Dwayne Monroe wrote:
>Many people's definition of what it means to be an
>American closely orbits around a tightly packed sphere
>of vague concepts: idealized simplicity,
>anti-internationalism, very basic religiosity,
>de-ethnicized Whiteness and oceans of sentimentality
>but almost no melancholy of the contemplative sort
>(and when the human situation is considered in full,
>surely some amount of laughing sadness seems
>required).
>
>To the extent a person strays from this behavioral
>template they are, maybe, something else besides an
>American in the usual way that label is used.
>
I wonder. I came to this country in 63, at nine years old, and have been
here since.
Some of the worse people I ever met are Americans...and some of the best. When Americans are great, I think they are nearly unbeatable for courage, tolerance, open-mindedness, and humor. Maybe, just like Catholics, if they are able to step out of a mold, they break all molds. A great thing.
Joanna
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