My daughter Alex (tall girl) in Peace Corps, Zambia, Africa

陈凯博客： www.kaichenblog.blogspot.com

成为一个美国人
To Become An American

价值一语： Words of Value:

"The making of an American begins at that point where he himself rejects all other ties, and any other history, and himself adopts the vesture of his adopted land." -- James Baldwin

成为一个美国人意味着一个新的起点。 在这个新的起点上一个人应消除对过去的眷恋，消除任何其他的历史感，并加入他所认同的这个社会的价值。 --- James Baldwin

"Here in America we are descended in spirit from revolutionists and rebels -- men and women who dare to dissent from accepted doctrine." -- Dwight Eisenhower

在美国我们是被革命者与反叛者的精神所洗礼过的 -- 他们就是那些勇于向已被大多数人所接受的理念挑战的人们。 --- 艾森豪威尔

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By Kai Chen 陈凯 (Reprint 10/10/2011)

My mother, 86, my brothers and their families all have American citizenship. But every time we get together, I feel that they have not truly become Americans. Especially my mother, she always uses "foreigners" and "Chinese" to describe other people of different race and the descendents of her own race. I always reminds her:

"When you mention "Foreigners" or "Americans", it is as if you yourself is not an American."

Whenever other people ask me where I come from, though I know what they truly mean, I always answer them, half-jokingly: "I am from Los Angeles." When they get annoyed and asked me what nationality I am, I will answer them: "I am an American." When they further pursue the roots of my origin, I will answer them: "I am Chinese by birth, American by choice." This is indeed the truth. And I don't know how to tell a lie.

I am against hyphenated identity such as Chinese-American, Mexican-American, African-American...

Being American means something substantial: Being American means being a free being; being American means being individual with infinite choices and possibilities and responsibilities; being American means being in an unique culture in human history to reject all despotism and dehumanization from any other old cultures and societies; being American means being universal human being who never discriminates against anyone on the basis of his or her ascribed identity; being American means being fair-minded and tolerant of differences; being American means being courageous against evil around the world; being American means being honest to God and to self; being American means constantly learning, improving, progressing toward a better future; being American means being eternally optimistic....

Indeed, being American means so much more than being any member in any previous cultures and societies. Being American means being Approaching to the ideal state of what God intends us to be.

I want all of you guys take a moment to reflect on this point， to think what it means to be an American. And indeed, every freedom-loving person in the world, no matter where he or she is, is already yearning to be an American, if not already is in essence.

America is not just a nation with borders; America is not just a government with all the institutions and former trappings; America is not just a society where crowd gathers to live; America is not just a culture left by a common ancestry; America is not just a congregation bonded by a common language; America is not an involutary adherence of tradition like all other countries in the world....

America is an ideal with a purpose and yearning from mankind. America is the last best hope for humans to progress toward better tomorrow. No matter where you are in the world, you are an American if you yearn for freedom and self-actualization, if you believe good will defeat evil and freedom and justice will prevail in the end...

I love America for I love life, liberty and pursuit of happines. I love America for I love everything America stands for. The world can only become a better place if everyone in it would proudly declare:

"We are all Americans!"