As a population, the people of the United States have origins from all corners of the world. Ethnically speaking, an American cannot be defined and to attempt to do so would be restricting. The True American works with the concept of what it means to be an American. It brings up points about xenophobia and how when people focus on American in terms of “Where are you from?” (what Mark Stroman asked Rais Bhuiyan) it contradicts the fact that America was founded upon ideas rather than upon a single culture.
The important point is that we are all humans and to treat each other with humanity benefits all of us. While the title of the book, The True American, is drawn from a poem by Mark Stroman exhibiting his bigotry and pride, it functions with a second meaning that contrasts the original. The term “true American” also suggests that to be American, rather than being a nationality or based on the color of one’s skin, is to embrace American values as Rais Bhuiyan did. Rais was not always an American citizen by law, but always acted as one. He worked hard, was kind, and those in the community around him. Furthermore, he was moral, forgiving, and fought for justice. This is presumably how we would want all of America and the world to act and these are traits that make for an exemplary citizen, regardless of their origins or citizenship.
From this perspective, The True American, works as a story about realizing how people act within American society and how that defines or contradicts the title of “American.” Initially, Mark Stroman’s answer about what it means to be an American would have been based on prejudice and excluded entire groups of people. Later, he was enlightened about the positive behavior that actually contributes to society and makes on a part of the grand ideology of equality and liberty on which America was founded. Considering this, to be a good human being corresponds with many foundational American beliefs and one does not have to be American to do this. Nobody owns the concepts of equality, liberty, or morality, they are not limited to a country or its citizens and all can adopt behaviors that promote them.
Written by Daniel Beckley, a senior at Umass Amherst, studying English, Communication, and Public Policy