What is an American?

FAOL Community Sound Off
1

What is an American? ( A Briton can also be so described)
Today’s events in Mumbai ( Bombay) India by , at this time, unknowns, brings to mind the below excerpted portion of a speech I recall.
Apparently the targets of today’s atrocity were Americans and Brits. It’s a wonder by what traits were these Americans and Brits identified and singled out?
Instead of all the financial aid we’re sending their way, perhaps we should substitute toilet paper with a note " When you learn to use this, contact us for further instructions as to how to join the civilized world".

What is an American? An American cannot be defined by how wealthy he is or the car he drives. He is a person who comes from all parts of the world and speaks many languages; an American does not have one particular skin color, but his skin color may be one of many found in America. He comes in varies sizes and shapes. Regardless of his appearance, fortune, or culture, he still is considered an American. America opens the door to those who knock for an opportunity of freedom, a freedom difficult to find in most countries. An American can be described as one who is fortunate enough to experience a priceless freedom in a nation of many races.

Mark

2

You got me on this one. Thought I was an American because I was born and raised in AMERICA!!!

3

Being here born does not necessarily make one an American. A U.S. Citizen yes but an American, no. That being said you must be a U.S. Citizen, natural born or naturalized, to become an American. Being an American is well summed up in the text of the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution. There have been many born here that have turned traitor or deserted this nation in it’s hour of need that have caused our nation great harm. They are not American.

There have been many more that were born else where, became U.S. citizens and sacrificed tremendously for our nation. They are Americans because being an American means believing in the Constitution, The Right to Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness while working to preserve these things for others known and unknown to them around the world. That’s what it takes to be an American regardless of the fact that one was natural born or naturalized to the United States of America.

4

By the way, exhibiting the traits I just outlined will make you stand out in the crowd. If you want to know how easy it is for folks in other countries to spot an American then I hope one of them that frequents this site will chime in. As part of our anti terror training for foreign deployment we are taught to blend in with the crowd. When in Rome do act, eat, dress and do like the Romans do. Call it running a cover. Even then the trained eye, like those belonging to most terror groups, will probably make an accurate educated guess as to your nationality. Be ever vigilant.

5

Is that to say that Canadians, Mexicans, Central and South Americans aren’t Americans? Explain please…I ask because I got read out pretty good in Canada when I referred to being from ‘America’…

Happy turkey day,

MontanaMoose

6

Just to EXPLAIN to some who would like to take this post SOUTH, the purpose of this post was to illustrate how difficult it would be to distinguish a common trait in all Americans. Kinda like if you are hunting a skunk you know what a skunk looks like. In that vein, how do you “hunt” for an American?.
I thought Eric explained my thesis rather CLEARLY.

Mark

7

We are the only nation that has the word America in our official national title. We are The United States of America. No other nation nor group of nations in this hemisphere uses the word “America” in their official title. In addition to that we were the first to sever our ties with and throw off the government of our fatherlands.

Marco is quite correct. We need to understand what it is that we do that makes us stand out in the crowd in a foreign nation. This is the single most important thing that marks us as a target. I am not saying to give up the ideals and other things that make you an American but use caution to stay subdued in a foreign nation. After all, we do not want any harm to come to you and you do not do your nation any good as a hostage or, worse yet, dead.

8

Having re-read the original and the rest of the posts I understand more clearly now. I jumped off when I read that Americans have to be born in the United States of America. I really didn’t understand how that could be since there are a lot of ppl in the United States of America that weren’t born in the United States of America.

Better that I had asked if only those living in the Unites States of America are considered as being Americans. I apologise for asking if those north and south of the United States of America in the same hemisphere aren’t Americans because I see clearly now that they are not. Also I apologise in advance for what I know will follow.

Edit:

Another point I’d like to make is that I don’t consider this thread or anyone’s responses to be political, I consider this thread as being a geography lesson.

9

Hey there MM,
First of all, Happy Thanksgiving.
The entire premise of this post was: Once upon a time, some cleric of the Muslim persuasion told his followers to kill all Americans they encountered. That begged the question:" just how will I know if someone is an American?" . That’s where the excerpt of the speech came from. Just a simple question with NO simple answer.

Mark

10

Ok, I see that I spoke out of context and with no explanation to boot…that happens all the time here so what happened in Canada was that when I referred to myself as being from America when asked that question by the owner of a hotel, she attacked me verbally in front of strangers and my wife, asking me [b]where I thought I was now?[/b] I took her meaning to be that I was in fact in America. She didn’t allow me to stay at the hotel at that point, even though I had made reservations well in advance.

