Individuals
To be American, there is a responsibility to your fellow Americans to be a good citizen, to abide by the law of the land, and to really have a heart for people.
Being American is the greatest gift, the greatest thing that ever happened to me. I'd like America to be the great, bright light upon the hill. I'd like America to continue to inspire young fools like me and attract them...
My senior year I had two cheerleading outfits. One of them said Mary and the other one actually said Maryam.
I had no desire to leave Cuba and had never thought of coming to the United States. My parents thought it was a temporary decision for a few months or years, and then I’d be able to come back and be reunited. Of course, it didn't happen.
I never think of it as being an American or a German – this is what I am and this is the way I want to live my life.
Miami allows me to care less about being American or Chilean. It allows me to focus on me.
You know, to become American by choice is a much different than being born American.
I have always been interested in reading about American culture, politics and economics. I felt quite at home wherever I was - whether in Asia, Europe or America.
T.Z. Chu
(1934-2016)
I really see myself today more American than anything else. And the reason is not because of my past; it’s because of my future.
The day I really felt American was September 11, 2001, as I shook in fear with the whole country. My country was being attacked, and I was in pain.
So the act of deciding to immigrate, to go somewhere else, it's something very traumatic and something that is done because of powerful reasons.
If you brought that DNA, then make it part of the country.
New immigrants coming to this magnificent country will continue to be its source of energy, diversity, optimism, passion, hope, and willingness to work hard and make the sacrifices needed to ensure a better America and a more sustainable earth for their children and generations to come.
America is built by immigrants, and we all followed the same route. You come here with a dream, and once you reach your dream, the issue is how to help the next generation fulfill their dream.
There are a lot of traditions that should be preserved, and I like to be part of that tradition and help the next generation.
I began to see the two cultural traditions live in peace with each other inside myself. In my forties I came to an epiphany that I am 100 percent Chinese and 100 percent American.
Yes, I was born in Pakistan, but this is my country, and this is home. And I am so proud to be an American, because we are doing such good work.
So many immigrants like me go through this Americanization thing, and then all of a sudden we wake up and it's almost like roots.
More than any nation in the world, America is a nation shaped by immigration.... There is surely not one voice...it is a family of voices but with one face forming one great nation. America is what people decide they want it to be...and that is why I will stay.
I love this country, and that means I get mad when the country is not going in the right direction. No one gets as mad as an immigrant, I think, when they see their leaders misbehaving, because we are deeply invested in this miraculous place where everything is possible.
My first salon failed. I had a salon in Silver Spring [Maryland] before I met Dennis. But I never gave up. I knew that I could do this, and I think one thing that entrepreneurs have that takes them further is the fact that they don’t give up.
Oftentimes I'm asked where were you born. And I sometimes answer, I was born an American, but in the wrong place.
When I entertain, I’m very Italian. When I do business, I’m very American.
It truly exists, the American dream. I'm the example. I think America's the greatest country in the world, and I feel very lucky that, by accident, I came to this country.
We are very African in our roots. We are very Asian in our roots, which in fact makes us perfectly suited to be American.
Why did all these people came here? Because if you are willing to work, take risks, seize opportunities, there is no country like this one to make it.
Only in America—only an American who was dedicated to the guiding principles of American democracy, could entrust his entire fortune to an immigrant—a Chinese woman immigrant! I'm just truly fortunate to have been given this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity…
While I feel at home in two cultures and two languages, I never feel entirely at home in either. I live in a space somewhere overlapping in both, but not quite entirely in either.
You know, my earliest recollection was a three-year-old in 1945 seeing American tanks roll in to Manila. I guess I always felt like I was American since then. And we were very lucky that we were able to come home to America.
Being American is acceptance of every kind. You come here with your history and heritage, but you become American.
Here, we negotiate about the merit of the idea. That's the system that allows us to keep moving forward.
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