Camden Central High School
Camden, Tennessee
Teacher: Wanda Allen
Am I an American?
By Jesse Clifft
11th Grade
I
am
an
American.
Well,
at
least
I
think
I
am.
What
exactly
does
it
mean
to
be
an
American?
I
live
on
American
soil,
which
is
pretty
American.
I
like
to
eat
greasy
bacon
cheeseburgers
from
fast
food
restaurants.
That
sounds
relatively
American
to
me.
I
enjoy
watching
and
playing
(Insert
American
past
time
here).
That’s
definitely
a
check
on
the
“Am
I
an
American
List.”
I
speak
English
in
a
Tennessee
sort
of
way.
Does
all
of
that
make
me
American?
Yes,
in
a
stereotypical
way
it
does.
But
really
though,
I
think
what
it
is
and
what
it
means
to
be
an
American
goes
much
deeper
than
what
kind
of
food
you
eat
at
which
fast
food
restaurants,
much
deeper
than
our
favorite
American
past
times.
Maybe
even
speaking
the
main
language
of
the
land
fluently
is
not
so
important
anymore
due
to
what
Professor
Samuel
P.
Huntington
refers
to
as
the
Hispanization
of
America.
All
of
those
things
that
I
listed
[in
the]
above
paragraph
help
to
make
up
part
of
the
bigger
picture
of
what
it
is
to
be
an
American--
the
culture.
The
culture
of
America
is
incredibly
diverse
due
[to]
its
unique
history.
It
was
already
exciting
and
interesting
before
the
first
white
settlers
arrived
and
has
continued
to
expand
and
absorb
bits
and
pieces
of
the
cultures
of
the
immigrants
and
settlers
who
have
traveled
here
in
search
of
a
new
and
free
life
throughout
our
short
time
as
a
nation.
It
has
been
said
that
the
rate
of
recent
immigration,
both
illegal
and
legal
of
the
Hispanic
community
is
leading
to
a
sort
of
identity
crisis
in
America.
There
are
questions
of
whether
our
culture
or
theirs
is
the
more
dominant,
and
whether
or
not
we
will
end
up
as
a
multicultural
society.
I
think
that
we
must
be
a
multicultural
society
already.
If
we
aren’t,
then
I
don’t
know
what
we
are.
Back
to
the
point
though,
I
think
that
neither
of
them
will
take
over
enough
to
completely
push
out
the
other.
Of
course,
the
Hispanic
culture
that
they
bring
along
with
them
will
be
more
prominent
in
some
areas
just
as
Christianity
is
in
the
“Bible
Belt”,
as
Italian
culture
is
in
Little
Italy,
or
just
as
the
Chinese
culture
is
dominant
in
Chinatown.
But
no
matter
what
there
will
always
be
numerous
religions,
foods,
forms
of
music,
literature,
and
ideas
that
have
been
brought
here
from
almost
every
nation
to
be
found
at
every
turn,
even
in
the
smallest
of
towns
throughout
America.
Everyone
that
comes
here
and
every
ideal
that
they
bring
with
them
only
add
to
the
ever
growing
stew
pot
that
is
America.
The
freedoms
granted
to
us
by
The
Constitution
and
our
democratic
government
permit
us
to
practice
any
of
the
religions
found
here
without
fear
of
being
persecuted
for
our
beliefs.
We
can
aspire
for
any
profession…,
from
freely
owning
and
operating
a
small
business
in
our
free
enterprise
economy
with
the
government’s
laissez
faire
approach
to
businesses
(unless
you
make
it
a
monopoly,
then
you’re
just
taking
it
too
far),
to
calling
people
in
the
privacy
of
their
own
home
to
try
to
sell
them
laundry
detergent
AND
credit
cards.
We
can
do
just
about
anything
within
our
physical
limits
insofar
as
we
do
not
break
any
laws
or
jeopardize
the
safety
and
well-being
of
our
fellow
man.
These
rights
along
with
the
freedom
of
speech,
the
freedom
of
press,
the
right
to
bear
arms,
the
freedom
to
petition,
the
freedom
of
assembly,
and
several
more
are
ensured
to
us
because
of
our
American
citizenship.
We
are
the
land
of
the
free
and
I
take
pride
in
that,
as
every
citizen
in
America
should.
These
ideals
of
freedom
that
characterize
us
as
a
country
were
brought
about
when
we
broke
our
colonial
ties
from
Great
Britain,
then
they
were
set
in
stone
on
July
4,
1776.
What
our
forefathers
gave
to
us,
through
the
many
desperate
battles
of
that
war,
through
their
patriotism,
and
through
their
desire
and
dedication
to
preserve
the
ideals
that
are
the
basis
of
our
culture
and
creed
was
something
they
liked
to
call
“Life,
Liberty,
and
the
Pursuit
of
Happiness,”
and
they
have
continued
to
better
these
concepts
through
the
Civil
war
and
many
amendments
to
The
Constitution.
