One More Time - What IS an American?

Today I found an old post I've read before - Peter Schramm explains how his father told him he was an American before they immigrated from Hungary.

How can a foreigner be an American? Glad you asked.

This is a topic I've written about more than once -

• To Be an American - what makes us different?
  
• What is America? - I write about the day I heard the Declaration of Independence - REALLY heard it - for the first time:

  Regular guys wrote that. True, they were a fairly influential bunch, but not a hereditary noble or ruler in the group.
  
  They said, We get to direct our destiny. We get to decide our future. We get to make the rules.
  
  Ideally, everybody gets a say. The group who can persuade the greatest number of the rightness of his view wins. The losing side has to suck it up, and abide by that decision. No IEDs in the road. No beheadings. No blowing things up 'cause you're mad you lost.

  A little further on in that post, I add:

  What makes us Americans is that we chose to play by the rules set up under the Constitution. Those rules, symbolized by the flag, guarantee us a CHANCE at the brass ring. It's not a guarantee that we'll win - it's a guarantee that we can try. Without fear of being tossed in jail.
  
  As Americans, we honor that way of passing the torch. Heck, we even enshrine it in cheesy shows like Survivor and American Idol. When the contestants lose, they don't direct their supporters to rush in with guns. They (generally) smile graciously and walk away. Some of them even end up being bigger successes than the winners.

  
  
• Yet another post on being an American - do 'ya sense a theme here?

Sometimes it's important to reflect on WHY we blog. I do so , in part, because I feel strongly about my values. I want, sometimes, to just get it all off my chest. Blogging allows me to do that. If you don't like what I say, well, walk away - click on another site, and wash it out of your mind. But, whether or not you read all of my post, I still get to write it - in full, unedited, and without anyone's permission.

I really like that.