The above is nothing against Canada, Canadians, America, Americans, citizens of Canada, citizens of the United States of America, in fact I don’t have anything against anyone really…I was asking…if everyone on the continent/hemisphere are not considered Americans in light of the names of regions…I went on to admit that I see much more clearly now and that it’s impossible for anyone but citizens of the United States of America to be considered Americans.

I no longer see this as a geography lesson, rather it’s turning political and it looks like it’s my fault. This will be my last post in this thread and not because I don’t think it’s interesting, just that I love this site and don’t wish to be banned. And no I won’t delete any posts. Someone else may if they feel it’s me that’s out of line, but I won’t.

11

I am the one who has spoke out of context here and turned this thread political.It seems my jaybird Butt has overloaded my mocking bird mouth once again.I dont have anything against anyone either.I think everybody has a right to live in and be a citizen of this country .I am a Veteran.Honorably discharged.I have fought for this country.I am disabled from fighting for this country.I think I have earned a right to my opinion (good or bad).And thats all it was…my opinion.However I should not have expressed it in this thread.I didnt understand the thread.I apologize to anyone I may have rubbed the wrong way.I did not understand the thread as it was intended when I posted my reply and never intended to turn this thread south.I have removed my original post and again I apologize to all who were offended.
-Steve

12

I don’t think anyone has spoken out of line here. Quite the contrary, some of us travel abroad and may not have been aware of the subject that Marco posted and how we are identified as Americans.

As to us being called Americans or from America I will leave that up to the rest of the world to decide. However, I believe that it also is used in the same context as calling someone a Canadian, Mexican, Brazilian, Panamanian and etc… but the term American as applied to we of The United States of America is a shortened version. Could you imagine having to call us The united States of Americans or constantly having to call our country by it’s full, proper name, The United States of America? Since we are the only nation with the word America in our official title it is much easier just to call us Americans. That’s what the rest of the world calls us. Except the British who call us Yanks from the colonies and they do not care if you are from north or south of the Mason-Dixon line.:wink:

Montana Moose,
You are a good person. Don’t let one bad egg from Canada get to you. I have been to Canada many times. I was always called an American while there and never, ever got treated rudely. The Koreans called me G.I. and the Germans called me Americanish. Lots of fun being in those countries too.:smiley:

13

If I was referring to your country, is there any difference between me saying “American” or “US?” Are the two interchangeable? :confused:

We are just simply “Australian” or “Ozzies.”

14

from the web

Definition of an American

You probably missed it in the rush of news last week, but there was actually a report that someone in Pakistan had published in a newspaper an offer of a reward to anyone who killed an American, any American.

So an Australian dentist wrote the following to let everyone know what an American is, so they would know when they found one:

An American is English, or French, or Italian, Irish, German, Spanish, Polish, Russian or Greek. An American may also be Canadian, Mexican, African, Indian, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Australian, Chamorro, Iranian, Asian, or Arab, or Pakistani, or Afghan. An American may also be a Cherokee, Osage, Blackfoot, Navaho, Apache, Seminole or one of the many other tribes known as native Americans.

An American is Christian, or he could be Jewish, or Buddhist, or Muslim. In fact, there are more Muslims in America than in Afghanistan. The only difference is that in America they are free to worship as each of them chooses.

An American is also free to believe in no religion. For that he will answer only to God, not to the government, or to armed thugs claiming to speak for the government and for God.

An American is from the most prosperous land in the history of the world. The root of that prosperity can be found in the Declaration of Independence, which recognizes the God-given right of each person to the pursuit of happiness.

An American is generous. Americans have helped out just about every other nation in the world in their time of need. When the Soviet army overran Afghanistan 20 years ago, Americans came with arms and supplies to enable the people to win back their country. As of the morning of September 11, Americans had given more than any other nation to the poor in Afghanistan.

Americans welcome the best: The best products, the best books, the best music, the best food, the best athletes. But they also welcome the least. The national symbol of America, The Statue of Liberty, welcomes your tired and your poor, the wretched refuse of your teeming shores, the homeless, tempest tossed. These, in fact, are the people who built America. Some of them were working in the Twin Towers the morning of September 11, 2001, earning a better life for their families. I’ve been told that the World trade Center victims were from at least 30 other countries, cultures, and first languages, including those that aided and abetted the terrorists.

