Today in class we talked briefly about the concept of being an American. A large part of what makes this country so great is the cultural melting pot that it has always been. The concept of American crosses racial and ethnic lines. It's almost more of an ideal than anything else. I'm extremely proud to be an American (I'm even prouder to be a Texan) and have a family history that traces it's roots to the earliest points of this nations history.
However, I do have a rebuttal to something that was mentioned in class. Another large and important part of being an American is citizenship and the responsibilities that lie there in. Therefore, to refer to an illegal immigrant (from any country) as an American is by definition incorrect. The fact that illegal aliens are called such is because they live illegally in this country and are citizens of a foreign country. Illegals, regardless of their origin, are no more American than I would be Kenyan if I were to live for an extended period in Kenya. It is imperative that immigrants become citizens or at the very least obtain a green card with the hopes of eventual citizenship. Otherwise they are leaching off of the American system.
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