I
believe
these
words
and
the
blend
of
cultures
of
the
people
who
have
come
to
America
for
these
freedoms
and
ideals
define
what
it
is
and
what
it
means
to
be
an
American.
Answers To Required Reading Questions
Q1-
Explain,
in
your
own
words,
the
three
developments
in
our
culture
that
have
contributed
to
the
disorder
Professor
Huntington
senses
in
the
USA
today.
They
are
multiculturalism,
transnationalism,
and
the
“Hispanization
of
America.”
Q2-
Define
and
discuss
the
American
creed,
the
ideology
that
Professor
Huntington
cites
as
one
of
the
historic
sources
of
our
national
identity.
The
American
Creed
is
the
principles
of
the
Declaration
of
Independence,
namely,
individual
rights
and
government
by
consent.
Q3-
Explain
the
difference
between
culture
and
creed,
according
to
the
Professor.
Creed
is
more
the
written
laws
or
guidelines
set
by
the
Declaration
of
Independence.
Culture
tends
to
focus
on
language
and
religion.
He
believes
that
creed
is
not
strong
enough
to
hold
the
society
together
on
its
own.
Q4-
Professor
Huntington
thinks
culture
is
more
important
than
creed.
Do
you?
Explain.
Yes
culture
is
important
because
it
defines
who
we
are
as
a
country.
If
it
wasn’t
for
culture
there
wouldn’t
be
much
else
to
set
us
apart
from
other
democratic
countries.
Q5-
Discuss
“founding”
as
expressed
by
Aristotle’s
Politics.
Aristotle
describes
“founding”
as
giving
a
country
the
law,
institutions,
offices,
and
precepts
that
make
a
country
what
it
is.
This
tells
what
kind
of
government
the
country,
whether
it
is
a
republic
or
a
monarchy,
etc.
Q6-
Complete
the
sentence
attributed
to
Aristotle’s
thinking:
“We
are
just
free
enough
to____________________.”
(Fill
in
the
blank.)
…be
able
to
take
responsibility
for
the
things
in
life
we
cannot
choose
Q7-
Which
took
precedence
in
the
founding
of
America;
natural
law
and
rights
or
the
British
Constitution?
Natural
law
and
rights
Q8-
What
was
the
reason
for
the
traditional
conservatives’
opposition
to
the
rationalism
that
fueled
the
French
Revolution?
They
felt
that
the
government
must
be
started
from
the
roots
of
the
nation
and
focus
on
what
was
important
to
the
people
of
the
region.
Current
Events
Q9-American
Intelligence
efforts
uncovered
a
group
of
Taliban
leaders
attending
a
funeral.
By
current
military
terms
of
engagement
no
action
could
be
taken
against
these
“sitting
duck”
enemies.
Why?
Is
this,
in
your
opinion,
a
good
or
bad
outcome?
Defend
your
position.
I
think
that
that
is
a
great,
great
moral
outcome.
It
would
be
wrong
on
several
levels
to
bust
in
[on]
a
funeral
and
take
people
from
it
by
force
when
they
and
the
people
around
them
are
mourning
for
the
death
of
a
loved
family
member
or
friend.
I
just
think
that
there
would
be
a
better
way
to
take
them
out
if
necessary
later,
outside
of
such
a
touchy
environment.
Q10-
The
Geneva
Convention
requires
signatories,
(the
USA
is
one
of
a
multitude
of
signatories)
to
enact
their
own
laws
in
keeping
with
the
ban
against
torture.
Currently
U.S.
law
prohibits
conduct
denigrating
the
dignity
and
rights
of
foreign
prisoners
that
is
so
narrowly
defined
as
to
be
codling
in
the
opinion
of
many
Americans.
The
military
acknowledges
that
this
conduct
would
not
be
reciprocated
by
Al
Queda
and
Taliban
terrorists.
Does
this
military
code
of
conduct
make
you
proud
to
be
an
American?
Why
or
why
not.
If
not,
what
should
be
done
to
correct
the
situation?
Yes,
of
course
it
does.
It
makes
me
proud
because
I
know
that
I
wouldn’t
want
to
be
the
person
who
has
to
torture
someone,
and
I
definitely
wouldn’t
want
to
be
on
the
other
end
of
the
situation,
and
because
of
this
code
of
conduct
I
know
that
America
backs
up
that
opinion.
Q-11
Can
or
should
America
impose
its
form
of
government
on
other
nations?
No,
that
would
only
lead
to
more
problems
than
whatever
nation
we
impose
on
already
had