Avila_America+5

My inspiration for creating this page was not President Barack Obama, but rather Nathaniel Hawthorne and Alexis de Tocqueville.

My alternate title for this page was America: Our Problem. This, as such, is what I believe represents the nature by which American citizens, like yourself or myself, are governed. I think the title America: Our Problem, makes people snap to the opportunity to oppose such a title. The purpose to creating such a title was not only to be thought provoking but also to think about how this problem is not one of individual concern but rather a collective issue.

I chose to focus on President Barack Obama to focus on this values, and question what makes him American. Regardless as to whether it was through a media source, or by word of mouth, I’ve developed as an American with the understanding that President Barack Obama was nothing BUT the true American. Connecting with everyday people through inspiring ways, I felt a connection between this character and my own.

This class has made me think of exactly WHAT causes this to occur. Why should I be with the understanding that everyone who wasn’t Barak Obama was not American? I was frustrated, and embarrassed that our society had created a position that allowed one person to represent the whole. I was frustrated with the fact that uniqueness and diversity were being understood on an entirely new level.

President Barack Obama can into question early on in my research of what it means to be American.

I thus began a journey to understand the following subjects more clearly. Below are some quotes from my papers early on in the year.

Freedom “Being American means being allowed a restricted freedom...a freedom that defines our nation as a democratic republic designed to represented the people....America’s greatest strength is our freedom of choice...something that groups of people in America have had to fight for and are still fighting for.”

Rights "These qualities are fighting for your rights until you get them, expressing your self for what you love, and even being influenced from the social media. These are qualities that seem to define an American."

Our Guilty Past "Due to terrible times in history, such as slavery and segregation people such as my grandfather were not able to always enjoy life in America. But it was horrific times like these, which developed our nation…our society is currently plagued with guilt. This is a huge issue that I believe will only continue to grow over time unless a major change in society is made."

Opportunity "As Americans, we are given the privilege of having rights that so many still lack in other parts of our world today...[but] this does not mean that all opportunities, such as those imagined in the American Dream, are accessible to each and every citizen…Our American Literature class has understood that these opportunities...were created by our ancestors who sailed to the shores of the New World and [are] simply a myth for many."

Our American...Identity? "...the feeling of individuality, comfort and safety is foreign to many in this country [and] it seems that no matter the struggles of Americans, the words that form the conclusion to the American national anthem, “ the land of the free and the home of the brave,” unify Americans as a people who possess not just constitutional rights, but the ever-present personal right to seek self-fulfillment, self-expression, and their own brand of happiness."

So then I asked myself the question: Who am I?

I guess my question for you, if you choose to respond to this page, is help me answer the question of what makes Barack Obama the ultimate American and, as an American yourself, who are you and what defines your own values?

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