Introduction
The American Flag, for most Americans, symbolizes the birth of this country and being an American. What exactly does it mean to be American? Well, if we go back in time to when the constitution was created, being an American to summarize is belonging to a country of democracy, freedom, and opportunity. However, as we look throughout history and even today, being an “American” means differently to each and every US citizen. In this unit, we explored the social theory of authenticity and its relation to religion. I believe authenticity can be used to analyze if there is a true definition of being an American. I believe that there is no authentic or true definition of being an American because there are so many different people in this country with different worldviews, backgrounds, beliefs, etc. I believe that just being an American citizen makes you a true American.
America is known as the “Melting Pot” with millions of different people that come to live here in hope of a better life or what many call the “American Dream”. Throughout the history of this country, there have been debates about what it should mean to be a citizen of this country. The pictures above show different movements that have happened and are still happening in this country. The Civil Rights Movement was organized by African Americans to fight for equal rights and to end racial discrimination. Although this movement ended in the late 1960s, the Black Lives Matter movement still fights for equality and to end the racial discrimination that still happens today. Pride month and the LGBTQIA+ movement purses equal justice for all members of the community and celebrate all the accomplishments of LGBTQIA+ individuals. The Ku Klux Klan (KKK) is an organization that employs terror in pursuit of their white supremacist agenda. I chose these 3 movements because they all have a different perspective of what being a true American looks like. African Americans and members of the LGBTQIA+ community believe that everyone should be equal and not be discriminated against in this country for their race or who they love/identify as. In contrast, members of the KKK believe that the white race is the supreme race and should rule society. I think it is interesting to see how these different American movements have different worldviews and perspectives of what they believe being an American is.
Martin discusses in the authenticity chapter how “in place of essences what we inevitably find is that categories( 1) group together dissimilar things and (2) identify things that are constantly shifting and changing” (153). This quote supports my argument that there is no such thing as an authentic American, and authenticity is subjective to the individual. Some people, like the members LGBTQIA+ community and Civil rights activists, believe that all Americans should have equal rights and be treated based on their character, not due to their race or who they love/identify as. Then you have the groups that believe the total opposite like the KKK, who thinks that all Americans are not equal and some are more superior than others. Martin also states, “they’re not really Christian,” (144). The “they’re not really…” statement all shows how an individual imposes their opinion on what they think someone that doesn’t believe what they believe, act how they act, etc. isn’t authentic to the community. However, no one person is the same, which is why I believe there is no true way to be an American. This country, and even this world, continues to evolve and so do its people. With all that being said, I think the American flag should symbolize the country and diversity of its people, not what it means to be an American. Just like we discussed in class there really isn’t a singular definition of religion, and I believe there is no singular definition of what it means to be an American.
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