It's not exactly clear what it means to be American, in the way that Danes or Japanese or Kurds understand their identity. That explains how words penned on a piece of parchment two centuries ago have come to loom so large in our consciousness. This is why America sometimes seems so unsure of its place in the world, and so inclined to reduce its national essence to a certain set of economic beliefs or its military prowess. And a sense of aimlessness has overtaken the country in the days since the fall of the Berlin Wall, as we try to come up with a vision of what we stand for. A debate now rages about what is American about America.
Conservatives point to our military power.
Liberals celebrate our multicultural history. Fundamentalists preach the Christian foundations of our culture. Environmentalists point to the bounty of our land. Corporate leaders stress the individualistic nature of our culture. At this point, it looks like the economic definition of what America is is prevailing.