What does it mean to be an American and what are your roots?

[Anonymous]

Where did your parents come from and what makes you feel like an American really?

Example: my dad is an irish, my mom is a dutch. I was Born in the US but that this ans that makes me feel like an American and combine us under the flag.

[NaultD]

My mother is from an alaskan native Village. My father was born in Montana but raised in different parts of Alaska.

It is fundamentally different like a testing ground, Last frontier and all. I'm still feeling what is normal majority of the time.

Things I've noticed is jury duty is super important. We all feel oppressed by the overwhelming power of the state. Yet we undermine and see jury duty as a burden when it's where the will of the people and written law is where rubber meets the road and the power is on the people determining facts of the matter.

That is undeniably the greater strength of our constitution. Even over freedom of speech and even ability to vote i dare say. Not to say those things aren't important but it's only possible because we do have a jury of peers as a foundation of our government.

"There are these two young fish swimming along and they happen to meet an older fish swimming the other way, who nods at them and says "Morning, boys. How's the water?" And the two young fish swim on for a bit, and then eventually one of them looks over at the other and goes "What the hell is water?"

[boundless]

I was born in Florida. Both of my parents are American and were born in Florida.

[CupcakeTheDestroyer]

I’m American, my parents and grandparents are also American, as are my great-grandparents. I think it was my great-great grandparents that first immigrated here, at least on my maternal grandfather’s side. His grandparents were first-generation polish immigrants. My maternal grandmother’s family had been in the US for about 4 generations when she was born, primarily from Scotland. My paternal side is not as well-documented, but we can presume they came here around the same time as many Irish immigrants, as I’m Irish and English on my father’s side. The beauty of America is that anyone, from anywhere, can be American. I can’t go to Serbia and be Serbian, I can only be American. Same with Germany, Uganda, Japan, etc. in all of those places I can never be their nationality, I can only be American, but anyone from any of those nations can become American.

[seeyounexttuesday]

My family has been in the US since the 1740s. I have German, English, Irish, and Scottish heritage.

[Dargil]

E pluribus Unum

[noohair]

Americans are citizens, Europeans are subjects.