What Does It Mean to be an American Today?*

by: Alexandra

You can do whatever you like. American dream. If you like making doughnuts, you can open a doughnut shop and live happily ever after. Impractical? Extremely. But the American mentality will tell you that anything is attainable, and all you need is the willingness to work hard. I do not want to be the one to crush this dream, but in reality, it is far-fetched. But maybe that is what America is; a country of open doors, a million opportunities... Maybe that is why all of the other countries tend to think America is so bratty. We have so much opportunity it's ridiculous. Although we might feel lost and hopeless at times, we never REALLY feel the impending fear that so many who live in poverty do. A sense of security makes people lazy.

I recently decided to count all my blessing, as a way of thanking God and keeping myself from being selfish. I have since realized that I am disgustingly rich. My roommate moved out, so now I can use her closet, and I have 3 closets full of clothes. I have two beds in my dorm room and two beds in my bedroom at home. I have 4 beds that I can sleep in anytime I feel like it. I have two places to live; a dorm and a house. I have the opportunity to use makeup to make myself look "extra" good, whereas many people in other countries do not even have enough clothes. The Bible says God is able to do exceedingly and abundantly more than we could ask or think, and I have that, much thanks to America and to God. And what did I do all of high-school? I whined that people didn't treat me the way I wanted, whined that I couldn't buy everything I wanted, whined that I wasn't pretty enough, and whined that my cellphone didn't hook up to the internet fast enough. The fact that I even spent time thinking about those things makes me a whole lot richer than a very significant percent of the world.

So what does it mean to be American? Or at least, an average American teenager?
To have much... and expect more.

How to Begin

by: Caitlin

When first asked to come up with an American cultural immersion experience in my Intercultural Communication course, my mind went blank.

The point of the exercise was to recreate a cultural experience for the benefit of the Chinese international students that made up the remaining half of the class. As our group began to explore different options for a “cultural American experience” for the Chinese students to participate in, we found ourselves drawn to American holidays. Easter-egg hunts, opening presents on Christmas Day, setting off fire-works on the Fourth of July, and passing out Valentine’s Day cards all immediately came to the forefront of our discussions.

We finally landed on the idea of a BBQ Fourth of July celebration, complete with flag-printed napkins, hot dogs, potato chips, and sparklers, and to top it all off, we blasted patriotic music from the overhead speakers. As the international students cautiously entered the room, they began to ask questions about this particular tradition in American culture. Our only point of relation came through their celebration of the Chinese New Year.

As the remaining American students filed into the room, they started laughing and cheering with the sounds of “Proud to be an American” filling the air, and a small projector flashing American flags and fire-works on the wall.

The topic of conversation then took a different turn: “This is the essence of America: food, more food, and the American flag,” yelled one student. As all the Americans joined in laughing at the sarcastic remark, the Chinese students remained quiet; looking down or off into the distance.

Despite its obvious joking nature, this comment raises some serious questions. Is our internal definition of American Culture flawed? Is it even existent? Does it revolve around materialism and consumerism? How do external definitions of American Culture contrast with our own?

I feel like all of these questions are of great importance and are longing to be answered. Now... how do we begin?