| View Blog
|
|
|
This is an essay I had to write my junior year in high school about what I thought America was defined as. My idealistic, younger self of course glorified America. While I still believe many of the things I said in this essay I now also believe that things that seem close to perfection will always have underlying flaws.
Depending on who is asked, the definition of America will vary considerably. To Walt Whitman, one of the great poets from the Civil War era, America or the United States “is the single greatest poem”. To many of the children that are the future of this great country, America is one nation under God. America is a guiding light to the weak and powerless and the worst nightmare to its enemies. America can not be destroyed because it lives forever in the hearts of its people. It is the postcard that travels to loved ones overseas fighting for the liberty of others; it is a photograph of an eagle flying high above the mountains. It is the passion that implanted itself in everyone’s hearts four years ago on a beautiful September morning that suddenly turned into a living hell. America is the firefighters clutching lifeless bodies struggling to make it out of the ashes. America is heroism. For centuries the United States of America has embodied the ideals of putting freedom, truth, justice, and peace above everything else. It started out as by the people, for the people and that is how it has remained for 300 years. Even before the independence of America our founding fathers fought to create a land where opinions of everyone mattered. However, America also has a past of cruelty and discrimination. Nothing is perfect and even the greatest country has its past of burdens. From the torture that was received by the Native Americans to the racism and tension that engulfed the 1960’s, America has struggled with tension among races throughout its history. The difference is that all the bad experiences teach the upcoming youth that it is wrong to hate instead of having history repeat itself, the routine many other countries face. Concluding all the definitions into one, the true definition of America can be stated as being the image of soldiers carrying the men of our country across the battlefield, it is the reason to strive towards a better tomorrow, it is freedom, justice, and the ability to help those in need. It is the hatred that has burned embarrassing marks in our past that we learn from every day. America is everything, the good and the bad combined to make the great.
|
|
Posted by ellet8929 on 2007-11-22 12:16:46 | Rating: | Views: 93
|
| |
|
|
