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Garrett Honeycutt 10/11/13 Mrs. Muesing English 1101

America to Me
Being a US citizen now for 18 years, I have developed a sense of what it means to live, work, and enjoy the leisures of the so called land of the free which is known as America. This country was formed, in part, of people from England wanting to branch out from the rule of parliament and live in freedom and without punishment by the government. Since the foundation of this country, there have been many trying times that have given this country a bad reputation, but there have also been times when this country has stood strong in times of hardship that have made me proud to be a part of such an amazing country. Deciding on three images to describe America was a difficult task due to all of the history I have learned about America, but now that I have gotten older I am starting to notice how this country is not the utopia everyone is making it out to be so this is my view of what America is to me. Freedom is a powerful word that catches the attention of people all around the world and draws them to the places it can be found. Along with being a free citizen; each person receives rights that cannot be taken from them at any point in their life unless they are in prison. The dictionary definition of freedom is: the power or right to act, speak, or think as one wants without hindrance or restraint. The constitution allows for a persons rights as a US citizen under the first ten amendments known as the Bill of Rights. Freedom of speech, right to bare arms,

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and pleading the fifth amendment are all examples of how Americans have rights where they live. One of the reasons why immigrants migrate to America is because of equal opportunity for the American people. Meaning that people from different ethnicities, cultures, and backgrounds all have an equivalent chance to reach goals that they set. A major example of this is an individual starting their own business that fits their style of life without any government interference. Businesses can open, close, and market what they want, and not have to worry about the government controlling or regulating what the company or business does. The image below is an example of how businesses operate under the control of other humans with no

government ownership.

The whole reason behind this picture is to describe

how goals can be achieved in America at a higher percentage than most other countries. I am not saying that each persons dream is to open up a restaurant, but it is an example of how equal opportunity comes into play. Think of this as a new opportunity country to start a new chapter in your life and become whoever you want to be. As much as I want to brag on the country in which I live, there are lots of things that go on daily that I dont notice or havent experienced it first-hand. Now, granted, there are many wealthy people that live and thrive I America, but there is also a large number of the population that is homeless and suffers from poverty. I have never been associated with either of these

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circumstances, but it is a problem that shouldnt go unrecognized by the more fortunate people. One in six Americans live on incomes that put them at risk for hunger which shows that even though there are opportunities in America, there is always going to be poverty no matter how much a place might thrive in the economic market. America isnt the only country that suffers from high poverty rates, but it is a large enough factor to be considered a problem in the US. Below is a picture describing the homeless situation in America and how this situation is worth reviewing when thinking about what America means to me?

My question to society and the government is why is this number so high for a country that prides itself on being wealthy. I know that poverty is not all the governments fault because some people dont take an initiative to make the most of their God given talents and it is just upsetting the percent of people that dont care enough to do something to change for a better lifestyle. Hopefully this number will decrease over the next couple of years which would mean an increase in job labor and a decrease in the amount of people living on the street barely surviving for their life. The backbone of this country is democracy and the idea that US citizens have a say so in who should be running this country on a national level as well as local government levels. People have a little bit more ease of feeling knowing that the person in charge of the country was voted in by them.

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The final view of what America means to me is one that is a good trait to have in my opinion. Retaliation is a common thing amongst humans and countries are no different. Of course there are treaty agreements and alliances that haven been in place, but America has never been known to back down and let another country try and control them or take what they have. The country stands firm in its beliefs and will do anything to protect the citizens of this country from harms way. So in a since America is like an over protective mother that will do anything to make sure the status stays quo. Below is an image symbolizing how America shields its people from harm and danger in order to make for a more perfect union.

The shield represents the protective forces at the governments disposal and the house symbolizes America and how the country will always be protected to the best of the governments abilities. All of these stipulations are strictly a personal opinion of what I think of when someone asks me how to describe America. The background behind all of the images came from a process of elimination of different ideas I thought America to be. The top three choices were equal opportunity, poverty, and retaliation. There is a deeper meaning behind all of them and they all symbolize a feature of the American system. Each country has its flaws that they are not proud of, but behind all of the flaws are characteristics in a country that make up for some of the wrong doings. Overall I am still proud to be an American and live in a land where freedom is a way of

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life instead of a rarity, and I think that most people would agree that even though we take this country for granted; there is no other place in the world offers as much as this country offers to us.