ARE WE STILL A NATION OF AMERICANS, ARE YOU AN AMERICAN?

Before you answer this question, remember that American has never meant your place of birth or your place of residency, it has meant a spirit, a spirit unique to those who built the unique nation called the United States of America. These were people who were misfits. They came to the colonies to escape from government domination, to escape from the dictates of society, and to seek their own way, understanding they were responsible for the consequences of their own choices.
 
After we became a nation, the lure of independence, liberty, and freedom continued to attract those who found the conformity, the political correctness, and the adherence to rules of government and society to be so stifling they could no longer endure it. These non-conformists, these protestors, and these people who understood that all governments sought to dominate the lives of people, fled to the shores where limited government was cherished and revered. 
 
Here are some quotes of Americans who described in their words what it means to be an American.
 
“America was not built on fear. America was built on courage, on imagination and an unbeatable determination to do the job at hand.” President Harry S. Truman
 
“Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe in order to assure the survival and the success of liberty.” President John F. Kennedy
 
“Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it, Almighty God! I know not what course others may take; but as for me, give me liberty or give me death!” Founding Father Patrick Henry
 
“The way to secure liberty is to place it in the people’s hands, that is, to give them the power at all times to defend it in the legislature and in the courts of justice.” President John Adams
 
“If ever a time should come, when vain and aspiring men shall possess the highest seats in Government, our country will stand in need of its experienced patriots to prevent its ruin.” Founding Father Samuel Adams
 
“They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety.” Founding Father Benjamin Franklin
 
“Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn’t pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same, or one day we will spend our sunset years telling our children and our children’s children what it was once like in the United States where men were free.” President Ronald Reagan
 
“I only regret that I have but one life to lose for my country.” American Revolutionary Soldier Nathan Hale
 
Now, go ahead and answer the question, are we still a nation of Americans, are you an American.