by Timothy Birdnow

What does it mean to be an American?

This question is asked often and rarely answered correctly. Few understand what the question even means in post-modern America, yet there it is, like the jagged edge of a broken tooth, endlessly bothering us. Ask an Indian and he will tell you HE is an American, the first and most authentic. Ask a blue blood and he will tell you he is the true American because his were the first civilized people to come. A black man claims to have some sort of ancestral connection, too, and will claim the work of his slave ancestor made this country and so HE is the real American. The Latino will claim first Spain then Mexico owned much of the land long ago and this makes them the true American. The Irishman, the German, the Italian, the Jew, the Protestant, the Catholic, all will tell you they are the authentic American and the other is a cheap knock off.

They would all be wrong.

What does it mean to be an American?

Is it enough to have been born here? Is Americanism some quality imparted by having drawn your first breath inside the geographical boundaries of the United States?

That too is wrong. America is so much more than a place, a location. It is not just a relationship of convenience. Those who push the notion of birthright citizenship as making "Americans" may as well say a child born in water is an amphibian; it just doesn't make all that much difference whether the child is born in a hospital bed or a swimming pool.

What does it mean to be an American?

Is it enough to be rich and live better than the rest of the world? Is that the operative definition?

No.

Is it enough to say we speak English? Many people speak English, the British having a prior claim.

Is it that we have a republican form of government? That our was born in a military revolution? That our people are industrious, or inventive?

Again, no.

Some say America is whatever we want it to be; that would be poppycock. America was not and is not a chimera. It has a definite existence, a real, concrete reality. But what is it? If one wanders these United States one hears many definitions yet few are accurate or give a true picture. This is especially true of academics who understand a whole lot of things that just aren't so.

America is more than place, more than a state of mind, more than a collection of people. It is a concept that was unknown to the world prior to her formation. America was a novel idea, that people could associate freely and run their own lives in peace. They could be free to worship in the manner they see fit. They could find suitable employment in a manner they see fit. They can associate with whosoever they choose, say whatsoever they think, and yet all the while they were to be guided by a higher law, one ordained by God. America was not just anarchy or libertinism, the fruits of other philosophical systems that would be tried in other nations. It was a place where we were free to do what we ought, not whatsoever we desire. America is a solution to a terrible, age old dilemma; how to balance freedom with social order. Most civilizations fail at that, either descending into anarchy or becoming despotic. Both of those solutions wind up being the only one available because people ultimately can not or will not govern themselves properly. America was fundamentally different, because she imposed a standard of morality that came from the Bible while allowing the individual the freedom to make his or her own choices. As has been attributed (misattributed, probably) to Alexis de Tocqueville "America is great because America is good." That pretty much sums up the heart and soul of Americanism; America is a place where government is more of a helper than a ruler, and that because Americans have accepted the most basic duty, that of self-government. Every American is his own President, his own Congress, his own Supreme Court. The first and foremost legislative act is the one chosen by our citizens to rule over themselves with the guidance of the Great Immortal God.

That is ultimately what it means to be an American. All of the rest of the American experience - the wealth, the opportunity, the comfort and ease, stem from this simple idea.

It is what gave America a sense of community, because with self control comes amicable relations with others. It is what makes Americans the most charitable people on Earth; with self control comes control of greed, of selfishness, which leads to a desire to help others and (if it should come to it) to be helped by others. It is what gives America purpose. It's what makes us belong.

In short, Americans own themselves. This was a startling idea when it was first conceived, for it was always believed the individual was the property of others. He was a member of a tribe, or a city, or a state. He was the worker who served the great lord. He was always under obligation to others. America broke that, making the individual his own master.

Liberals will denounce this as "laissez Faire capitalism" or "selfishness" and will argue that this leads to atomization and alienation. But did it? Communities were stronger in America than in most parts of the world, and that because a person who is his own overlord need not fight for status. And the man who owns himself is then responsible for his own thoughts and actions.

THIS is what it means to be an American.

Many have come to these shores over the years with a gross misunderstanding of that fundamental worldview, and our nation has suffered under it. The Irish and Italian mobsters came here thinking America was just another old world country. They operated in the fashion of the old country, where men seek e3ternal dominance over their brethren and wealth is something to be seized, not created. Truly free men create wealth as they create happiness and decency. Those who are enslaved or fighting not to be take it.

And so did the many eastern Europeans who came here, from Russia, from Poland and Romania and the Balkans. They came and brought with them alien concepts like socialism and revolution, which some have passed along to their children. America is now in crisis because she has forgotten who she is, and that is in no small part because many came here but never understood it. Barack Obama, despite being born here, is a prime example, having been raised abroad and tutored by radicals. HE never saw America! As a result, he thinks America is a bad place, an unjust, uncaring hellhole. It is not so, but what doses Obama know? He never walked the byways and country roads, never met the people in the small towns and on the farms. He never SAW America. And this is true of most liberals, who live in their intellectual bubbles and never leave the narrow confines of their academic counting houses.

Freedom, liberty, justice for all - these are all aspects of America, but in the end they are but manifestations of the real heart of America, a place where God rules in the souls of men and men rule their passions and bodies. Truth is important to America because without it our Congress-of-one cannot make informed choices. Freedom is important because without it we cannot build the proper character in ourselves, Justice is important lest we turn from magistrates to tyrants.

Jean Jacques Rousseau believed that society should be driven by a Collective Will, and he believed freedom was to surrender one's own will to the majority. That has been the thinking of people in Europe for some time, and many Americans believe that now, too. But in the end, he is wrong, and America's success proves it. In Star Trek; the Wrath of Khan Spock is fond of a Vulcan saying "the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few". Vulcan, it should be pointed out, is overshadowed by the Earth people in the Federation, who are apparently much better suited to exploration and advancement. After Spock's death and resurrection, he asks why Kirk did so much for his friend and was told "because sometimes the needs of the few outweigh the needs of the many". That is the essence of America.

We are all precious, like extremely rare diamonds or black pearls. Our uniqueness and our special relationship to God is what is celebrated and nurtured in America, and if God sees us as priceless and grants us free will who are we to disagree? America celebrates this, and promotes it. We are not cogs in a machine.

Sadly, many wish we were.

So, I ask one final time - What does it mean to be an American?

It means to be a child of God, and to act like it!

Posted by: Timothy Birdnow at 11:14 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
Post contains 1537 words, total size 9 kb.