Surrounded by the quiet lingering beneath the low branches of trees that form a roof of leaves above me in the gardens at the Art Institute of Chicago, I sit alone, my thoughts and perceptions the closest form of conversational company as I listen to the gentle rush of water arching up from the fountains. At last, reaching my goal of 40 pages a day, I stand up, and close my copy of Henry James's 'The Ambassadors'. As the idyllic charm of the gardens wears off as I make for the exit, the noisy hysteria of The Loop rapidly, and contagiously invades past my eardrum like the engulfing tide of a giant torrent, flooding into the deepest caverns of my mind. Walking amongst crowds of people wondering this way and that like energized atoms, while cars clog up the wide street of Michigan Avenue, sounding their horns out of an eagerness to get somewhere, I wonder to myself: Amidst America's chaotic desire to make something of itself, has it ever stopped, swallowed a breath, and taken one hard look at herself in the mirror? After all, no one can aspire for newer heights without knowing upon which peak they stand at present.
What does it mean to be American? That is a question that scholars, historians and authors such as Henry James have posed through their work since the dawn of America's existence as an independent country. It is a question who's answer has changed, evolved and multiplied with each passing year. From the Antebellum Era, throughout the Gilded Age (where the influence of the American Gentility and Robber Barons reached record heights) and the Roaring 20's, to the end of the Second World War, being American meant being rich and successful. Then came the 1950's, an age that saw the Unite States become a global juggernaut in economic, political and cultural prowess, ushering in a new age of American Exceptionalism -- a notion that today, still continues to influence domestic and foreign attitudes towards America. Indeed, in the United States, there are opportunities and institutions that lay down powerful foundations to allow mankind to grasp the greets of human potential. But does being American, or living in America make one great? Looking at what this country has accomplished over its 240 year tenure, there is a strong case that can be made for American Exceptionalism as a fact. But even if American Exceptionalism may exist, just because you are American does not mean you are an exception.
Henry James wasn't particularly fond of the Unite States. In fact, near the end of his life, he renounced his citizenship in favour of becoming a subject to the British Empire. However, like many of his contemporaries in American Literature, he was highly critical of the vain patriotism exhibited by those of his former countrymen. Born and raised in an America that has still yet to establish its place in the world, and still dominated by the isolationist mindset of the Monroe Doctrine, what James found utterly distasteful was the insulated nature of his country's nationalistic sensibilities. Many around this time had not set foot in the outside world, but were nevertheless, given into the bias that the United States was the greatest country in the world. Not only does this perception still resonate powerfully today in 21st century America, but the ideals behind it: Freedom and Equality. Don't believe me? Just watch any of the political debates that have transpired during this year's presidential election. At the DNC and RNC, congressmen and senators from both sides of the aisle eagerly stood before national television, and rambunctiously boasting, testified how equality and freedom -- but particularly freedom -- was the fuel behind America's greatness. If you think such ideals are what render the United States vastly superior in comparison to other nations, you'd best go on Youtube, and watch the opening scene for the Pilot of Aaron Sorkin's 'The Newsroom'.
Whether or not I agree with Jeff Daniels that America is no longer the 'it' nation, one segment in his dialogue that resonates with fundamental honesty is that there are other countries -- especially those part of the EU and NATO -- which offer freedom and equality, and in many respects, even do a better job at sustaining these values. For all the misconceptions levied against Canada as a socialist country, my sales taxes were lower than what residents in 90% of American States pay. Oh, and as a bonus, Canada, like Europe, has Universal Healthcare Coverage. Even our education is more accessible. In Germany, its free. Yes, free. The only place in America where the f-word has been echoing loudly in recent months is gun control, or more accurately, the lack of it. As a country founded to stand against the despotism of tyranny, a dark irony resides in how the States expends so much of its energy to establish when one should have the freedom to kill, even going as far as to privilege it over determining when one should have the freedom to live.
In order to answer the question of what it means to be American, one must first learn to distance him/herself from inherited preconceived notions. While ideas are fundamental to national identity, the nature by which they are perceived changes with the passage of time, and is only as finite as the people who interpret them in such a manner. When America became a country in 1776, the Declaration of Independence and the American Constitution were signed under the belief that freedom and equality only applied to white, property owning males. Today, such rights are prescribed to people of all races and genders -- or at least to a greater extent (there is still a lot of work that needs to be done). For one to define with his/her nation, it is not only important to remember the mistakes and accomplishments of the past, but to be aware of the mistakes and accomplishments of the present, so that further mistakes that will enviably be made can be transformed into accomplishments in the future. Identity, whether national or personal, exists in three parts -- where you were, where you are, and where you desire to be. The issue many Americans have is that they have the former and the latter, but seem a tad out of touch with what's currently going on around them (Fox, NBC, Sean Hannity, you can blame American media for circulating infotainment instead of honesty). They are either nostalgic beyond delusion (the GOP and the South), or ambitious with a reckless abandon. In all fairness though, these traits also manifest as a universal human flaw. What's remarkable about being in American lies not in the possession of freedom and equality, but in the experiences, convictions and aspirations derived from one's predecessors, contemporaries and successors made unique to the individual through the presence of such ideals.
What does it mean to be American? Earlier this week, I posed this very question to friends and colleagues who grew up or lived extensively in the States. Their responses varied in length and tardiness, few were even baffled as they tried to grasp the enormity of the question. As a country that continues to grow ethnically and ideologically diverse, it is impossible to capture the answer in one word, let alone an entire novel. But, when one looks back into the annals of America's history, perhaps there is a certain amount of justified pride we can allow ourselves to be awed by. This country was the birthplace of some of the world's most innovative men and women -- leaders, entrepreneurs, teachers, people who dramatically altered the world of governance, art, literature, science and technology into how we know it today. So what does it mean to be American? To be American is not to be great, rather it is to live simultaneously for yesterday, for now and for tomorrow, it is to embrace experiences unfiltered by life, it is to hope, to fear, to sleep, to dream, to breath. At the core of its many facets, it is to be bound by the oldest cliche that ties all fates to the inaudible pulse of a beating heart. It is to be human.
