What It Means To Be An American: Compassion

The words on the base of the Statue of Liberty Say it all

When I was in college, I traveled a little across Europe and at that time, we were not well loved over there. For some reason I was never mistaken for an American — people always think I’m Swedish. I didn’t care, in fact I was happy to be mistaken for anything but American. I was not fond of my country- rather, I was confused about it, in part because we had recently gone through Watergate. But also we had not too long before that experienced the shooting of student activists at Ohio State, race riots after the MLK assasination, the Stonewall revolt, a post second-wave feminist backlash — -you name it. Granted, my perspective was as a young person with limited experience, but I wasn’t sure what it meant to be an American.

Now, I am more sure than I was in my youth, but I certainly do not feel on the same page with many of my fellow Americans. We are divided politically, racially, feministically (is that a word?); many still do not believe in a women’s right to choose, and many do not believe in gender difference. Many do not believe people of color have the same rights as white people.

We also cannot agree on immigration policy. It is repeated often that America is a…