Introduction
The American identity has been defined very loosely due to its very broad nature. Being a unique amalgam of numerous cultures and simultaneously incorporating the characteristics that are entirely unique to the American people, the essence of being an American is quite elusive. In his speech in 2016, Obama addressed the notion of “Americanness” as the sum of experiences that American society has undergone over the past few decades and the changes that have affected the concept of rights and freedoms within the American sociocultural and political environment.
Referencing a comparatively recent phenomenon of racial discrimination and the following ongoing fight for the rights and freedoms of the African American population in the U.S., Obama contextualizes the notion of Americanness as the sum of the existing socio-cultural and historical experiences (Foner 1164). The decision to define being an American through the lens of racial and ethnic inequalities in modern American society sets the focus of the analysis on the historical, cultural, and social exploration of the American identity, implying the ability to reconcile with one’s past and derive important lessons from it.
Main body
The focus on the complex relationships with the African American community and the progress made in pursuit of equality can be considered one of the cornerstones in cementing the American identity. In his endeavor at defining it through the lens of the changes made to address racial inequalities and the history of racism in the U.S., Obama has made it possible to establish the pursuit of justice and equality as one of the foundational aspects of being an American.
Coupled with the ability to acknowledge past mistakes and being able to move forward without forgetting the lessons learned from the past. The specified perspective allows defining being an American as the ability to reconcile with one’s mistakes and learn from them by improving the relationships with others and promoting justice at all levels of relationships within modern society. The cultural legacy of the U.S. might be very grim and filled with inherent contradictions, yet the lessons learned from it allows one to “to settle our disputes with argument and ideas and votes instead of violence and simple majority rule” (“Barack Obama, Howard University Commencement Address (2016)”).
Thus, the lesson of democracy as the cornerstone of the American identity is what makes Obama’s interpretation thereof particularly important for the present-day U.S. population. Therefore, the representation of being an American as supporting democratic values at their core is the best way of determining the current concept of the American identity.
Conclusion
By defining being an American through the historical lens and mentioning the challenges that the U.S. citizens had to experience in order to create an environment in which at least partial equality could be attained, Obama has encouraged the perspective of diversity as one of the foundational ways of looking at the true American identity.
Incorporating the lessons from history and the complicated relationships between different ethnicities and races in American society into the context of the American identity, Obama has managed to construct the platform for future reconciliation between different cultures within modern American society. By being able to look back at American history and recognize the weight and legacy of the mistakes made in the past, American people will be able to create a better future and pave the way to social and racial equality in their community.
Works Cited
“Barack Obama, Howard University Commencement Address (2016).” The American Yawp Reader, n.d. Web.
Foner, Eric. Give Me Liberty! 3rd ed., W. W. Norton & Company, 2016.