Americanism

Excerpt: America, it is rightly said, is the world?s first cosmopolitan nation. Our fellow citizens come from every corner of the earth. A small few may still trace their origins to the original settlers, but most of us are children or grandchildren of immigrants. What, then, do we have in common, and what unites us as Americans? Today, questions of identity are often discussed under the heading of multiculturalism: people are viewed and view themselves as members of racial and ethnic subcultures, as hyphenated Americans (for example, African-, Mexican-, Chinese-, etc.). Yet this entire volume assumes that notwithstanding our enriching differences, there are deep beliefs, sentiments, and practices that do and should unite us as American citizens.