Adam Touti

English IV
Ms. O’Keefe
January 27, 2018
https://www.wevideo.com/view/1062627097

The Real Americans

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When you think off this concept, it's not easy to comprehend what it really means. Living

in America always has had its flaws and in this case one of the big problems would be getting

labeled. One particular way people are thought of here is being the “Real Americans” or

something else in this country. In this country, you have the right to speak your mind as it is your

first amendment rights. But at the same time, people of this country would label others who are

immigrants or born in this country and have there family members from somewhere else. The

definition for being a “Real American” is put by people as someone who is in higher power and

has money in the United States. In most cases, this is always prepared by White Americans since

they think they are the “Real Americans” due to the fact of them having loads of money and

being more wealthier than most of the rest of the public. So if you are poor not wealthy like most

of the white population of Americans, you are not what they would call a “Real American”.

Being labeled is the last thing that someone would want especially by those who have power

over them. This would also be taken by the public as a form of discrimination and racism as

whites are saying they are better than everyone else and no one can be like them.
 Most of the time, it is white Americans that use the phrase “Real Americans to label

certain people that live in the United States. They have also started to evolve it based on your

origins and what your beliefs are in most cases. In the Washington Post, it states “ ​Does being

American depend on who you are ​—​ your country of origin, your skin color, your religion?

Scholars call this an “ethnic” definition of citizenship, and it’s echoed in the Trump

administration’s effort to restrict immigration from certain Muslim-majority countries.” This

explains how people in power, specifically Donald Trump want to keep out certain people from

entering the United States. It ties with the idea as he is a rich white person who wants only those

like him to live in America and therefore be the “Real Americans” since everyone else was not

the same as them. Some of the groups being targeted with this type of hate and labeling would be

the likes of Muslims mainly as they were seen as threats and a group that does not deserve to be

in the United States. At the same time, the labeling was also based on what beliefs they had.

With this subject, as to religion played a big aspect on what the government would consider a

“Real American”. In the Washington Post, it states “ While 62 percent of Trump primary

supporters said being Christian was very important to being American. ​ ​The challenge is clear. If

the country is going to have a debate about immigration that centers on whether Muslims and

other non-Christian immigrants can be truly “American”. This explains how based on what the

government wants is how people are thought of as the “Real Americans” or not. The system with

the two political parties that we have vary very differently, but in most cases, the Republican

party that is with Trump. And most are against others who come from outside the country such

as Muslims or Hispanics due to these main reasons. It is made clear that one key aspect
according those with power to be a “Real American” is to have a certain religion, which in this

case is Christianity.

In the United States itself, the population of people who are from different countries just

keeps on growing and growing. The people who have the most power are whites and think only

they can be rich and have that power over other people. However, there are people in the history

of the United States that were labeled the “Real Americans” just because they were famous or

had an impact in some way. At the same time, they were originally from other places like

Europe. In the Huffington Post, it states “ Albert Einstein, Elie Wiesel, Audrey Hepburn, Eddie

Van Halen, Sergey Brin? All White but all were immigrants. Maya Angelou, I.M. Pei,

Muhammad Ali, BB King, Ellen Ochoa, Harriet Tubman, Yo Yo Ma, Dr. Pedro Jose Greer,

Langston Hughes, Junot Diaz, Duke Ellington, Carlos Santana, Bruce Lee, Isabel Allende,

Charles Drew, Dolores Huerta, Sundar Pichai, Rita Moreno, Dr.Ahmed Zewail, Thurgood

Marshall, Sonia Sotomayor, I could go on and on - but think of how different history would have

been without them ... but they were all, well, too colorful in the eyes of some to be considered

“Real Americans.” This is a list of key people that had an impact on America itself and it didn’t

where they were from because they were famous in other words. So in this case, it is clear that if

you are famous or did something that had an impact on the rest of society, you would also be

labeled a “Real American”. Other people hit by the fact that they are not “Real Americans”

would be the likes of African Americans and Hispanics. Different Organizations have been

created to help them out as they went through struggles from the past and present. In the

Huffington Post, it states “ Another target is the Black Lives Matter movement. Let’s be clear,
there would be no America without the bold, powerful, organized dissent of our Founding

​ he Civil Rights movement in the

Fathers (guess women weren’t allowed to dissent back then).​ T

60s? El Movimiento or Chicano Civil Rights movement and now the Dreamers movement? Or

the Stonewall Rights movement? These movements were all seen as disruptive yet have shaped

America forever, although we are still works in progress. And so will the Black Lives Matter

movement and other efforts which will rise up in the near future to address injustices.” This

explains how the different organizations created were what made the United States in some

aspect. They have brought more people together and those who feel threaten to open themselves

and realize that there are ways they can get help if they are living under the shadows of their

former selves.

So in conclusion, people in the United States are going through a struggle when it comes

to those in power labeling them “Real Americans” or not. Considering we have a president and

government that goes on the belief of being born in the U.S. and having to be white with power

makes the situation even more worse. The idea of being a “Real American” should not be used

for those in power, but for anyone living in the United States as they came to this country for

equal rights and benefits which is provided for them, rather than fighting and standing up for

what they believe in due to discrimination and racism thrown against them. Whether you are

Muslim, African American, or any other race or believe in any other religion, that should not

determine if you are a “Real American” or not.

 Work Cited Page
Tijerino, Jose Antonio. “Real Americans.” ​The Huffington Post​, TheHuffingtonPost.com, 18
Oct. 2016, ​www.huffingtonpost.com/jose-antonio-tijerino/real-americans_1_b_12548734.html​.

Sides, John. “Analysis | What Makes Someone a ‘Real’ American? 93% of Americans Actually
Agree on This.” ​The Washington Post​, WP Company, 14 July 2017,
www.washingtonpost.com/news/monkey-cage/wp/2017/07/14/whats-very-important-to-being-a
merican-93-of-americans-actually-agree-on-this/?utm_term=.e5e739d3221c

“Real+American.” ​Urban Dictionary​,

www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=real%2Bamerican​..

CSPAN. “Donald Trump on Muslims (C-SPAN).” ​YouTube​, YouTube, 8 Dec. 2015,

www.youtube.com/watch?v=-sz0KY-3PbQ​.