Americans. What are they? Who are they? What exactly is an American and what exactly is America? These are questions people rarely contemplate. These two words are axioms to almost everyone. People have a variety of interpretations of these two seemingly simple words. America and being “American” actually mean many things. “America” is an area. It is a mass on the Earth. As it happens, two continents on Earth are named North and South “America. ” Therefore, “America” consists of these two landmasses.
In turn, the people that live on these two landmasses should be considered “Americans. ” This is one very common and also very simple interpretation. Another interpretation is that “America” is a belief system. This belief system is basically called the U. S. Constitution. This Constitution is what “constitutes” America. Americans are the people that believe in these beliefs and follow them. This is a rather quaint way of looking at it because, since the laws always change, America is always changing also. Other people look at America as a place of democratic values.
They see America as a place where there is equality, a place where everyone gets their fair share of everything, a haven if you will. They see it as a place where people are free to do almost whatever they want. When they think of America, they see the word: fairness. America is a place where the truth is told. America is a place where promises are kept. America is a place of loyalty and a place where you can voice your views without consequence. America is a place where there is a freedom of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. All Americans live in this haven.
America is also a place of diversity. American music is an example. American music is made up of classical music (Copeland), Mexican music (La Bamba), Hawaiian music, country music, pop music, and others. Americans are also a very diverse group consisting of people that have various ethnic backgrounds. The group known as “Americans” is also a variant group as immigrants move into and out of America. Americans is a loose term in many cases. It may mean people that live in America, people that were born in America, people that have lived in America for 5 or 10 years, or even people that speak English.
In this sense, America and Americans have a lot of diversity. Historians may see America as a country that has been through many difficult struggles from the Revolution to the assassination of JFK. They see the many wars we have fought in, and the heroics of the American men and women who have died for our country. They also see the transformation from being a farming country to the industrial giant of today. Americans are the people that have fought and struggled in order for America to live to this very day. However, shouldn’t the true Americans be the Native Americans?
Everyone that lives in this America at some point immigrated here while the Native Americans were the first to come from Siberia. Therefore, the title of “American” should be given to the true ones, the Native Americans. America and being American can be interpreted in many ways. They are terms used quite often in the world and also quite loosely. People can see America as a place, an idea, or even as a dream. Everyone has a sense of what America and what Americans are, but there is no exact definition. America and Americans are part of everyone’s perspective. Things are never what you think they are, but to you they are whatever you think.
