Reflection+on+American+Pride-

This is my last page of the museum, and, in my opinion, is the final piece to the American character. Americans feel a strong sense of pride and loyalty to their country. At this point, you have seen the other three museum pages regarding altruism, the American greed, and racism within America. These are three prominent aspects of our character, but the last characteristic, the American pride, is incredibly profound. Americans do have pride in their country. At the beginning of the year, I felt that Americans were shameful of their country. When I wrote my first paper on what I felt that American character was, I wrote of the embarrassment and shame people felt. I strayed away from this sense of pride because I felt that it had been lost. My opinion and views have changed. This original theory may have stemmed partly from the failures we have witnessed these past 8 years, but it all feels different now. I didn't address this change much in my final paper, but I feel like this is my chance now to point out another strong characteristic of ours. A major part of our character is the pride that we feel for our country. We are proud to be Americans. There is poetry, images, songs, and videos to prove that our country's people are incredibly patriotic. You can see if every day just at the sight of a flag or in the colors red, white, and blue. People are proud to be Americans. We are a great country. Everyday, people sneak into this country illegally just to become apart of the special nation we are. We offer opportunity, prosperity, hope, and freedom. Liberty is not a privilege, but a right. Americans are proud of this nation and the values that it stands for. The video that I shared on my museum wall about a man cutting down a Mexican flag is outrageous and inappropriate behavior, but it shows the pride that people in our country possess. He was not bashing Mexico, but was just trying to protect and defend his country when he thought it was being insulted. He wanted to honor the flag. We didn't talk much this year about the overwhelming sense of pride this country feels, but it is there and it is more alive than ever. Especially after the election of President Barack Obama people feel even more pride for their nation. This pride didn't appear over night, though. It might have been diminished a bit in the past years due to some choices that our government made and the reputation of our nation, but it was never gone. It's stronger than ever now. I remember in 2001, after the terrorist attacks of 9-11, the entire country rallied together. You could just see the support for the nation and the pride that people had for America. Everywhere you looked you would see a flag. They'd be hanging on poles, off of buildings, and in front of houses. There were stickers on cars, windows, and classrooms. There was a strong sense of patriotism within the nation. Regardless of who you knew or where you lived, every single America felt sorrow on that tragic day. Yet, "what doesn't kill you only makes you stronger" and American citizens are the perfect example. People united after 9-11 and Americans joined together in support for their nation. This is just a particular moment when America's collective spirit shone so brightly, but there has always been this spirit. America went through a revolution to end up where we are today. We had to fight for our freedom, and people value and honor this. There is a deep pride for those who serve to protect this country, but also for regular Americans. America is loved by its citizens, and people wish to honor it.