What makes you an American?

[ClimateSanity]

What makes you an American other than citizenship? IOW, what's the essential difference between you and a Brit? What's the essential difference between you and a Muslim Pakistani? What is it about you that makes you uniquely American?

 

[patrick jane]

What makes you an American other than citizenship? IOW, what's the essential difference between you and a Brit? What's the essential difference between you and a Muslim Pakistani? What is it about you that makes you uniquely American?

Off the top of my head, my family heritage and being born and raised in 'Merica

 

[ClimateSanity]

Off the top of my head, my family heritage and being born and raised in 'Merica

Is our history part of being American? If that is removed and taken away from our national consciousness, are future inhabitants of this country as much American as we are or does that make them radically different than us?

 

[patrick jane]

Is our history part of being American? If that is removed and taken away from our national consciousness, are future inhabitants of this country as much American as we are or does that make them radically different than us?

I was going to say history as well, once removed, the future inhabitants will be uninformed. Maybe not radically different than us but missing significant parts of who we are.

 

[Truster]

Americans are the descendants of tired, poor, and huddled masses who were/are part of an experiment begun in 1776 and ratified 1787. The experiment is still running, obviously...

 

[gcthomas]

What makes you an American other than citizenship? IOW, what's the essential difference between you and a Brit? What's the essential difference between you and a Muslim Pakistani? What is it about you that makes you uniquely American?

Are you after a single cultural identity that will exclude the minorities, or would you recognise that there are many ways to be American?

 

[Truster]

America was also a penal colony for Great Britain who sent around 52,000 criminals across the Atlantic.

 

[kmoney]

What makes you an American other than citizenship? IOW, what's the essential difference between you and a Brit? What's the essential difference between you and a Muslim Pakistani? What is it about you that makes you uniquely American?

I'd say something along the lines of supporting the values in the Constitution.

 

[ClimateSanity]

Are you after a single cultural identity that will exclude the minorities, or would you recognise that there are many ways to be American?

There is a British culture and the same for all the world. Is America the only country where this doesn't or should not exist?

 

[glassjester]

America was also a penal colony for Great Britain who sent around 52,000 criminals across the Atlantic.

Weren't debtors sent to Georgia?

 

[Truster]

Weren't debtors sent to Georgia?

E. Merton Coulter
The Georgia Historical Quarterly
Vol. 53, No. 4 (December, 1969), pp. 442-454

Say's no.

 

[glassjester]

E. Merton Coulter
The Georgia Historical Quarterly
Vol. 53, No. 4 (December, 1969), pp. 442-454

Say's no.

Ok then.

 

[Rusha]

Diversity, prosperity, freedom of and *from* religion, minus persecution.

 

[gcthomas]

There is a British culture and the same for all the world. Is America the only country where this doesn't or should not exist?

If you have visited towns in the UK that are within a hour's drive of each other you would see rather significant cultural differences. Cardiff vs Bristol, Brighton vs Eastbourne, Edingburgh vs Glasgow. Even town vs country. Different accents, skin colours often, religions, economic and social traditions.

There is no single British culture.

 

[Truster]

If you have visited towns in the UK that are within a hour's drive of each other you would see rather significant cultural differences. Cardiff vs Bristol, Brighton vs Eastbourne, Edingburgh vs Glasgow. Even town vs country. Different accents, skin colours often, religions, economic and social traditions.

There is no single British culture.

I was brought up in the Swansea valley and we were tribal.

 

[glassjester]

If you have visited towns in the UK that are within a hour's drive of each other you would see rather significant cultural differences. Cardiff vs Bristol, Brighton vs Eastbourne, Edingburgh vs Glasgow. Even town vs country. Different accents, skin colours often, religions, economic and social traditions.

There is no single British culture.

Is there nothing common to all (or most) British people, except location?

 

[glassjester]

There is a British culture and the same for all the world. Is America the only country where this doesn't or should not exist?

What do you say it is? What makes us Americans?

 

[gcthomas]

Is there nothing common to all (or most) British people, except location?

Rule of law. Being able to talk about the weather to strangers and queuing properly. Democracy. Mostly location.

 

[glassjester]

Rule of law. Being able to talk about the weather to strangers and queuing properly. Democracy. Mostly location.

Sounds like Americans.

 

[kmoney]

Sounds like Americans.

Americans don't "queue". :chuckle: