"Unamerican" | Teen Ink

"Unamerican"

May 11, 2013
By My_Precocious BRONZE, O&#39Fallon, Missouri
My_Precocious BRONZE, O&#39Fallon, Missouri
2 articles 1 photo 2 comments

Favorite Quote:
&quot;An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind.&quot; <br /> -Mahatma Gandhi


“Unamerican.” The word has no meaning. None. How could it when the most beautiful thing about America- the most democratic country that was, is, and ever will be- is that you can hold any belief or opinion you want and not be discriminated against for it? Does it not logically follow then that nothing can be Unamerican if everything is American?
The most deeply-held value of all the principles America was founded upon is acceptance and freedom. America is the culmination of all people, no matter their religion, sexual orientation, color, anything. America is illustrious because this is where people don’t see appearances; they see personality, potential, and capacity. This is where it doesn’t matter what color your skin is or how idealistic your beliefs, because if you try, you can make it in America. This is the place where equal opportunity means equal opportunity; no ands, ifs, or buts.
America is singularized by its multitudes: of people, of beliefs, of hopes, of dreams. Furthermore, by its acceptance of those multitudes. America is revered as the place where every person in the multitude of people that make up this country counts just as much as any other, regardless of any social, racial, genetic, or physical factor. So who is anyone to limit that multitude in any way? To turn America’s back on the very core principle it was founded upon… with just one utterance?
There is a reason people leave the land of their forefathers and move to America. There is a reason people see America as the best country in the world. There is a reason America has become the world’s only superpower. And that reason it not because someone took something fundamentally American- because everything is American- and deemed it “unamerican.”
So if there is anything that is truly, honest-to-goodness “unamerican,” it is dubbing someone or something Unamerican.


The author's comments:
There is an appalling double standard in American society and in American politics and culture- despite America being hailed as the “ideal Democratic Republic” in which equality reigns supreme- caused by stereotypes, prejudice, and other preconceived, erroneous, notions

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