What Makes You American?

B_NineInchCock_160IQ

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We live in a consumerist culture. In some ways I agree with Dee, but nobody was arguing that the ubiquity of American culture necessarily made it better, just that it is proof of its existence. I DO happen to think that the fact that a modern consumerist culture trickles down and includes all people in all levels of society is a positive thing. Even the poorest trailer park resident can enjoy a cheap comic book, a pirated mp3 from their favorite band, or a subscription to Reader's Digest. You can visit the National Gallery in Washington free of charge and taking in a matinee at the theater is within most people's budget. Though there were traditionally distinctions between "high culture" and "low culture"... based mostly on what you could afford... those have more or less disappeared, even though people continue to try and be snooty about what constitutes real or mentally elevated culture.

Also, though there is this definition of culture:
"the quality in a person or society that arises from a concern for what is regarded as excellent in arts, letters, manners, scholarly pursuits, etc."

I much prefer the anthropological definition of culture:
"the sum total of ways of living built up by a group of human beings and transmitted from one generation to another."
just because it doesn't lend itself so well to pretentiousness and is far more objective.
 

camper joe

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I am an eleventh generation American, my father's family immigrated to American in 1763, from Germany. I am not sure when my mother's family arrived from Ireland. But I do know they have been here at least 8 generations. It is my families desire for a better lives along with their struggles and heartaches, that make me an American.
 

BIGBULL29

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We live in a consumerist culture. In some ways I agree with Dee, but nobody was arguing that the ubiquity of American culture necessarily made it better, just that it is proof of its existence. I DO happen to think that the fact that a modern consumerist culture trickles down and includes all people in all levels of society is a positive thing. Even the poorest trailer park resident can enjoy a cheap comic book, a pirated mp3 from their favorite band, or a subscription to Reader's Digest. You can visit the National Gallery in Washington free of charge and taking in a matinee at the theater is within most people's budget. Though there were traditionally distinctions between "high culture" and "low culture"... based mostly on what you could afford... those have more or less disappeared, even though people continue to try and be snooty about what constitutes real or mentally elevated culture.

Also, though there is this definition of culture:
"the quality in a person or society that arises from a concern for what is regarded as excellent in arts, letters, manners, scholarly pursuits, etc."

I much prefer the anthropological definition of culture:
"the sum total of ways of living built up by a group of human beings and transmitted from one generation to another."
just because it doesn't lend itself so well to pretentiousness and is far more objective.

Consumerism cheapens the value of a human being. It says: I am only what I buy. It's a nauseating "-ism", reducing a person to his purchasing abilities.:mad: Is that the only virtue of a human being?
 

B_NineInchCock_160IQ

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Consumerism cheapens the value of a human being. It says: I am only what I buy. It's a nauseating "-ism", reducing a person to his purchasing abilities.:mad: Is that the only virtue of a human being?

It's what the corporations certainly want you to believe. The notion or illusion of the "commodity self."

Not everyone buys into it. America also spawned Chuck Palahniuk, author of "Fight Club."
 

jason_els

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For a long time I believed what was taught to me by my grandmother. She is a prideful yet practical woman, loving of the finer things though still a farm girl at heart. She is proud of many things but nothing more than her family. She had drilled into me just who my ancestors were and why I should be proud of them. To her, their history in this country is what makes her American. This seemed reasonable to me.

The older I get, the more interesting all things become. One ancestor sentenced another unrelated ancestor to death for witchcraft. A few ancestors fought in the Revolution, but also a few were loyalists. Some owned slaves, some fought Indians, others became such friends with Indians that their homes were safe from attack in King Philip's and the French and Indian wars. Two families arrived on Mayflower and one young man of 16, William Harlow, appeared in Plymouth out of nowhere! Going back to Europe I have some ancestors who were saints and kings, some who were bastards, some who were traitors, others outright tyrants like Erik Blood Axe (now there's a family name I should resurrect) who killed three of his brothers to ascend the throne of Norway over 1100 years ago. Ancestry like this isn't remotely unusual for most Americans, but what is unusual is that it is so well documented and that I know about it. Such is the privilege of being able to afford full time genealogists.

Their stories astound me. My eighth g. grandmother led a party of workmen, some hired Indians, together with a household's worth of goods and livestock and sailed from Staten Island to Orange county, New York to settle a patent. She was the first white woman to live in the county and she did it all at the age of 16 and without a husband. Her name was Sarah Wells.

My sixth g. grandmother fought at Forty Fort, manning a cannon when her husband fell in battle. She survived the massacre by playing dead and later refugeed here to Orange county where she met her new husband and stayed. Her name was Adeline Terry.

