There Are No Americans In America
Thomas Medel

THE BOOK

There Are No Americans in America is an opinionated, entertaining, and provocative work that will elicit as much backlash as praise and make people laugh and think simultaneously. The theme of identifying the problems with Americans and fixing them is an important one, and relayed in a unique and effective manner in this book. This book compiles direct quotes from an Internet survey, which asked questions regarding America, it's policy and controversial topics. Many quotes were used in the book to reinforce the author's opinion there are no Americans in America.

SAMPLE

Chapter 8

What is an American?

"The man who loves other countries as much as he loves his own is like the man who loves other women as much as he loves his own wife."

Teddy Roosevelt

______

"American" is a word that carries a lot of impact; it brings to mind such ideas as fighting for freedom, dying for freedom, and trying to do the right thing. It also conveys and the knowledge power and pride that we're the strongest, greatest nation in the world and that millions of people knock down our doors to become American.

Some people don't particularly like the idea that America has welcomed such a diverse population. For instance, in the book The Death of the West, Pat J. Buchanan paints us a picture of a decaying America, taken over by immigrants. Some of the bold and pretentious assumptions include the following From The Death of the West and www.drudgereport.com:

·Mexico is exporting its poor and unemployed for U.S. taxpayers to employ and educate. Radical and militant Hispanics and Mexican leaders alike believe this will lead to the cultural and demographic recapture of the Southwest from America, reversing the results of the Mexican War.

·The political agenda of California Hispanics includes race welfare for illegal aliens, racial preferences, bilingual education, open borders, dual citizenship, Cinco de Mayo as a California holiday and, in one case, replacing a statue of an American hero of the Mexican War with the Aztec god Quetzalcoatl.

·In 2001, an Office for Mexicans Abroad in Mexico was providing survival kits containing everything from dried meat to anti-diarrhea pills to condoms and providing them to Mexicans setting off to break in to the United States .

·In his chapter "La Reconquista," Buchanan contends that an invasion of the United States is taking place and that America now harbors a "nation within a nation," as there are 30 million foreign born in the U.S. today, and between 9 and 11 million illegal aliens, or as many undocumented aliens in the U.S. as there are people in Rhode Island, Massachusetts and Connecticut.

Let's face it--there aren't many Americans lining up to become citizens of another country, further proof that this country is indeed worthy of the monikers bestowed upon it. That is why so many people are knocking down the doors to America, and why there are so many immigrants and illegal aliens. This country was founded on immigrants, and despite the fact that Buchanan exhaustively researched his assumptions when he declared that the "sky is falling" in America (due to the number of Hispanics and other foreigners), he does not bring to light any solutions. The solution, however, is this--don't try to make more whites or people of European descent by breeding (Buchanan, by the way, calls the birth control pill the "suicide pill" of the West), simply make more Americans. Make the people, regardless of color, better Americans.

What makes America great? Americans make America great. We are the pieces of a great puzzle that is our country, and whoever has put together a puzzle knows that if one piece is missing, rotten, cracked, bent, or broken, it hampers the final product. So it is true with Americans and America.

But what is an American? That question is infinitely more difficult, and the purpose of this chapter is to explore what an American is so that we may find a way to create more and better Americans, and in turn, a better America.

An American is a patriot. He or she is an American before all else. Consider some of these comments from the survey:

"I suggest you add America to 'where are you from' on the first page."--John, 65

"Please add American as a nationality."--Terence, 36

"Change the question about nationalities. My nationality, for example, is American but my ethnicity is German."--Anonymous, 53

"I have relatives from all over Europe so I'm not sure how to respond. I don't identify with a single country."--Kepling, 34

"You really should have American as a choice in the preceding list of nationalities."--Anonymous, 53

"American is a nationality. It should be included among the choices."--Earl, 57

"Might be a novel idea to add American to the nationality list."--Anonymous

These are examples of people who think of themselves as Americans before any other description. We intentionally left "American" off the nationality list in order to make this point. Of the many people who filled out the survey, these are the only ones who complained that they were not allowed to choose their nationality as American. Less than 10 percent of survey respondents attempted to establish their nationality as American.

Some people forget to consider themselves Americans. Ask someone their nationality and you'll usually get responses like part German, full-blooded Italian, Mexican, a quarter Spanish with some Irish, and the like. Even African-Americans put "African" before their true nationality. What does this say about Americans? Nothing negative, but it does reveal a place where improvements can be made.

Citizens of this country harbor a national pride for their roots. It is just another factor that helps people establish themselves as individuals, which is ultimately an American idea. To achieve individuality, teenagers get pierced or listen to alternative music, some people get funny bumper stickers or paint flames on their car, and some people get tattoos. Many people, however, find that having a deep pride in their origins is a built-in way to establish their individualism. Many of us have grandparents or great-grandparents who were herded through Ellis Island and later toiled to build a foundation that our families stand on today. That is something to be proud of for many people, but in the process of harboring that pride, the depth of American pride can sometimes and, I repeat, sometimes be diminished. There are a lot of folks who love their mother country of Ireland and love America just the same, and will tell you as much. Yet, recall Roosevelt's quote at the beginning of this chapter: "The man who loves other countries as much as he loves his own is like the man who loves other women as much as he loves his own wife."

The real problem concerning nationality and being an American occurs when we call nationality something very different, yet related--race. It is in racism that individualism and varying heritages and cultures can be damaging. Race can be a crutch for failure (as in playing the race card) or can be a source of so much pride that everything else seems inferior (for instance, white supremacists who love themselves more than they hate black people.)