So you can try to kill an American if you must. Hitler did. So did General Tojo, and Stalin, and Mao Tse-Tung, and every bloodthirsty tyrant in the history of the world. But, in doing so you would just be killing yourself. Because Americans are not a particular people from a particular place. They are the embodiment of the human spirit of freedom. Everyone who holds to that spirit, everywhere, is an American.
Pass this around the World.
[RIGHT]–Anonymous[/RIGHT]

15

Ok Gentlemen, I’ll try ONCE MORE

This post was NOT NOT NOT about what YOU consider is an American. it’s about how difficult it would be to DESCRIBE an “American” as a TARGET to be killed in a foreign country (THAT’S IT). To SIMPLIFY the thesis, If the order to kill Americans was given in CLEVELAND, it would be fairly easy to execute since MOST people who walk Cleveland’s streets are AMERICANS ( by default). However, if the order to kill Americans is given in PARIS, how does one find and single out AMERICANS ???. By what single trait/ specific traits are Americans described ? (insert excerpt from my original post). In other words, an American can only be described by IDEALS rather than by any other READILY IDENTIFIABLE features.

Mark

PS: Normand GOT IT (above)

16

If they are not in uniform, the only way to be sure would be to check their passport.

17

I’m possibly about to tread on thin ice here, but I hope you take it is context.

American tourists in Australia would often conjure the stereotypical image of: loud shirt; camera around neck; baseball cap; flashy; brash and noisy. Most Aussies would say they “stand out like dogs balls.”

Aussies on the other hand, with the possible exception of staggering around with an esky and a beer in hand, tend to try to blend into the crowd. We do not like people knowing we are from Oz because then they start asking questions that display their ignorance of it and we can’t be bothered going to the trouble of answering. Aussies do not queue, we “come back tomorrow.” An American will queue for hours.

Aussies when they travel like to “do as the Romans do” to blend in, and so are eating stuff we dunno what it is and so on. Americans would like it prepared “like they do in Kentucky” or whatever, and will tell the cook how to do it. Americans however are very proud of being American and like everyone to know it. Everyone in the restaurant knows if an American group is there. Americans drive the local prices up - the vendors know they will get more.

I am talking very generally here and know that most Americans are not like this, but this is the image most people have. I have travelled a little and base this honestly on others comments as well as my experience.

Love you guys tho! :rolleyes:

18

Gringo,

Having several friends from Down under, I can only say love ya too

19

Gringo,
Thank you for responding. I think you hit it bang on the head. Your response also illustrates that there is no single trait or ideal that identifies as Americans. It’s just not that simple but then again it isn’t rocket science either. I agree with you that when in Rome do as the Romans do.

The following are some of the things that D.o.D. teaches us:

We have been taught that terrorists build an information file on their target prior to attacking. They build check lists to suit their needs and put their target under surveillance. If the target meets their criteria of what is an American to their satisfaction, not ours, then they are going to think that the target is an American. Also, most people bent on doing harm to us really do not care if they harm some of their own in the process. One way to identify someone as an American get them to speak. If someone has done their homework they can even tell what city or region of the U.S.A., or for that matter any country that a person is from. My guess is that most of yous dant pak ya ca in at thar yard lest ya be a bit nebby (Philadelphia, New York City, Dallas and Pittsburgh regional dialects there). All of these things along with your mannerisms, manners or lack thereof, and ideals added up identify a person’s nationality.

Just simply not as simple as ONE thing, trait, ideal or otherwise, identifying anyone as an American.

20

from what I get they asked people to see their passports to see if they were american or british and then took those people hostage… but it looks like they shot up whoever was around also tho. they didn’t care about your nationality in that manner. they just wanted american and british hostages. seems they also killed all the jewish people in the jewish center. I guess if you are in a place where most people are hindu or muslim you could pick a white person out of the crowd and think he might be of american or british or australian nationality??? I am now seeing half of the terrorists are pakistani. between this and them harboring Al-Qaida I see Pakistan is now the new terrorist headquarters and hideout. Pakistan better get there act together asap and start cracking down on these terorists training camps and breeding grounds or else pakistan isn’t gonna be our allies for that much longer. to me they are harboring terrorists and refusing to go after them. when we kill one with a predator drone they get all up in arms. if they get off there butts and help we wouldn’t have to sneak over there and do it ourselves! if we didn’t go to iraq for no reason we would of already stopped Osama Bin Laden and destroyed Al-Qaida. instead Bush used 9/11 as a excuse to go after Saddam who had nothing to do with it whatsoever. we wasted our time and money there when we should of been concentrating on afghanistan instead. you already see Al-Qaida is coming out with all these videos now cause they are shaking in there boots since Obama has been named president elect. they know he is gonna end the iraq war and come at them full force instead of beating around the “Bush” like we have been for the last 8 years. I still say you cannot win the war on terror tho. there will always be terrorists out there somewhere.