What is an American?

            When you think of Americans, you might think of freedom and bald eagles and all other kinds of patriotic stuff. You might also think of gun-toting, overweight, rednecks but whatever. Many people also regard being American as its own ethnicity, but when you really think about it, America is a massive hub of immigrants, some of whom barely care for or understand what’s supposed to be American culture. So then we come to the question, what really is an American?
            Well in my opinion, an American is anyone who acknowledges and appreciates their way of life here in this country, regardless of what color their skin is, how much money they have, or where they came from. Our constitution states that the only thing we have to do to be seen as an American is to take a simple test about the country, and that’s it. With that in mind, it’s much more un-American to judge others based on their roots than them being here.

            Seeing how it is our constitutional right to be acknowledged as an American citizen, it seems easy enough to become one. But what about the people who are already living here? What makes them consider themselves more American than whatever place they came from? While I understand that some people would rather to keep close to their heritage and traditions than adopt American ones, I also think that people who embrace so called American culture are prevalent enough to warrant a side in this debate.

            So when we get down to it; what is an American? To me, being an American just means that this is where you live and where you can call home. You can practice whatever you want, no matter where you are from, and I would still consider it American.