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OFE News Release

What it means to be an American

by Hunter Antonisse

Over Christmas I went to Washington D.C. with my family. We say many historic sites. Over this time I thought a lot about what it means to be an American.

We went to the Vietnam War Memorial while we were in D.C. While we looked at the wall with the names of all the dead soldiers, I thought being an American means sacrifice. Being an American means being brave. The Vietnam War was not popular, so I realized being an American sometimes also means compromise.

We also went to the Air and Space Museum. I realized that part of being an American is moving beyond limits. Part of being an American is being like Charles Lindbergh and doing things that never have been done. I also wondered how the Wright Brothers could have come up with such a great invention as the airplane. The airplane gave the Americans military superiority in the First and Second World Wars. We have come a long way in 103 years – from propellers to jet engines! Being an American means innovation and progress.

While we were in Washington, D.C., we went to Jefferson Memorial. While I thought about Thomas Jefferson, I was amazed how he came up with so many important documents. Americans still live by the values Jefferson wrote about in the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution. Being an American means having the right to vote, freedom of religion and lot of other rights and privileges.

Finally we went to dinner at The Dubliner Irish Pub. I realized there that America is a melting pot of cultures and traditions. Being an American means tolerating other people’s traditions and practices and not being afraid of the unknown. It means blending the old with the new.

I had a lot of fun learning about American history in Washington, D.C.