What Does It Mean to Be an American - Essay Example

What does it mean to be an American? Introduction Social equity refers to a situation whereby, resources are distributed equally across a society irrespective of the social status of people. In America, social equity has not been fully achieved, and prospects show that it is very difficult to achieve it due to the dominant income disparities and the unavoidable social classes in the American society. Although ethical inequality has almost been completely scrapped off, there still exist some remnants that promote social inequality. Political equality refers to a state whereby every person is treated equally by the government, and they follow the laws irrespective of their race, social class, gender or religion. American attained democracy many years ago and its political equality have developed over time, and hence, the Americans enjoy a state of political equality. With social and political equity, America has improved its democracy although it is still subject to various challenges. Smith argues that the American political culture has been built up by traditional political setups such as liberalism, ascriptive and republicanism (Dahl 487). He says that Tocqueville was fascinated by the American egalitarian society with domestic nobility and believed that egalitarianism was being practiced. He predicted that at one point the Americans and the blacks would have a violent struggle and the Native Americans would be destroyed. Myrdal recognized that the American society was liberal, and aspects such as racism were considered rural and associated with the uneducated (Dahl 489). Hartz identified that America was a liberal nation, and their problem was tensions of majority rule against the minority and democracy against property rights. Smith said that apart from the American society being liberal, white supremacy was evident, and the non-whites did not receive equal treatment as the whites (Dahl 489) Eric Liu argues that ever since America attained its independence, it has been guided by a unifying force whereby the government promises liberty and in turn the citizens act by maintaining it. However, he notes that American democracy and liberty is not actualizing due to inability to adapt to new changes (Liu retrieved from http://www.democracyjournal.org/24/sworn-again-americans.php?page=all). He says that the Americans have to retrieve their spirit of citizenship if they have to maintain the liberty and democracy they claim. Liu says that it is the high time that the Americans re-Americanize themselves since their original civic life and citizenship has faded away. He conforms to Smiths predictions that there will come a time that social and political equity will not be seen. He says that an Americanization movement should be started so that people and the government should start acting according to the original liberalism and democracy. He says that the movement should have three core elements which are creed, culture and character (Liu retrieved from http://www.democracyjournal.org/24/sworn-again-americans.php?page=all). Comparing Liu and Smith, they have different views of the American society since Liu believes that liberalism has faded away while smith thinks that the American society is very liberal and democratic, and all people are treated equally. However, the two writers wrote their books at different time, and one can conclude that the American liberalism existed, but it is fading away with time. According to Warsawsky, America is a country that has been developed on political fortune, and many other countries have developed their political systems based on the American system. He believes that the existence if many races would have limited the creedal principal but couldn’t due to the strength in the ancient political system and the loyalty to liberalism. He says that the Americans creedal system has been controlled by their faith in their political systems, and their believe in unlimited possibility, equality and individual freedom. He says that, Liberal Individualism and Democratic Egalitarianism are the force towards American achievements. However, despite the strong foundation in liberalism and democracy, he notes that currently the American values are failing to bear the test of time. American freedom is conflicting other factors such family piety, Christian piety and patriotism. Such factors are leading to liberalism losing meaning, and America democracy is deteriorating. Globalization ad capitalism forces are directing their effects to the American people. The writer believes that the libertarianism of the American constitution worked since its introducers had common values but with diversification of the modern world; liberty must be stretched to limits. Warsawsky and smith have similar arguments since they both believe that the original American liberty and democracy has faded away, and it cannot stand the forces the modern society unless changes are implemented. Warsawsky conforms to Smiths argument since he acknowledges that liberalism and democracy were practical in societies of the forefathers but with time, changes in the society have limited their practicability. American Social equality. America is highly populated and hence faces a big challenge in attaining social equity. Being a mother of democracy and liberalism, one would expect that social equality is at its maximum in the USA. However, this is not the case since social equity in America is facing numerous challenges. Gender division is one of the challenges of social equity in America. People have adapted to the tradition of certain roles being played by men and others by women. Nevertheless the American government has been working towards rectifying the situation by publicizing the issue of gender equality. The president recently implemented a law saying that lesbians, gays and bisexuals be given equal treatment hence proving that the government is working towards equality. There exists a wide gap between the rich and the poor and hence implying that allocation of resources is not even in the country. The poor people in the society are continuing being poor, and the rich are getting richer. This implies that people are not treated equally and hence one may question the American liberty. America has schools for the rich and the poor and even hospitals for the poor and the rich, and this goes against the norms of social equity. Nevertheless, the government has initiated programs that will help reduce the gap between the rich and the poor, and hence one can conclude that American society is socially equally since they are working towards equality. The government has been creating and amending laws that prohibit racial, age and gender discrimination in its bid to attain social equity. Such laws ensure that people treat one another equally, and the government does not favor people according to their color or social status. I the past, the women gender was seen as weak by the current American government has put in place plans to improve the female gender to appoint where they will be at par with the male gender. Racism is considered as a crime and hence it is evident that America is a country that appreciates social equity. American Political Equality The American political system observes a variety of core values and ideals. As stated by Warsawsky, American political culture is controlled by liberty and democracy despite the fact all Americans do not have a similar views. America is a diverse nation and hence the political systems keep changing with the opinion of the majority. Political decisions are based on the opinions of the majority, and political equality must be subject to criticism since the minority decisions are not implemented. The American constitution restricts liberty since everyone cannot be countenanced to do what they want. The constitution however guarantees that everybody can do what they want provided it does not affect other people. This proves that America guarantees political equality to its citizens. All the laws in the American nation address the people as citizens and do not favor people on basic of color or economic status. The law requires that all people observe the laws regardless of their race, religion, creed, sexual orientation, or gender. In a court of law, the judges give judgments according to the law with no favors. However, with an increment in the number of immigrants in America, people have different views and opinions. Even the American natives have started having varying opinions, and the government cannot fulfill them all. This makes people argue that there is no political equality in America. On the negative side, the American political setup favors the Native Americans more. This has raised critiques claiming that the American political equality is not guaranteed. Smith’s prospect is turning out to be true since he said that at one point it will be difficult for the American government to treat everybody equally. American Democracy United States is a democratic nation where the people choose the people to govern them, and they support the policies implemented by the selected nation. The United States is ruled elected representatives who make decisions on behalf of the people they represent. Self-governance is implemented in all the institutions in the country since all leadership positions are given based on the election results. However, the American democracy is subject to criticism in various aspects such as its tendency to degenerate soft despotism since the majority is followed, and the minority left out. Such criticism conforms to the prospect of Liu, who said that a democracy is not self-sufficient and requires modifications to attain efficiency. In conclusion, America is a democratic nation which observes and respects political and social equity. References Dahl, Robert. The Democracy Sourcebook. Cambridge, Mass. MIT Press, 2003. Print. Liu, Eric. "Eric Liu for Democracy Journal: Sworn-Again Americans." Democracy Journal. N.p., 2012. Web. 23 Sept. 2014. Read More