To Be...Or Not To Be

I often wonder what it truly means to be an American citizen. Those from many diverse backgrounds sometimes base their lives on American lifestyles; many spend great amounts time and energy in their pursuit to either learn English and/or become an American citizen. I pose the intriguing question to myself as i enjoy my several liberties: why? Why America when we, as civilians, hardly ever get what we want and blame our government for all of our ailments do fathers, mothers and children try their absolute hardest to join our community that we can scarcely bear to live in?

As I spot these individuals, I gaze with admiration and awe. What journey did they have to go through to be where they are now? Will their families left behind rejoice when the first of their generation touches American soil? After some careful consideration, I realized that what American represents is freedom and hope. It represents the many liberties that we take for granted and the vast opportunities that we have in order to live a happy and successful life. It makes me feel small when I consider that many are born both into this language and into this country (granting them citizenship) while others study years and make much sacrifice to be here. So what does it really mean to be an American? It means promised blessing and so much more, but as Warshwsky says, "yet one thing is certain: If we stray too far from the lines laid down by the Founding Fathers and the generations of great American men and women who built on their legacy, we will cease to be "Americans" in any meaningful sense of the word. As Abraham Lincoln warned during the secession era, "America will never be destroyed from the outside. If we falter and lose our freedoms, it will be because we destroyed ourselves."