Race can be a crutch when failure occurs, a bat that pummels and destroys a peaceful balance in the country, or a badge of courage and toughness ("My family came to America sixty years ago with nothing and look at us now!") An American is not black, not white, not a Muslim or a Christian. An American is just that--an American, first and foremost. Everything else just shapes individual Americans. Those who help maintain the racial divides, those who forget they are Americans, those who love themselves and their heritage more than the country that fosters and protects them are American only by national standard--they are not trying to act the part by showing their patriotism and pride and, in turn, they are creating a need for more Americans.

This brings me to my next point--an American is tolerant. We know that Americans won't tolerate being attacked, that they won't tolerate their rights being infringed upon, but an American is tolerant, nonetheless. An American understands the value of freedom, and respects not only his or her individual freedom but respects the rights of others to exercise that freedom as well, and tolerates it when someone might want to use that freedom differently. Consider this comment:

"We should follow the Golden Rule and treat everyone equally."--Anonymous, 63

Ah, the Golden Rule. All of your basic ethics can be traced to one, bare-bones sentence. What makes this rule golden is that it can positively impact society and change the world for the better if everyone followed it. The Golden Rule, any way you slice it, indicates a belief in equality, whether it be in the version the survey-taker above mentioned, or the traditional "treat others as you would have them treat you" or some other variation. It's all about tolerance, all about accepting people for who they are and not what they are. Yes, there are many Americans who are not tolerant and, again, this doesn't mean they aren't Americans. But it means they can be better. A great American, simply, is a tolerant American.

The ability to appreciate someone elses opinions and beliefs if they differ from your own is tolerance. The ability to look someone in the eyes and smile regardless of their race or clothing or appearance or heritage is tolerance. A great American who happens to be white doesn't go around hugging black people just to show he is tolerant and vice versa. It's not about liking, it's about showing tolerance. Black or white, Christian or Muslim, a great American looks past the differences and sees others as part of a great country and the great ideals of that country. That is why a great American is tolerant. Imagine a soldier who is racist, yet goes to die for his country, not only for his family, but also for a race of people he dislikes. That is tolerance; that is being an American.

While tolerant, an American is also opinionated. Americans will always and should always make his or himself heard. Americans should make full use of the rights of the Constitution, writing letters when things upset them, voting for or against candidates who may or may not represent their interests and opinions. They should call into radio shows and disagree with what they think is wrong, and support what they think is right.

They should make jokes, whether it is about politicians, religion, or sex, or the chicken crossing the road. Americans should use the rights and freedoms to forge a living for themselves and the families they create. They should watch what they want to on TV, do what they want to in their free time, and pursue happiness to the fullest extent--life is too short not to.

Simply put, great Americans appreciate the environment and opportunity America presents, and they take advantage of those opportunities and freedoms.

To combine the last two ideas, I present this simple axiom: Be tolerant of others, but always be yourself, and try to be the best self you can be-although this is usually a pursuit and not a destination. The brave journey to reach our maximum potential is a noble pursuit and in the end it will make a better American as well as a better person, thus helping America greatly.

Perhaps the picture of an American can be better painted by revealing what an American is not. Americans are loyal, but they do not offer their loyalty blindly. Yes, but when someone refers to "American loyalty" a misconception often occurs. Examine this:

"American loyalty needs to be defined. Everyone wants to throw around loyalty this, loyalty that when there's derision in America. What about Vietnam? What about the people that were against the war, were they disloyal? We can draw that parallel today very easily with Iraq."--Preston, 39

Well said. This is the "land of the free," which means that an American doesn't have to blindly follow like a lemming off of a cliff when he or she may disagree with something. This is also the home of the brave and Americans are just that-brave. They have a duty to say things that may be deemed "disloyal" when they need to be said.

Look no further than our traitorous, disloyal forefathers who founded this country. Today, we look at them as patriots because they had a duty to not be blindly loyal. Americans must be American, and they must be brave, but they don't necessarily have to be loyal. Loyalty is love and will take care of itself. Lee Iacocca used to advertise Chrysler cars by saying "if you can find a better car, buy it."

Same thing goes for America. If you can find a better place go live there. That's common sense. People are Americans because they are loyal to that idea, but again, they must not be blindly loyal. Hitler led a great many blindly loyal citizens some time ago.

That being said, let's sum up with another comment:

"It's ok to offend people, there's nothing wrong with that. A politically correct world only lessens those who live in it. Stress equality, but not color or race. That only makes it seem as if there is a large difference between cultures instead of a difference of viewpoints. Encourage openness but also moderation. Tell the truth. Tell parents to teach their children values--religious or otherwise."--Anonymous, 17

This comment sums up the chapter nicely. The ideas of tolerance, equality, and individual expression are contained in the comment, and as we've examined, they are important aspects of what makes up an American.

Openness, equality, truth, values, and expression are important ideas that make up Americans. The last line of the commitment, involving teaching children values, will be discussed in the next chapter, which focuses on education.

As you can see, we've examined what makes up an American. Next, we'll talk about how we can populate our country with more and better Americans, thus strengthening our national fiber and curbing the supposed "takeover of the West" that Buchanan has foreseen.

THE AUTHOR

Thomas Medel is a 58-year-old man who was born and raised in Chicago. His family consists of his wife and two children, all of whom are his driving force. He was educated by the Catholic School system through grammar school and continued to Chicago Public high school. At the age of 20-years-old, he began investing his time and money into the real estate market in Chicago and surrounding areas. He has kept himself quite an active community member by donating his time and efforts to various organizations, while owning various corporations. Thomas is a recipient of many awards and certificates along his road of life.

The most important road he has taken and respected is to care for his fellowman. This is all of the inspiration he had to compose this book. He would vigilantly ask people along these many roads, “What is your nationality?” With dismay, he wrote the book on the answers that he received, since everyone answered all but American. His question to you is; why if you were born in the United States of America can you be any other nationality than American?

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