Richard Smith, my seventh g. grandfather supposedly made a deal with the Indians of Long Island that he would be given all the land which he could encircle in one day while riding a bull. Being wily, Smith waited for the summer solstice and then rode from dawn to dusk on the bull, stopped for lunch, and the resulting area became Smithtown, NY.

To me, this was impressive stuff. It gave me the impression that, "I was here first." I felt lordly, aristocratic, and (frankly) better than everyone else who couldn't match my pedigree.

So large and full is the ship of fools that it can be difficult to know you're even a passenger.

As I grew, my horizons broadened, my thought processes became more independent, and I began to read voraciously about the Voltaire, the Enlightenment, and the founding of the country. Travel made me meet people from all over the country, see and experience new things, and think new thoughts.

Today I count myself as an American not by virtue of birth or pedigree, but by the ineluctable conclusion that Americans are united by hope. The ennui of the old world has no place here. Our ancestors surrendered their lives as they knew them, took leave of family they knew they would never see or perhaps even contact ever again, and journeyed out to the New World in hope that they would be free to be who they wanted and live how they wanted. Hardship was in inexhaustible supply yet they stayed. Some prospered, others met with ruination.

If Americans believe they live in the greatest country in the world then it is because their parents and ancestors from the old world tell them so. Always we are told how lucky we are to live here, how much was sacrificed to come here to make a better life, how no other nation offers so many freedoms.

An American carries that hope everywhere, even her deepest native critics make their criticisms in hope to change the inequities they see in the American systems of society. If there is no hope, then why else would they bother? Though it's been said before, Americans are optimists even at our most pessimistic. We attempt to always change the status quo to something that better suits what we wish our country to be. We are a nation of nationalities, a United Nations of people with little relation to each other beyond the single ideal that America is a slate always capable of being erased and redrawn; we compete with each other, sometimes winning, sometimes losing, occasionally uniting and then only in tragedy.

We are not a monolithic culture. We are not Disneyland, we are not Las Vegas, we are not Madonna nor Nike nor McDonald's. To see us singularly by our commerce is to see only obliquely and I think that's no mistake. We do not offer just one culture, but many. American culture is syncretic, ineffable in execution yet pervasive in effect. Despite what the Finnish gentleman says, America has contributed enormously to all the arts, on occasion creating whole new genres that find world-wide popularity. No single cultural achievement is the product of the nation as a whole, only of a single part of the nation. Perhaps that is why, when those outside America seek a single definition of it, they are left only with considering her government and her business.

I dearly love our constitution, consider it a brilliant piece of work, think it should only be tampered with on the most gravest of occasions. If anything binds us it is that one thing though I believe most Americans would cite the flag, our alleged shared history, or Judeo-Christian ethics.

People around the world still come here flat broke, legally or illegally. Some come with skills and knowledge of immense value, others with nothing more than their two hands and a strong back. We are a place to dream of, to flee to, to visit, to become rich, to practice faith without persecution. America is a place as much to be enjoyed as exploited. Other countries are more prosperous, have more freedoms, have fewer problems, yet America still stands, even if tarnished of late, as place where hope reigns above all other things.

Far smarter men and women than I have had a say in their views of America. I've selected a few to share to prove that the opinions of America are as varied as the nation itself.

------------------------------------------------------

“The American lives even more for his goals, for the future, than the European. Life for him is always becoming, never being.” ~Albert Einstein

America, you know, they always separate people because of race. They've been able to convince, 'The niggers are coming.' You know, the diversity that America has is so special. It's starting to really become a cool thing for young people. Not only because there are more mixes of people, but because people are more open-minded about each other. So I think in the future, America has a great, great opportunity, and mostly because of hip-hop. ~Russell Simmons

America is the most grandiose experiment the world has seen, but, I am afraid, it is not going to be a success. ~Sigmund Freud

They made us many promises, more than I can remember, but they kept only one; they promised to take our land, and they did. ~Red Cloud

Perhaps, after all, America never has been discovered. I myself would say that it had merely been detected. ~Oscar Wilde

Sitting at the table doesn't make you a diner, unless you eat some of what's on that plate. Being here in America doesn't make you an American. Being born here in America doesn't make you an American. ~Malcolm X

We on this continent should never forget that men first crossed the Atlantic not to find soil for their ploughs but to secure liberty for their souls. ~Robert J. McCracken

America is a large friendly dog in a small room. Every time it wags its tail it knocks over a chair. ~Arnold Toynbee

There is nothing the matter with Americans except their ideals. The real American is all right; it is the ideal American who is all wrong. ~G.K. Chesterton

If America ever passes out as a great nation, we ought to put on our tombstone: America died from a delusion she had Moral Leadership. ~Will Rogers

The great social adventure of America is no longer the conquest of the wilderness but the absorption of fifty different peoples. ~Walter Lippman

America is the only nation in history which miraculously has gone directly from barbarism to degeneration without the usual interval of civilization. ~Georges Clemenceau

What is the essence of America? Finding and maintaining that perfect, delicate balance between freedom "to" and freedom "from." ~Marilyn vos Savant

--------------------------------------------------------------

America is so vast that almost everything said about it is likely to be true, and the opposite is probably equally true. ~James T. Farrell
 

D_Martin van Burden

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Consumerism cheapens the value of a human being. It says: I am only what I buy. It's a nauseating "-ism", reducing a person to his purchasing abilities.:mad: Is that the only virtue of a human being?

