Connie Schultz: What Does It Mean to Be an American?

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https://www.creators.com/read/connie-schultz/09/19/what-does-it-mean-to-be-an-american?fbclid=IwAR2h1nSS0o7vrmOlehr5MbwjYFZLydWawG7j8rSWUats5GvBQwyDPxMi_dE

What Does It Mean to Be an American?
By Connie Schultz
September 12, 2019 6 min read


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Implicit in the question is the acknowledgment that we are no longer who we used to be. If age has anything to do with it, it's only in the depth and breadth of our experience, which we can't ignore. We've never lived in a time such as this. Watergate feels so manageable now, a scary diagnosis with a positive outcome. Life with Donald Trump is triage, and no one has the necessary training to predict our odds.

One by one, we shared our thoughts. Each of us has our own definitions of citizenship and patriotism, but a universal theme unspooled.

We feel differently about America, and our role in it.

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If we define activism as a refusal to sit on the sidelines, then so many women of my generation have become activists in ways they never thought they would be. They refuse to be invisible when so many want us to believe our time has passed. They speak up at family gatherings and refuse to apologize for the awkward silence. They write letters to editors and share their views on social media, and show up for one another when any one of them is under attack.

One of my closest friends, who has spent much of her life keeping the peace, now calls her Republican U.S. senator almost daily to demand that he stand up to Trump's racism and violent rhetoric. She provides her name and address, and is never insulting or rude. When a live voice answers the phone, she assures the staffer that her outrage is directed at the senator because he is the one selected to serve the American people, and he is letting his country down.

On that night, at that birthday dinner, we talked about all of this, and so much more, filled with hope no matter what. That's what happens when women gather. We draw strength from one another, and then we go back out into the world, for the world.

Isn't it a shame not everyone knows that?