What It Means To Be An American Quotes

• Each generation of Americans must define what it means to be an American.

  William J. Clinton

  Mean, Generations

  Bill Clinton's first inauguration speech, www.aol.com. January 20, 1993.

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• It's certainly not too late to change to the winning side. But you know, you also have the freedom to stay just where you are. That's what it means to be an American. That's the miracle of America. Freedom to believe means the freedom to believe the wrong thing, after all. Just as freedom of speech gives you the right to stay silent.

  Neil Gaiman

  Believe, Mean, Winning

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• Sitting at the table doesn't make you a diner, unless you eat some of what's on that plate.

  Malcolm X

  Sitting, Diners, Tables

  "Malcolm X Speaks: Selected Speeches and Statements". Book by Malcolm X edited by George Breitman, 1965.

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• And this President wakes up every morning, looks out across America and is proud to announce, 'It could be worse.' It could be worse? Is that what it means to be an American? It could be worse? Of course not. What defines us as Americans is our unwavering conviction that we know it must be better.

  Mitt Romney

  Morning, Mean, America

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• I'm interested in what it means to be an American. I'm interested in what it means to live in America. I'm interested in the kind of country that we live in and leave our kids. I'm interested in trying to define what that country is.

  Bruce Springsteen

  Country, Mean, Kids

  "On CBS, Pelley Hails Springsteen as Left Wing's Jukebox Hero". "60 Minutes", www.newsbusters.org. October 8, 2007.

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• We are all the sons or daughters of immigrants - some more recent than others - but all dedicated to the triumph of an idea that serves as the touchstone of what it means to be an American. This America is the only America that we have hitherto known - if being conservative has anything to do with conserving the principles of our past, then no conservative has any business bashing legal immigration.

  Jack Kemp

  Daughter, Mean, Son

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• And children, if your parents haven't been teaching you what it means to be an American, let 'em know and nail 'em on it. That would be a very American thing to do.

  Ronald Reagan

  Children, Teaching, Mean

  Farewell Address to the Nation, delivered 11 January 1989, Washington D.C.

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• Number one, we need to get in shape, number two we need to shoot, number three, we need to learn self-defense, and number four, we need to study small-unit tactics... If you do not have 5,000 rounds of .223, 5,000 rounds of .22 and 1,000 rounds of handgun ammo, as a MINIMUM, you're wrong. We need to train our families how to shoot as well. We need to get food. We need to have a year's supply of food, two years supply of seeds, we need to have a year's supply of sundry items. That's what it means to be an American. We prepare for the worst but hope for the best.

  Matt Shea

  Inspiring, Mean, Years

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• Our example - and commitment - to freedom has changed the world. But along with the genius of our Declaration of Independence, our Constitution, and our Bill of Rights, is the equal genius of our economic system. Our Founding Fathers endeavored to create a moral and just society like no other in history, and out of that grew a moral and just economic system the likes of which the world had never seen. Our freedom, what it means to be an American, has been defined and sustained by the liberating power of the free enterprise system.

  Mitt Romney

  Father, Mean, Commitment

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