What Does it Mean to Be American?

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[09.06.2011]

There’s no question: Americans are committed, at least in theory, to principles of religious freedom, religious tolerance, and separation of church and state.  But putting those ideals into practice is a tricky enterprise, especially as more Americans are required to wrestle with the realities of living and working alongside people with a wide range of religious, ethnic and political backgrounds.

A new report, written jointly by the Public Religion Research Institute and the Brookings Institution and based on public opinion research conducted by PRRI, vividly illustrates just how delicate these issues can be.  For example, nearly 9-in-10 (88 percent) Americans agree that America was founded on the idea of religious freedom for everyone, including religious groups that are unpopular.  But Americans are also evenly divided over whether the values of Islam are at odds with American values and way of life (47 percent agree, 48 percent disagree).  Most report being comfortable with Muslims in a variety of settings, but many others still judge self-identified Christians and Muslims differently when they commit religiously based violence.

“Television news media also plays a powerful role in influencing views towards American Muslims,” explained Daniel Cox, PRRI research director. “Americans who say they most trust Fox News are significantly more likely to hold negative views about Islam and American Muslims.”

Similar tensions influence Americans’ attitudes toward immigrants.  The survey finds solid support for the basic tenets of the DREAM Act: allowing illegal immigrants brought to the U.S. as children to gain legal resident status if they join the military or go to college (57 percent favor, 40 percent oppose).  But nearly half (46 percent) of Americans agree that discrimination against whites has become as big a problem as discrimination against blacks and other minorities. A slim majority (51 percent) disagree.  This ambivalence may foreshadow difficulties in passing comprehensive immigration reform, despite the fact that a majority (53 percent) of Americans believe the growing number of newcomers emigrating from other countries strengthens American society.

The report reveals, in the words of E.J. Dionne, one of the report’s authors, that “this debate now has a strong partisan and ideological dimension, which it has not always had.”  The struggle for inclusion and acceptance of America’s newcomers is uneven and, it appears, increasingly divisive.

What does it mean to be American?  And how difficult will it be to forge an evolving national identity that includes people of varying ideologies and backgrounds as the country grows more and more heterogenous?  Read the report and tell us what you think.

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  • guy

    This is what I think it means to be American.

    What does it mean to be American? Some people think that you must be born in America to be American. Yet, Americans can be any person from an Arab immigrant to an undocumented immigrant child who comes to America in search of freedom and opportunity. To be a true American, one must reach certain, important, requirements such as being a citizen, living in America for ten years, and serving America.

    First of all, being a citizen is a essential to being an American because it completes one’s freedoms. One essential aspect of being a citizen is voting. Voting is important because one can be able to participate in a democracy. A second, important quality of being a citizen being able to get one and one’s family into Congress. Getting into Congress is significant because one can change America and it’s ways. A third, crucial factor is being able to get your family members into America. This is imperative because one can get their children from a different country to America. Or if both parents of a child is a citizen then the child automatically becomes a citizen. Although, applying to be a citizen may take time and money the venture is worth it because of all it’s advantages. To sum it all up, being a citizen is worth applying for because of all the benefits.

    Secondly, being in America for ten years is necessary because one can know and be familiar with America. One considerable element, of being in America is being able to meet cultures and religions because about a sprinkle of every nation has come to America. Meeting new and different cultures will amaze one because every culture and religion has something interesting. Another chief essence, is that one can get to be more familiar with America. Knowing America more will be prosperous when one comes to America because one will know how America works. Lastly, new technology comes to America before any other country because mainly all the spectacular inventions are usually invented in America such as the iphone and the computer. Overall, coming to America for ten years is important because of the help it gives.

    Perhaps, serving America is the most essential part of being an American because that’s what makes this country amazing. One example of a fabulous invention made by Alexander Graham Bell is the telephone. Alexander Graham Bell was a Scottish immigrant who had made the telephone for one of his students who was having trouble hearing. The second example of an amazing food is the hamburger. The hamburger was invented by Fletch Davis, an German immigrant. Lastly, the third example is a fun pastime is bowling. Bowling was invented by a Dutch immigrant. But perhaps the most essential immigrants are not the people who invented things like the telephone and bowling, but the immigrants who came to America with nothing but their backs and their determination.

    In conclusion, to qualify for being a pure American one must acquire specific, essential, requirements such as being a citizen, being in a America for ten years, and serving America. In the end, these things are what makes people true Americans. Some people think America is a free country, when slavery still goes on and freedom of speech is limited. Do you think America is truly a free country?