People sometimes take for granted what it means to be proud to be an American and all that it stands for, some people have those freedoms taken away from them unwillingly as a result. For others, embracing the concept of being a proud American is what their life revolves around and they live every single day appreciating it. There are several reasons to be proud of being an American, having the right to complain about lousy service at a restaurant, the right to an attorney (whether you can afford one or not) the right to your own opinion about life and its little marry-go-rounds scenarios. Being an American is a lot like a mosaic drawing, at first the drawing does not appear to form anything because of the different patterns of unique colors. Examples of this comes in the form of an American family that takes care of one another, they face whatever hardship comes their way in the form of assistance from close friends. They lean on, and draw their strength from those closest to them in order to help live a more harmonious life, people teaching people to not be ashamed of standing on their principles and realize their potential. Combined, these form the perfect mosaic masterpiece for being a proud American. With that said, there are 4 moments in my life that made me proud to be an American.
Moment #1
A particular moment in my life that made me proud to be an American came in the form of when I got my first apartment, and it was mine alone. I had the option to invite other people to move in to help with the rent, but I chose not to have anyone else living with me because I love the solitude and silence. Scary enough, I did not object to the extra $325 a month for rent for living alone, it made me proud to be an American living in my own place because I had options that other people did not have and to be able to exercise those options made me feel exalted. According to the article titled Core American Values, the article states this, material comfort-refers to pursuit of wealth and comfort. Each generation tries to improve its relative wealth and comfort. Simply, this is an aspect of our proud American culture that I did not ever take for granted because as I well know, what times gives, time can take away. Being a practical homeowner made me proud to be an American, I have friends who were put on a waiting list to get an apartment which is lucky for me because I did not have to wait at all.
Moment #2
The second moment in my life that made me proud to be an American is the options that I had after I graduated high school, I could go to college or I could get a job or I could even take a few years off to decide what I want to do with the rest of my life. I did not have to rush to make a decision that would affect the rest of my life. For some, they are told automatically that after they graduate high school, they have to go to college otherwise their entire future will be torn asunder and I am happy I never had that kind of pressure. Making a decision about the rest of your life is a very difficult thing to do because there is a lot of trial and error, and the worst case scenario, you could end up doing something that makes you unhappy. I have never been subjected to that, and for that I am proud to be an American because of the choices I get to make for myself. According to the article titled Core American Values in the Declaration of Independence: Compared to what we really have, the article states this, being a proud American means living their values and laws. Simply, a person has the human right to live how they want to live without pressure from other people about how to live. Incidentally, people are everyday victims of threats pertaining to a rushed life choice that they never wanted to make, some want to enjoy their life instead of being told how to live it; freedom is the ultimate goal.
Moment #3
I have always had an open mind about many things that most people would not even give a second thought or open their mind up to, and it makes me feel good that I have a higher level of understanding about most things; even sensitive things. Being able to believe the things I want to as well as offer a different perspective on certain things is what makes me proud to be an American. There are some people who are having their “voices” snuffed out by people who do not value their human rights as the free spirits do, and it has caused people to adopt an us vs. them attitude about certain things. Supporting gay marriage falls right in line with being proud to be an American because even though I would never do it myself, it makes me proud to support friends that I consider family that are gay and married to a same sex partner. We live in a world where the aforementioned topic is all, but talked about openly because of people who are ashamed of people who went that way. According to the article titled, Core values unite Americans, despite divisions, the article states the following, Freedom is being left alone to do what I want, Freedom is being able to express unpopular ideas without fearing for my safety. A person who openly admits that they support gay marriage should get a pat on the back because they are exercising their right to believe what they want, and do what they want which is ironically, the backbone of our entire country. People in other countries have no say about anything they want or get, they are just given ultimatums about what they should do, we take our human rights for granted and it is sad. People are often shutdown because they are thinking outside the box, and for those who conform, this bothers them because they do not have the guts to think for themselves. It is easy to be told what to think, and how wrong or right something is, but the real accomplishment is being able to break that conformity spell, and think for yourself.
Like the saying goes, those who spend their lives following others will never lead; it’s a fact!
Final Moment
When I was 24 years old, I decided to stop going to church because I no longer believed in what I was being horse-fed about religion and the things that encumbered it. For example, being told what to think about some things including the very things that I chose to champion for because they meant a lot to me; still do to this day. Interesting enough, this particular feeling has been on my mind since I was 15, and of course, I felt like I could not do anything about it then because my feelings were something that I could not act on nor could I on my instincts. This is the final moment in my life that made me proud to be an American, being able to do what I wanted to do when I got old enough to do so instead of being told what to do or why I should stay in the church. In the present day, I am an agnostic/atheist. I do not believe in God, I only believe in me. The freedom to be able to worship me and not some non-existent ethereal figure is what makes me proud to live upon this land. In a big way, I have always felt forced into religion because of my family, and what they were brought up to believe; starting with my Mom and Dad. Worshipping a quote unquote powerful figure should not be a choice that is forced down a person’s throat because that is what their parents were brought up to believe. Following this, it made me feel really independent of everyone else because I wanted to explore life outside of religion instead of being told what to believe. After a little while, I was consistently persuaded by a couple of friends about their religion, turning to their side as it were. I humbly turned them down which made me proud too because I am not a person who is persuaded to join a side just because everyone else is. According to the article titled American Values, the article states this, capitalism and strength has made America great, but they have generated their own set of inequalities. (Reel). These 4 moments have made me proud to be an American because being an American means that I can be me, and that is important.
Work Cited Page
Williams, Robin. "Core American Values." . Off Campus Learning, 1 Jan. 2014. Web. 13 May 2014. <http://www.ksd.org/programs/OCL/classrooms/Ha%20Classroom/Core%20Values.aspx>.
Herman, Carl . "Core American values in the Declaration of Independence: compare to what we really have." . N.p., 8 Sept. 2009. Web. 13 May 2014. <http://www.examiner.com/article/core-american-values-the-declaration-of-independence-compare-to-what-we-really-have>.
"Core values unite Americans, despite divisions." . Phys,Org, 26 Aug. 2010. Web. 13 May 2014. <http://phys.org/news202053923.html>.
Reel, Guy. "American Values." . Common Dreams.org, 20 Apr. 2005. Web. 13 Apr. 2014. <http://www.commondreams.org/views05/0420-20.htm>.
