Tuesday, November 23, 2010 By Mark Anson [ArticleImageHyperLink] Advertising Lack of American nationalism (Nov. 23, 2010) -- As more and more people immigrate to the United States, cultures begin to swirl and mix together. The United States has become, in a way, a giant pot of beef stew. With each added culture, a new spice is thrown in, changing the flavor of the stew. Unfortunately the basic concepts of a delicious beef stew have been forgotten. Many U.S. citizens have become swept up in a sauce of blandness that has obscured the reasons everyone is here in the first place: freedom and prosperity.     Unless you’re Native American, at some point your family immigrated to the United States in search of a better life. According to the estimations of the U.S. Census Bureau, from 2000 to 2009, almost 9 million people immigrated to the U.S. Families came to America to become Americans, and people need to realize that. If appreciating and embodying America is not an option, then it would be best if you returned to your native country. The Constitution grants all American citizens various unalienable liberties, and while these are rights that all citizens have, it’s a privilege to live in a nation that guarantees them. Unfortunately many Americans take this privilege for granted. They feel that being allowed to live in the United States is just another one of their many given rights. But like all privileges, living in America needs to be earned; and the main way to earn this is to have pride for your country. Now, I’m not saying that you should rush out and paint your house red white and blue – you don’t even need to hang up an American flag or get involved in politics. You don’t need to support everything the government does; part of the allure of America, and the reason your ancestors came here in the first place, is the ability to disagree with the status quo and challenge it. You are participating as a true American just by doing this. However, the goal of becoming nationalistic is not to completely forget about the different cultures that the U.S. is made up of. These cultures are what define us. Remember the beef stew? Without the seasoning, it would taste pretty foul. The goal is to have some element of pride for the mixing pot of all of the cultures, rather than just a single culture. By doing so, the country is united as one.

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