Journal #1

My definition of American Identity is someone that exuberates patriotism and love of their country. Well, my definition used to be that. I read Langston Hughes’ Let America be America Again. This is an extremely powerful definition of what he and most people think America is/should be. I believe that America is the home of the brave, the land of the free, the place where people live the American Dream. After reading Hughes’ poem, I realized that although this is mine and others definition of the American Identity, this does not apply to all. He states that though we all think that America is everyone’s, it is not. What about the poor people, and the people discriminated against. To me, being American should mean being proud of your country, no matter what they do, loving every person that lives here no matter what they look like, and supporting everything that the country does, whether you like it or not. But I realize that most people don’t believe in this, or even live by this. I find myself sometimes steering off this path. But in order to be an American and truly call yourself one, you have to love America, everything included. I think that Hughes was right when he said that “It never was America to me”. To be American, we all must make the effort. My new definition of being American would be loving everything about America, whether it’s right or wrong.