What Kind of American am I?
What type of, what sort of, what kind of American am I?  Loving, caring, and peaceful?  Or am I a selfish, hogging, and insensitive person who wallows in the riches and prosperity of the United States?  In my opinion, I'm both.

Why be an American?  My mind has often worked over the answer to this question.  The solution tells me being an American is special, a privilege.  If people were reborn, their chances of landing in a beautiful and prosperous country like America would be like winning the lottery.  Being an American gives you the power to lead your life; the power to become what you want; the power to go where you want and to decide how you get there.

It is hard to analyze what type of an American citizen I am.  What am I through the eyes of my friends?  Educated?  Nerdy?  Caring?  Self-interested?  I find my heart aches when I see an impoverished man in his soiled clothes while ritzy Mercedes and Cadillacs flash by.  My stomach becomes knotted when I read of tragic happenings to families.  I feel sorrow when seeing a home devastated by war, hatred, and petty disputes.  I find I am a caring American who wishes to help people going through unfortunate and traumatic times.

Yet, being an American means I have selfish traits.  Spoiled by the cornucopia of our country, it's hard to imagine what the conditions of people in undeveloped countries are like.  Because I am American, the thought passing through my head is, "What's for dinner tonight?" instead of, "Are we eating anything today?"  Without the pain of going hungry and sleeping under a tattered blanket in a rickety shack, I do not have as much understanding of how to become the ideal American I want to be.

And what is that ideal American?  If the American I want to be is ridiculed, it's only because the critic has a different set of parameters as to  the ideal American.  The ideal American to me is what makes me feel warm inside; what makes me feel I am doing the right thing.  I have visions of that kind of American: loving, compassionate, responsible, peaceful, and a leader.  One able to lend a hand not just to any other American, but an Asian, a European, an Indian, or any other human being of this planet.

Some Americans become national leaders, others find success in forestry, another handful are detectives.  We each have a special place, and my special place is in a close family with the ability to sense when people are in need.  Though I feel it, I don't act most of the time.  I'm too spoiled by what this country offers.  What makes me a proud, satisfied American is when I lend my services to pick up spilled groceries or see my money slip into the hands of one in need.  That is the American I want to be.