It’s our birthday today — We’re 228! It seems like a good day for the following question:
What does America mean to you?
I did have my own thoughts typed here originally. But I felt that they would influence the course this thread took. I want this to be more of a poll and less a debate (hence the forum). I promise to come back after a few posts and add my own thoughts. But for now, I’d like to hear from others what it means to be American.
It’s the land where I was born and where I currently live.
I don’t think Americans are better or more special than other people. We have lots of flaws and we’re embarrassing sometimes. I don’t flag waves and sing the anthem at the top of my lungs. I don’t drool over the forefathers. I roll my eyes at people who do this.
But I feel about Americans in general the same way I feel about my family. Underlying all of the negative things listed above, I love my country and I don’t want to live anywhere else.
A nice place to sleep.
I wasn’t born here, but I’ve lived here for six years. For me, America is the place that gave me the opportunity to start over from scratch and build the life I have now. America is the place where the right woman for me was waiting, even for all the years I didn’t have the slightest inkling. America is the one place where I have never been financially destitute, because I’ve been able to work here since the day after my work permit arrived. America is the place where I was able to resume a career that stalled in my native country twenty-five years ago. Regardless of what others may think about the place, or the misperceptions they may have about it, day-to-day living here is the most wonderful adventure I’ve ever been on. Aside from the bit of culture shock when I first came here, and the sinking-in of the realization that I really did move 1200 miles away for the chance at a better life, I haven’t spent a minute being homesick. Because I’m home.
It’s the country where I live. Nothing more.
I can tell you what it doesn’t mean to me is the celebration of military might, which is what the 4th has become over the years. The adulation of military power is a trait of most dictatorships and totalitarian regimes. It makes me very uncomfortable.
Excellent post fishbicycle.
I like America just fine. I don’t have much to compare it to beyond a week in Montreal and movies set in foreign countries but I can’t imagine being happier anywhere else.
America is my home. I was born here, and it’s shaped me in every way. It’s so big and beautiful and messed up and full of wonderful, evil, brilliant, crazy people that it’s overwhelming. I love it so much. I sacrificed a year of my life to serving my nation – and you know what? It’s not a sacrifice at all. Because I got back far more than I could ever hope to give.
America is one of the greatest places on earth. I feel so privileged to live here, especially as a woman.
My two daughters have their whole lives ahead of them and can pick any course they wish:
They are not only allowed to go to school, but it is mandated by law that they become educated.
They need not obey any man once they leave our home nor are they required to cover their faces and bodies in public.
They can choose any career path they wish, or they can choose to stay home and raise their children.
They can pick any husband they want, or remain single, or even choose to love another woman should that be their inclination.
They can divorce their husband if it turns out he’s mean as a snake.
They can worship Allah, or Buddha, or God, or L. Ron Hubbard.
They can vote.
Clean water is as close as the nearest tap.
A huge assortment of good, fresh food is available 24/7.
They have never experienced hunger.
They have access to the best medical care in the world.
They can own property.
They can call their president a slack-jawed idiot with no fear of being taken in the middle of the night by men in camoflague.
They bow to no one. And no one bows to them.
America, the home of the free. America rocks.
It’s the place I was born. Neither the best nor the worst place on earth. Its excessive jingoism and heavy-handedness make it a pretty embarrassing place to be from, for many Americans living abroad.
If I don’t like Pres. Bush, I can say so in public and not have to worry about going to prison for my opinion.
I can drive down to the Walmart at any time of day or night and get just about anything I want at a reasonable price.
I pay $2 a gallon for gas and bitch about it, unaware that most of the rest of the world pays much more.
My parents can be dirt poor and I can become a doctor, lawyer, engineer, or even the president.
I don’t know about the rest of you, but I admire the hell out of our forefathers, they were one unique bunch of talented individuals.
I can hop on a plane and fly almost anywhere in the world, and be welcomed in, with a US passport.
I can affect changes in our society by forming a peaceful coalition. My favorite example here is the fellow that protested for wheelchair access to city busses back in the 70’s. Now there is wheelchair access to just about every form of public transportation and public building.
Finally, I like turkey and dressing. 
It’s the ongoing attempt to do government as it really ought to be done — however that might be, which is something we, the American citizens, are constantly in the process of sorting out in order to continue the attempt.
I don’t know that other nations’ citizens do not have a similar attitude towards their own nation and government, but I do consider this shared sense of responsibility and idealism w/regards to our government as being a big part of what it means to be an American.
Eh, I don’t know, I just think it’s great to live in the most powerful country in the whole entire world. Hey, it’s good to be King of the hill…
I love America as a country - the actual geography and natural beauty (as well as the variety therein) is amazing.
I love the way every place has its own culture and way of life - yes, some places are more diverse, some are more insular, but there is an amazing variety of lifestyles and cultures here.
I hate consumerism, and pop culture, and the policies and practices of the majority of our government - republican or democrat. I hate flag-waving, the close-mindedness of an all too large percentage of American society. I hate intolerence, jingoism, and the crushing dominance of materialism. I hate the fact that all too often the American people are spoon-fed crap about what to like, what to wear, how to live and what to drive, and for a disturbingly large percentage of our society, how to be happy.
I really hate reality television.
And I love the ideals and constitutional reality of this nation, because I can speak out about any of this and have no fear for my personal safety.
It is the Noble Experiement. We’ve been forging the way for experiments in democracy for over 200 years. We beat the Evil Empire of Communism and now we ring the bells in the Islamic Hell.
No, it hasn’t been a perfect history. Who else has got one? I think we continue to lead the way.
It’s the place I was born. I’m glad it was there rather than, say, the DRC or Bangladesh. But there are any number of countries that Pundit Lisa’s list would apply to, and I’m no happier having been born in America than I would have been being born in any of them.
A continuing endeavor to reach the concept of an ideal nation as specified in the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. Said effort being currently impeded by a bunch of knuckleheads who think “might is right,” “dissent is treason,” and “ignorance is strength,” but the struggle continues…
I’ve never felt especially proud to be American, but I do feel pretty goddamned lucky to be an American.
Freedom. That’s what America means to me.
However, I also realize that freedom isn’t free. That old saw about “the price of freedom is eternal vigilance” sure rings my bells.
When the Campaign Finance Reform was passed a couple years ago, a rider on it forbade the dissing of incumbent politicians like 90 days before a general election and 60 days before a primary. What the fuck? This is freedom? What about the first amendment, freedom of speech? Shall we just give up the whole Bill of Rights? How the fuck can they DO that?
I was drafted into the military and fought in a war. They told me it was to preserve freedom.
Maybe I didn’t fight hard enough? Cause our freedoms are slipping away…
It’s my home.
It’s a lucky place, because Europeans were developing it at a pont in history where philosophy and political systems were both evolving rapidly together.
It’s the greatest experiment humanity has achieved yet.
It is sometimes an embarrassment, such as when we have an administration like the current one promoting our perceived short-term interests so shamelessly. But it’s an embarrassment we can discuss and change.
IIRC more people legally immigrate to the US than to all other countries in the world combined.
People who are priveleged to live anywhere they want, or send their precious children anywhere they want, often pick the US.
It’s also sad in some ways - what the US did to African slaves was pathetic - ditto the Indians or Native Americans. The ways we’ve taken advantage of Middle Eastern populations by helping prop up illigitimate governments is sad, and helps explain the recent wars and terrorism. It’s also embarrassing to see all the trash on our streets. I wish these things were otherwise and feel some collective guilt though I never knowingly contributed to any of them. I’d rather pay more for gas and land, and have a clean conscience.