Holy SHIT! Big Bull didn't make one. single. reference to his cock! :biggrin1: Other than that, dude, I think you nailed it.
 

MidwestGal

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great post Jason. I love hearing genealogy stories and about others learning or wanting to learn their family roots. We all have relatives in the past that did some devious things and others who do wonderful things.

One reason I keep up with the genealogy is that I feel it is important for my son to know where he came from and that he should be proud of his ancestors for the sacrifces they made to give us the freedoms, many take for granted today.

Hell, I have a garage full of glass negatives taken when my family settled this county, horse hair trunk, lead plate that was used to make bullets during the revolutionary war, old glasses, bibles, furnature that will be mine one day. I was taught from a very young age to respect your elders and when they are telling stories to listen.

One of my favorite people to visit with is my 94 year old backyard neighbor. He mother lived with her and died at the age of 106. I learned a great deal about the town I live in and the customs back in their days. These people are a wealth of information and it would be wise for the young to treat them with the respect they deserve!

I can trace all my lines back to the 1400's, I haven't done anywork on it in the last two years but I plan on starting again since it's right outside where I am staying right now.
 

KagomJack

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This is a very fun question and the answer can vary so much to a point that it's almost not even funny.

What do I think makes a person American? Dunno, really. I say someone who is proud to be a citizen of this country, a patriot who doesn't blindly follow what goes on, someone who believes in the American Constitution.

Tough question, really, one I've never given thought to before.
 

Not_Punny

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You can flame me all you like, but from a very personal POV, whilst the US has the death penalty and uses it, it will remain a barbaric culture and not one to which I would wish to belong.

Oh, DW -- you know I love you dearly, but Brits didn't end Capital punishment until 1965 -- and didn't REALLY stop until 1998 -- a mere nine years ago.

According to Wikipedia, there were rather a lot of British capital deaths...

Quote:

Under the reign of Henry VIII some 72,000 people are estimated to have been executed by various methods including boiling, burning at the stake, beheading and hanging with perhaps the added punishment of drawing and quartering.

Sir Samuel Romilly speaking to the House of Commons on capital punishment in 1810, declared that "..[there is] no country on the face of the earth in which there [have] been so many different offences according to law to be punished with death as in England." Known as the "Bloody Code", at its height some 220 different crimes were punishable by death. These crimes included such offences as "being in the company of Gypsies for one month", "strong evidence of malice in a child aged 7&#8211;14 years of age" and "blacking the face or using a disguise whilst committing a crime". Many of these offences had been introduced to protect the property of the wealthy classes that emerged during the first half of the eighteenth century; a notable example being the Black Act of 1723 which created fifty capital offences for various acts of theft and poaching.

Whilst executions for murder, burglary and robbery were common, the death sentences of minor offenders were often not carried out. However, children were commonly executed for such minor crimes as stealing. A sentence of death could be commuted or respited (permanently postponed) for reasons such as benefit of clergy, official pardons, pregnancy of the offender or performance of military or naval duty. Many believed the situation to be a farce. Between 1770 and 1830, 35,000 were condemned to death in England and Wales but only 7,000 executions were carried out.

Unquote

As a comparison, since the first establishment of the colonies in America in the early 1600s, fewer than 16,000 people have been executed in America TOTAL.
 

Not_Punny

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Sorry about that segue, Earlogjam -- I went to school in England and am more than a bit familiar with Brit history. (I have a hard time letting things pass)

-- - - -

Back to the topic: Good postings, NIC and Jason!!
 

BIGBULL29

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We are not a monolithic culture. We are not Disneyland, we are not Las Vegas, we are not Madonna nor Nike nor McDonald's. To see us singularly by our commerce is to see only obliquely and I think that's no mistake. We do not offer just one culture, but many. American culture is syncretic, ineffable in execution yet pervasive in effect. Despite what the Finnish gentleman says, America has contributed enormously to all the arts, on occasion creating whole new genres that find world-wide popularity. No single cultural achievement is the product of the nation as a whole, only of a single part of the nation. Perhaps that is why, when those outside America seek a single definition of it, they are left only with considering her government and her business.

Fabulous post overall!

What I quoted above really is something I always thought, but never could put into words.

