What is an American?

Not being American, it is difficult for me to define what an American is fairly: foreigners for a long time (and sometimes with just cause) have cast Americans in a bad light.

Living in America for the brief time that I have, among Americans, has dispelled some of those prejudices somewhat and reinforced others. For the most part, I like America and Americans and what they have to offer. I have come to admire the "get it done" spirit of Americans, which Walt Whitman touches upon in his poem.

Of course, some may argue that what makes an American as defined by Whitman is simply too generic, and can be applied to any well functioning member of society of any nation besides America.

Hughes, however, paints an interesting picture in his poem: the disenfranchised black American. While Whitman chooses to describe a utopia in his poem, Hughes points out that there are facets of America that the whole does not readily accept, that the hungry, the poor, and lost are not always brought in with open arms. This too is America. And it is difficult to dismiss in light of recent events such as hurricane Katrina. As Kanye West put it so succinctly, "George Bush does not care about Blacks". Indeed.

So what is an American?
To me, it is a person who belongs to a nation proud of its citizenry and its place in the world, but at the same time struggles with how to fairly treat that same citizenry.

But that is oversimplifying the matter. An American, in the end, is someone who believes in his Country, and accepts it, warts and all.