopeful about and try to help change for the better.

“A Quilt of a Country” truly depicts our country. Despite the diversity, despite individualism, despite constant conflict, America is a unique place where the true definition of what it means to be an American is an improbable idea but one where there is hope. As a country we will rise, we will conquer bigotry and hatred, and we will only better ourselves as a community. We are far from perfect but this doesn’t mean we can’t strive for a better nation, a more United nation. There is such a strong commitment of people in this country. A true America is an improbable idea, but not an impossible one.