I'm highly impressed with this. :arms:
 

BIGBULL29

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Oh, DW -- you know I love you dearly, but Brits didn't end Capital punishment until 1965 -- and didn't REALLY stop until 1998 -- a mere nine years ago.

According to Wikipedia, there were rather a lot of British capital deaths...

Quote:

Under the reign of Henry VIII some 72,000 people are estimated to have been executed by various methods including boiling, burning at the stake, beheading and hanging with perhaps the added punishment of drawing and quartering.

Sir Samuel Romilly speaking to the House of Commons on capital punishment in 1810, declared that "..[there is] no country on the face of the earth in which there [have] been so many different offences according to law to be punished with death as in England." Known as the "Bloody Code", at its height some 220 different crimes were punishable by death. These crimes included such offences as "being in the company of Gypsies for one month", "strong evidence of malice in a child aged 7–14 years of age" and "blacking the face or using a disguise whilst committing a crime". Many of these offences had been introduced to protect the property of the wealthy classes that emerged during the first half of the eighteenth century; a notable example being the Black Act of 1723 which created fifty capital offences for various acts of theft and poaching.

Whilst executions for murder, burglary and robbery were common, the death sentences of minor offenders were often not carried out. However, children were commonly executed for such minor crimes as stealing. A sentence of death could be commuted or respited (permanently postponed) for reasons such as benefit of clergy, official pardons, pregnancy of the offender or performance of military or naval duty. Many believed the situation to be a farce. Between 1770 and 1830, 35,000 were condemned to death in England and Wales but only 7,000 executions were carried out.

Unquote

As a comparison, since the first establishment of the colonies in America in the early 1600s, fewer than 16,000 people have been executed in America TOTAL.

Driftwood needs to get his facts straight: Not every state of the United States has the death penalty. I think 36/50 states have it.

Barbaric? European history is about as barbaric as barbaric can be. It's only in the past 20 years that Europe has become more civilized. Even today, I'd rather be dead than go to a French prison. I'd also rather die than live as a Jew in modern day Europe.

Europe has a lot of jealously towards Americans because of our status in the world. Remember we don't choose our nationality and the language we speak. Also, you don't dislike a certain nationality because you disagree with its government. You don't viciously attack individual Americans because you don't like George Bush. The thinking à la mode for some Europeans: I hate all Americans because I hate American foreign policy and its president. That's what you call rationalized thinking at its finest.:rolleyes:
 

Drifterwood

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Oh, DW -- you know I love you dearly, but Brits didn't end Capital punishment until 1965 -- and didn't REALLY stop until 1998 -- a mere nine years ago.

According to Wikipedia, there were rather a lot of British capital deaths..

There hasn't been an execution in my lifetime.

Whatever the History, and we are pretty good at holding our hands up to it, the fact is that we do not have the death penalty and you do.

It is a sine qua non of being civilised to me. The UK clearly got itself civilised before I came along :biggrin1:

Incidentally, I don't think that it is correct to lump all Europeans into the same camp. I know what you mean about ennui, but as Einstein is quoted as saying above, it isn't such a bad thing simply to be sometimes.
 

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You mean it took the UK only 899 years to become civilized? :wink:

I think we'll see the end of the death penalty in the US within the next ten years or so if not sooner. There's a case before the supreme court which may well abolish lethal injection given some of the horror stories of botched executions. 236 years isn't too bad considering 899.

There hasn't been an execution in my lifetime.

Whatever the History, and we are pretty good at holding our hands up to it, the fact is that we do not have the death penalty and you do.

It is a sine qua non of being civilised to me. The UK clearly got itself civilised before I came along :biggrin1:

Incidentally, I don't think that it is correct to lump all Europeans into the same camp. I know what you mean about ennui, but as Einstein is quoted as saying above, it isn't such a bad thing simply to be sometimes.
 

Drifterwood

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Indeed Jason, it is easier to learn from other people's mistakes than your own.

PS - there are many uncivilised things about the UK, just that the death penalty isn't one of them anymore.
 

Mr. Snakey

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Besides being born in the USA what makes a person uniquely American?

I was had a conversation with a Finnish friend of mine over dinner last weekend and he scoffed at the idea of America actually having any semblance of culture. He said most Europeans generally think our "culture" is a joke. He surmised that nothing cultural held our country together and the love of money is the only thing that people have in common here. The only "culture" we have has been manufactured in the pursuit of wealth. He cited Las Vegas and Disneyland.

I had to think about this a while. But was wondering if you all had any thoughts on this. What do you think binds this country together?

I for one think there is a very strong American culture because something definitely happens to new immigrants here that makes them very different from the people they left behind. They become American.
If i had a friend ask me like yours the same question i would take it as an insult and would turn the tables on him and ask the same of him. In America we are a wonderfull melting pot of all races and cultures. I also think its time Europe get a life of their own