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Land of the Free: A reflection on what defines a 21st century American Americans- it seems the world has a love/hate relationship with them. Why could this be? It is the land of the free, the home of the brave- what could be the problem? Is it the American economy? The culture? The government? An educated guess as to why this fickle relationship exists between the U. S. And the rest of the world is the debate on the one factor that sets America apart from them: Freedom. The freedom to choose any life path as a citizen is what defines an American.
Not all countries Greer with the flexibility American citizens have to make life choices such as which car to buy or what Job to apply for. The American way of life includes the ability to be self-expressive through a variety of outlets. 21st century America thrives off of the idea of its citizens becoming successful through their own hard work and perseverance through life. This is the reason why America is so diverse today and why the country as a whole has been so prosperous. The essence of being American seems to be strongly linked to the freedom of the country people.
Choice-making is a daily process. Some choices are more life changing than others; putting money down on a new house will have a bigger impact than buying a chocolate bar. United States citizens can decide when, how, and why a decision will be made as long as it is lawful. This seems to matter more in relation to significant life choices. In many less developed countries, choices such as what career path to take, what level of education someone will receive, or how big a person’s family will be is decided by the government. In this scenario, the citizens have little to no say in gig decisions.
What sets Americans apart from them is their ability to wake up one day and decide to change their lives for better or for worse, no matter the circumstances. The change may happen over time, but because of the great amount of opportunities Americans have they can start a new life Journey at virtually any time. Someone who is tired of working in the same office every day can quit his Job whenever he pleases. A student who is failing all of her classes can wake up one morning and decide to start doing homework assignments and studying for tests to raise her grades.
A real-world example of this situation is when the 18-year-old homeless David Boone was accepted to Harvard University because of the impressive student that he was (Huffing Post, 2012). Although he spent part of his adolescent life moving from shelter to shelter, he was able to make the best of what he had: the motivation to be successful in his schoolwork. If David lived in a country such as North Korea, he would likely be restricted in his ability to attend and even apply to such a prestigious university. This is due to the lack of support he would probably have from his family and the country government.
It seems an important element of being American is the ability to eliminate all obstacles in life and letting unique interests and motivation create individual success. Cease Trot making sconces, sell-expression Is another Multilingualism concept Tanat Americans practice. Within the American culture, there is a wide variety of avenues to show how someone is feeling, what he or she is thinking, and his or her interests. These include, but are not limited to music, art, writing, and appearance. Primarily appearance is where Americans have much flexibility regarding self-expression.
This is a very visual representation which provides opportunities for others to see what that person may be interested in. For example, if someone saw a tanned young man outside wearing a plaid shirt tucked into his blue Shares accented by a cowboy hat and cowboy boots, that person could make a quick Judgment that he probably listens to country music, works on a farm, or drives a pick-up truck. Although it is at times frowned upon to be Judgmental toward others, these assumptions are made simply because of the way that young man decided to express himself and fit a certain territory.
The most important factor here is his ability to choose how he comes off to others. U. S. Citizens are able to express themselves in any way they wish. Located in the Middle East, the country of Qatar has strict prohibitions on what is appropriate to wear in public. “The Qatar Penal Code law punishes and prohibits wearing revealing indecent clothing” (Blocky, 2012). Although Figure 1 is geared more toward the country visitors, the law applies daily to the citizens of Qatar. Laws like this one are not so strict in America, which allows people numerous options to be expressive through appearance.
Part of being an American is the immersion in a culture where diversity is the norm and self-expression contributes to the “melting pot” aspect of the country. Even though a considerable part of the American privilege is the ability to make decisions, sometimes choices are influenced by outside factors. Not every decision made is completely individualized. Many people go to others for advice before making big decisions, which acts as a source of influence. For example, as a high school freshman, it can be uncomfortable and scary to go out on a limb and do meeting such as Join a club without approval or guidance from peers.
A cheerleader in 9th grade who is interested in engineering may wish to Join the engineering club, but could be swayed away from it if her friends disapprove it. This creates a fear of non-acceptance by them and she would likely choose not to Join the club. In this way she limits herself even though she is not prohibited by anything else in order to Join the club. This could likely impact her future in a negative way. Although Americans have the choice to pursue what interests them, there are those ho are influenced by what is considered normal in their culture.
They often make decisions based on what other people are doing rather than what they might really want. This seems contradictory considering the freedom Americans have to make choices. However it also seems to be another factor that defines Americans. In the U. S. , especially among the younger generation, there are ways people find a place in society through congregation in groups of people that have similar interests. What contradicts this is when someone in a group of people desires to rebel in some sense against the culture of that clique.
It is likely to be frowned upon and could keep that individual from making certain decisions. Irony is evident here when considering the high level of encouragement for people to be individuals. Although this seems strange, it is truly American because a person has the ability to make the choice to be an Uninominal or Tallow ten crowd winner or not It Is Limiting success. Even tong individualism is encouraged in the U. S, sometimes becoming a part of a larger group of people can be positive. Throughout American culture there are ways to be involved n circles of people that have similar interests.
In high school, students participate in clubs, sports, music, and drama. They are drawn to participation in such activities because they want to learn more about the activity with others. In all of these activities students are brought together as individuals with a related passion. Involvement in them can expose students to another American concept: unification. Americans have the ability to come together for any reason at any point in time. This is very common throughout American history and is a good example of how freedom f speech and expression is put into action.
This seems to be another American characteristic because of the commonality of the idea to bring people together that have the same goal in mind. A 21st century American is a person who has absolute freedom under the circumstances of the law. This freedom is put into effect in a variety of ways. Possessing the ability to make life-changing decisions at any point is the most common way freedom is exercised. Having the privilege to be individually expressive is also something that contributes to what makes being an American unique.