Proud to be an American

Jul 02, 2010

By: Oakland Press staff

Editor’s note: Third- and fourth-graders at Lakeville Elementary School in Oxford shared their thoughts on what it means to be an American.

To me, being an American means being free. In some countries you have to do certain things. We call this command economy, which means you don’t have any freedom.
I am lucky to be an American because we have rights to do what we want to like, eat what we want, wear what we want and be a free citizen. —
Rebekah

To be an American means to be free. We can’t have slavery! And we can go to a public school or a private school. Girls can vote! — Hudson

America has freedom. America has love. America has happiness. America has independence. America means being strong. America means working hard. America means red, white and blue. — Salina

What it means to be American to me is that I can be free (believe in what I want to believe in). Go to school all the way up to college. Wear what I want to wear. It doesn’t matter what color I am. I can do any job I want to do. I can play sports. I can do most things that boys can do. I love being an American so much. Go America! — Raquel

Being an American means a lot to me. I am glad to be one because in other countries girls have to wear scarfs on their head and if they don’t they get in big trouble and some girls can only do school for 11 years so one reason I love being an American is because of our freedom. I will enjoy being an American for my entire life. — Sydney

(Being an American) means freedom. It means independence. It means we can say what we feel. It means being strong. It means hard work. It means love. — Ava

Sophia Frye (left, age 2) and Hope Frye (age 5) show off their patriotic colors. Photo taken on Tuesday, June 22, 2010, in Bloomfield Hills, Mich. (The Oakland Press/Jose Juarez)

To me, to be an American is to be free, other places have to wear certain things. We don’t. Other places are under leadership. In America, we’re a democracy. In other places you can only do certain jobs. In American you can do any job you want, that’s what America means to me. — Zachary

It’s an honor to be an American. We are lucky, some people in other countries don’t have an opportunity to do the stuff we can. It’s an honor to be an American. — Robert

It’s an honor to be a part of the U.S.A. Our country is free and not all states are free and they should be. And America has the best president to help us to be safe. Follow the law and he does all his duties and gets them done as fast as possible. — Skylar

We are free. We don’t have to wear certain clothes. We can be how we want to be. — Gracie

What it means to be an American. It means to have freedom, have rights. Live life like we please. Have fun, relax, have kids, get a good education and go to college. Vote, live life, have fun, relax. — Luke

What it means to be an American is we are free to not have slavery, free to wear what you want to wear, and free to eat what you want to eat. — Reagan

To be American is to believe in freedom. I can wear what I want, unlike in the East. I get to go to school, unlike other places where girls can’t go to school. I have my rights to speak. In America they keep kids safe. I have a home. My dad lost his job and he got right back on track within a couple of months. He got the job he wanted. I meet the nicest kids in America. I love the teachers, the families, even the nature and the animals. I love America. — Maddie

What does it mean to be an American? To me it means we have freedom to do what we want. — Andrew

To me, being an American means having freedom by not having a dictator who tells you what to do and how to do it, but to have a president who lets you make choices on what your religion is or what you want to do with your life. Also being American also means to have the same rights as everyone else no matter what your skin tone or religion is or what gender you are. Being American also means to have an easier life, to get access to technology.
Another great thing about being American is having the ability to go to the hospital whenever you had a stroke or a seizure or even a heart attack and get help. It also means to have nice clean water, unlike some countries who have unsafe water. — Abbey

To me being an American means that I have freedom to say what I want, I can vote, and choose my religion. We have soldiers that fight for our freedom. This is what it means to be an American. — Connor

What it means to be an American is to have freedom and the ability to choose your own path in your life. — Logan

I like being an American because we have freedom, freedom of speech. You can believe whatever you want. No slavery, you can look like you want and wear what you want and talk like you want. — Felix

What it means to be an American is a part of a big family, following laws and leading, helping and supporting each other, freedom and justice, and never being lonely. — Elsa

I think it takes a lot to be an American. I think one of them should be appreciation.You should look at a picture of a gone soldier and say “He was one of those people who gave his life to our country and freedom, and I thank him a lot.”
Another thing I think it takes to be an American is freedom. You should be treated equally.
My last thing it takes to be American is independence. We are ourselves and only ourselves. We make our own laws. — Evan

I’m proud to be an American because we grow good food and great American friends and family. You should be proud to be an American. America rocks. — Leah

I am proud to be an American because we are all independent workers and we grow a lot of different foods. — Dade

I’m proud to be an American because we’re free as Americans and we all help the world. — Adam

I am proud to be an American because we’re all independent workers and because we all have great schools to learn in. — Sam

I am proud to be an American because America has liberty and justice, also because we help stop bad things that happen. — Shane

I’m proud to be an American because there are many people and places to see and meet and people protect mother earth and her creations. — Gabriella

I’m proud to be an American because I have free freedom of speech and so I can say my opinion without getting in trouble and everyone gets treated fairly and I think that’s important because if you were not treated fairly you wouldn’t be happy. — Andrew

I’m proud to be an American because people help other people and because a lot of people in America care about the earth. — Emilie

I’m proud to be an American because we can be helpful to other Americans and I can reduce, reuse, and recycle. — Paige

I’m proud to be an American because we have freedom and because we have the Constitution.— Ian

I’m glad to be an American because when there becomes oil spills people try to stop it so it doesn’t kill animals and make them endangered. — Sabrina

I’m proud to be an American because I love English and I like being an American. — Emma

I’m proud to be an American to live in a free country and I’m also proud our country cares for the environment. — Jon

I’m proud to be an American because it’s what I am and we fight and fight and never give up. — Rickyia

I’m proud to be an American because we help animals in need and because I care about Michigan and I will not litter and I do not pollute. — Gabbi

I’m proud to be an American because of all the good food and because all the interesting facts we have in every state. — Vanessa

I’m happy that I’m an American because we grow food, vegetables, and fruits. — Kayden

It means very much to be an American because you get to live your best life. Also we are a great democracy (and) it has lots of states that I would really love to go to. That’s why it’s an honor to be in a great country like America. — Vanessa

What it means to be an American, to me it means I can be free, my family and friends can be free and my pets can be free. It means I can get a good degree or wear what I want to wear, eat what I want or to have freedom to be free. — Claire

What it means to be an American is to be yourself. You can be a silly American, or a caring American or a joyous American. That’s the best part about being an American, being you. And it’s OK to be you. Inspire yourself. Be an American and like living in America. — Sydni

This entry was posted on Friday, July 2nd, 2010 at 2:02 pm and is filed under Opinion, Top News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.