How do you define "American"?

Question

Who are American really? Heritage/culture or passport?

What i mean is that are you Irish, Chinese, Japanese becuase of your parents and your heritage?

Does American can have something like Chinese-American. Is that what I am?
Am I American yet Chinese? (I was born and raised in USA, but my parents are Chinese and legal immigrants)

Can you be both?

Answer 1

There is no real way to define an American. We're a country made of many countries, and our culture is made of many cultures. If I had to define an American, though, I'd say that he/she is a person who loves their country, cares about their family, and appriciates a free society.

Answer 2

America is the heritage of humanity. Every single race and culture exists here. The population is not of a single pigment or religious belief.

Politics are not well ordered meetings. It is a tavern brawl. It is brutal but it is also honest. We say what we please and the world be damned if they don’t like it.

We are not perfect and will make mistakes, as is all too clear sometimes. But when the planet is threatened by genocidal maniacs, the USA is there to balance the books and send the bad guys packing.

It may not always be like this but for now, America is the balance between a world that has no order and one that has the promise of tomorrow.

Answer 3

I define an american is one who is here legally that pays taxes on hisor her taxable income. An american is not one who gets paid "CASH". An american can read and speak the english language with minimal proficiency. An american obeys the laws of this country. It is illegal to cross our borders with out checking with this county; therefore an illegal immigrant is never and will never be an AMERICAN". An american will never fly an upside down american flag under the mexican flag as had occured in So. california

Answer 4

A·mer·i·can ( P ) Pronunciation Key (-mr-kn)
adj.
Of or relating to the United States of America or its people, language, or culture.
Of or relating to North or South America, the West Indies, or the Western Hemisphere.
Of or relating to any of the Native American peoples.
Indigenous to North or South America. Used of plants and animals.

n.
A native or inhabitant of America.
A citizen of the United States.
American English.

Answer 5

An American is someone who is born on Amercian soil or married to an American or has gone through the proper channels to pass and recieve citizenship.

Answer 6

Americans are people who are accepted by fellow americans as you can see with racism and other factors in the American society no matter what race, age, or sex you are not everone approves you to be an american so in true fact there are no americans

Answer 7

American, culturally, generally refers to things which originated within the United States of America.

Some foods, such as hamburgers, are seen as American cuisine.

Some sports, such as baseball or American football, are seen as American, even though they may be played in other countries.

Some music genres, such as jazz, hip hop, country music, barbershop, or American folk music are seen as American, even though they may be popular in other countries.

In Latin America, American has cultural connotations of a pan-American sense of identity as popularly documented by old songs like "Si somos americanos", [If we are Americans] by Chilean songwriter, Rolando Alarcón, and more recent ones like "América" by José Luis Perales.

Anything that comes from america...

Answer 8

passport no one is American everyone came from somewhere else except the native Indians and they are considered aboriginals to this piece of land. even the cowboys deep in the heart of Texas came from somewhere else (but don't tell them that)

Answer 9

Legally you're american if you have an american passport.

Answer 10

Born in the USA! That's how.