SOCIOLOGY

What it means to be an American

What it means to be an American

Concept of being an American

A historian called Philip Gleason states that being an American excludes belongingness to a sovereign nation, learning a new language or different religious or ethnic background. Philip believes that being an American has got to be with high commitment of oneself to the country's political ideology catering to ideals like republicanism, liberty along with the concept of equality. American ideology is based on the fact that it is open to anyone who is willing to be an American. The only thing being an American requires them to act like an American, continually vote and pay taxes, serving the country and accepting people belonging to different casts and creeds (www.dodlive.mil).

Philip believes that an American has the will of freedom of expression and speech and should practice it. An American needs to stand up for the righteous and induce justice. Ghandi once said that "no” uttered with pure conviction and heart is better off than a “yes” that is said to, please solely. After Philip Gleason, it was Orwell who proclaimed that peace along with freedom and security is mandatory, and he dreams of a nation rising who lives the pure meaning of creed.

There are Americans who are highly patriotic, highly hardworking as well as upstanding: however, they are neither Caucasian nor Christians and do not belong to the west Europe's ancestry either. America can overcome the challenges it will face in the future provided it manages the different cast's creeds and religion prevailing within. They make up a distinguished political, economical and social aspects of the country and not where there roots are from. Knowing that many religions resides within one country America has the leverage of creating goodwill and become a stronger nation. This is what distinguishes United States of America from the other nations of the world (http://www.teenink.com).

The Twin Tower Attack and its Impact

The story of America has not been simple. Political and economical ups and downs have impacted the definition of Americans by Philip Gleason. After the incident, of the twin tower collapse, People in America have continuously undergone the process of grappling issues linked to pluralism, security, religious freedom as well as tolerance. These are the matters that have impacted Americans and can be a source of displeasure. The current generation of America is said to be the most diverse generation. It constitutes population that is ethnically as well as religiously diverse if history is compared. Higher the degree of diversity leads to higher probability of non-commitment to the core principles.

A decade after the attack at the twin tower, most residents have rested assured that they feel safe and secured however do feel the fact that, after the incident, United States as a country has lost the respect and the image they had at a international level. A research was conducted which depicted that 53 percent of the Americans feel that the country has become more secured as compared to ...