If a man is going to be an American at all let him be so without any qualifying adjectives, and if he is going to be something else, let him drop the word American from his personal description.
Sentiment: NEGATIVE
Having different people come together and be on a team and win a world championship is literally, I think, the definition of being American.
To be an American is to be part of the world because America, all the people of the world come to America.
The Englishman wants to be recognized as a gentleman, or as some other suitable species of human being, the American wants to be considered a good guy.
I think of myself as a plain human being who happens to be an American.
You know that being an American is more than a matter of where your parents came from. It is a belief that all men are created free and equal and that everyone deserves an even break.
The capacity to be intrinsic and vulgar is American.
I don't really know what 'American' is. I know what Ukrainian is. We're happy Slavic people. We're not Dostoyevsky Slavic people. There's this sense of 'pick it up, get your hands dirty, make the best of it, celebrate.'
I am not an American; I am the American.
One can not be an American by going about saying that one is an American. It is necessary to feel America, like America, love America and then work.
Here's an idea: How about just 'Americans?' That has a nice ring to it, if you ask me. Placing undue emphasis on our 'separateness' is a step backward. Bring back the melting pot.