Being An American: Afflictions And Possibilities
An American (by definition) is someone or something relating to or characteristic of the United States or its inhabitants, or it could mean a native or citizen of the United States. With being a U. S citizen, there also comes social rules that most would think as it just common sense. A great portion of qualified American citizens are unaware of these straightforward and facile rules, for example: respecting others opinions, extensively being respectful to people you may not like for some ignorant reason (i. e skin color, religion, political views, etc), and having common sense. Being an American citizen sounds like a good thing to those who don’t have the opportunity, and for that you must be grateful if you have the chance to be one.
A perk of being an American means you have the right to freedom of speech, or freedom and protected rights. Americans can say whatever they want and the law protects them. This is different from other countries were if you say anything that opposes the government or simply having a different opinion may get you prosecuted, but in America your worry free and can say whatever you want to. Now someone might say something you might not agree with and as an American citizen they can express this idea worry free. Freedom of speech can have different gifts too, like being able to practice your religion safely, protesting, and disagreeing with the government.
Also being an American and having freedom doesn't mean you have total and complete freedom, there are still some rules you have to follow, and if you don't follow these rules then don't expect anything less than being incarcerated. As citizens we respect the laws because they are clearly communicated and easy to follow. If you are told to do something by a force of the government, unambiguously do it with no vacillation and everything will be ok. If you are an immigrant, life will be harder for you, because even though America may be advanced, we are still vastly away from a ‘’perfect’’ country. There other American citizens who feel as if that if you migrated from a different country then you are a danger to their well-being, and for that they will treat you as lesser than them, or by a common U. S. term, an ‘’alien’’. Life won't only be harder for you because of those people, but also because you might get less opportunities because of something so doltish like not speaking perfect English or not being born American. Even though it may be unfair, that's just the way it is and people will never change.
In conclusion, being an American can mean having a large amount of possibilities that you may not have had before wherever you were, but it can also come with the afflictions. It is up to you whether you think it is worth it or not to make the life changing decision to become an American citizen, but in most cases it is the astute decision.
