What is "American?"

Homeless man arrested for
spending night in department
store trying on lingerie.

If there is such a thing as “un-American,” one might suspect there must be something that is intrinsically “American.” But if you look up American in the dictionary, the primary meaning is an American Indian of North or South America. Our first European settlers, then, were decidedly un-American (which, of course, they were in spades, so to speak). But no one was here before American Indians moved here from Asia, so what might we make of that? Anyway, you might find a definition that says something like “relating to America,” and we are all familiar with “made in America.” You can also find things like American dream, American terrier, American English, American spaniel, and on and on. But you will not find a definition for American that helps you to understand un-American or even anti-American. So if we don’t know what American means, how can we know what un-American means? The best you can do is look up un-American, where you will find something like: “not characteristic of or consistent with American customs, principles, or traditions.” While helpful, perhaps, this merely begs the question.

If we knew precisely what American customs, principles, or traditions were, and all agreed on them, maybe we’d be closer to understanding what is un-American. Un-American usually carries a negative connotation. That is, it is something regarded as undesirable. However, American customs, principles, and traditions are not very consistent across the continent. What becomes un-American obviously depends on what you consider American. For example, many people in the U.S. do not celebrate Thanksgiving, or even Christmas. Most of us would surely regard these as American customs and traditions. But we don’t ordinarily label those who do not celebrate them as un-American. We tend to pride ourselves on the right to “keep and bear arms.” But not everyone does. Are they un-American? Some might think so, most others probably not. We are the land of “the free and the brave.” But we are certainly not completely free, and not everyone is brave. Are such individuals un-American? I guess it just depends. So, are there any customs, traditions, or principles we can all agree with? How about upholding and defending our Constitution? The Bush/Cheney administration for the past eight years clearly violated our Constitution in several ways. I haven’t heard anyone claim they were un-American, even if they acknowledge these violations. Even when it comes to something like torture, which we claim to abhor as not American practices, Bush/Cheney admittedly allowed. Again, I have heard no one describe this as un-American, even if they are outraged about it. We might think that wanting our Government to succeed would be something we could all agree on. But even here there are those who have said they hope it fails. While these people are criticized, they are apparently not considered un-American. People are supposed to be equal under the law, but in practice they are not. Poor people routinely go to jail for offenses that wealthy people do not. Are poor people more un-American than the rich? We pride ourselves on universal free public schools, but many of our leaders actively resist funding for this. Are they un-American? I would think that one thing we value is the fact that we do not believe in the violent overthrow of our government. Yet, at this very moment, on one of our TV shows a question is posed to the viewers as to what method do you prefer for revolution? I would also like to think that as Americans we would all believe that our country should be more important than our person or party, but this does not seem to be shared by all parties (certainly not by the current Republican Party). We do not even agree on universal health care, social security, national defense, foreign policy, equal rights for all, or even on a woman’s right to choose. In short, just what are basic American customs, traditions, or principles (core values, if you will)? To me, violating our Constitution and wishing our government to fail, along with suggesting violent revolution, are clearly, and beyond any reasonable doubt, un-American. Apparently not many agree with me, as these individuals go completely unpunished for what I believe is nothing short of treason. Free speech is one thing, encouraging treason is quite another. And free speech, it seems to me, like many other things, can be abused. The annual Conservative Political Action Conference seems to be conducted for just this purpose, if you look carefully at many of the things said there (think Ann Coulter, among others). Of course some of what is said there is just plain hilarious, like the woman that asserted that Obama is a “communist, fascist, street thug.” I take it this was muttered by a capitalist, socialist, pea-brained, know-nothing, lunatic. This was hardly the only act of lunacy at the CPAC. Joe the Bummer (sorry, Plumber), who now is apparently considered a spokesman of sorts for the Republicans, recalled “the good old days” when, if a Congressman criticized the troops he could be shot, a sure venture into fantasyland. Michelle Bachman (I think that’s her name), from Minnesota, was heard yelling at Richard Steele, “you da man, you da man,” a phrase she must have learned in Sunday School? Ron Paul carried on about something-or-other that had to do with the First World War (I fully expected to hear something like “23 skidoo” or “huzza huzza”). John Bolton suggested there might be an atomic bomb dropped on Chicago, and good old Newt the Coot said Obama was just a continuation of George W. Bush. Much fun, but such talk hardly advances the urgent needs of the country. In any case, as there seems to be no consensus or agreement on just what is “American,” and what is un-American, perhaps we should pay more attention to this. If what is considered un-American is simply relative to what one believes is American, and if there is no agreement on what is American, what does this imply for President Obama’s repeated insistence that above all else we are all Americans?

LKBIQ:
Speculations and loans in foreign fields are likely to bring us into war... The war-for-profit group has counterfeited patriotism.
Charles Lindberg Sr., 1915

TILT:
There are seventeen species of hummingbirds that breed in the United States.