McPherson High School
McPherson, Kansas
Teacher: Robin Long

What it Means to be An American
By Eric Schroeder
12th grade


What does it mean to be an American. It is something that I should know something about considering that I am one. But it is a disappointment to watch the news and see people my age and older misrepresent the whole of our country. We have people shoot one another because of the side of town they live in. Fifty year olds are raping children. It doesn’t surprise me when people say that we are corrupt and have no morals, because I see every day that people don’t even respect themselves; how can anyone expect them to respect other people?

When this country was formed we established a presidential rule. People are constantly complaining about our president. Personally if people voted for him they shouldn’t complain, and if they voted [for the candidate that] lost, don’t complain over the loss, it’s over. And if the people didn’t even vote, they have absolutely no room to say anything to anyone. They where given the opportunity like everyone else, and if they didn’t vote then they are subject to whatever the president decides.

We have established rules through the Constitution. The first ten [amendments] are called the Bill of Rights. With these we have an understanding of what we can accomplish and not be in jeopardy of breaking any rules. Following these is simple enough.

The group of people that we have to help keep the people and government protected is Congress.  They enforce the rules and make new ones to follow. We have close to four hundred people in congress. The legislative branch includes the House of Representatives.

As a community we should follow the rules set down before us. People I know don’t follow them and they have a harder time in life. I see it everyday. People get overwhelmed with their obstacles in life and they try to cover it up with something that is supposed to make them feel better; all it does is make their life that much harder.

We try to set an example for the younger generations and it is their choice as to whether or not they are willing to follow. I don’t cheat or steal and I earn everything in my life. It is harder, yes, and I’m not as good as most people at doing things, but I do put forth the effort.  Some people just don’t give a care as to how they accomplish things in life or they just skim by not caring what they do or how they effect others around them.

Military is important; that is why we still have a volunteer military. I’m joining the Marines, but they aren’t for everyone.  [However] I think that everyone should do basic training before they continue with their lives. Lots of people would disagree with me, but I [recommend] this mainly for the people that don’t have any self-discipline. It would also give the feeling of self-accomplishment and let people know what it truly means to earn something.

People should also form more community events. We have some already, but what we don’t have is the ability to trust people any more. Some places do block parties and some enter into contests. It shows unity and respect for one another when we have events like that. It is meaningful in the long run because when someone is in need of help, they have people to turn to.

An issue that people don’t recognize is safety for their children. They shelter them and don’t let them know what is really out there. [Sometimes] bad people…are a result of what has been done to them. As for the rapists and molesters, they should be shot and killed. I believe that [would be] a great contribution to the community. There should be neighborhood police as well.

Law enforcement is also unrecognized for its protection every day. People I know never say anything to the police that is ever nice or encouraging. They only realize the police are around when they do something wrong and get caught. After that all police are bad people. I know a person in law enforcement and he is  really a good guy. Granted, some people are really not nice people, but they can still be tolerated.

These things have individual points but they also have one thing in common; they show unity. We do have strength in unity, hence the saying, ”united we stand, divided we fall”. This country was formed by a group of people who stuck together in their worst of times and supported one another. We have strength not known to us....

 

Answers To Questions Prompted By The Required Reading

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.

A: First he feels that we are lacking in our education, the second is that the bureaucrats affect the national point of view, and third is the Hispanics that only speak the one language.

Q2- Define and discuss the American creed, the ideology that Professor Huntington cites as one of the historic sources of our national identity.

A: He is talking about the Declaration of Independence; he feels that he knew what the founding fathers meant better then others

Q3- Explain the difference between culture and creed, according to the Professor.

A: He feels that the creed is too weak to stand on its own and that a lot of what is admirable is in our culture

Q4- Professor Huntington thinks culture is more important than creed. Do you? Explain.

A: No. We follow our lives around what the creed is about.

Q5- Discuss “founding” as expressed by Aristotle’s Politics.

A: He implies culture.

Q6- Complete the sentence attributed to Aristotle’s thinking:

A: “We are just free enough to “make our own decisions.”

Q7- Which took precedence in the founding of America; natural law and rights or the British Constitution?

A: Both were equal without contradicting the other

Q8- What was the reason for the traditional conservatives’ opposition to the rationalism that fueled the French Revolution?

A: They didn’t believe in a world freedom

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.

A: Yes it would be less honorable to shoot someone while they are attending a funeral. Wait till they go to the synagogue after words

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?

A: Yes but I am in the Marine Corps

Q-11 Can or should America impose its form of government on other nations?

A: Not if they’re going to fight it as a whole. The Al Queda are the ones fighting us not the civilians who are oppressed by the Al Queda.

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