We the People, Not I the Individual

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This week, I am reflecting on altruism as part of my American identity, and how I perceive it to be, as an American Studies major whose thesis focused on the impact of social media algorithms on civic engagement and activism. That duty shows up most clearly in how we give.

Being American is a verb, not a status, and if we treat it as a status, we risk losing what it could be. To be American means to hold this country accountable. To love it enough to hold it accountable.

According to an Associated Press poll, 1 in 4 Americans say the U.S. stands above all other countries.

The founding documents did not say "I"… they said "We," and that distinction still matters. We the People, not I the individual. Not I, the consumer, alone. I was asking a version of this question before I knew it was the question, and my undergrad thesis opens with it: "When are Americans consumers, and when are they citizens?" The freedom to consume and the freedom to protest are both American qualities, but holding both at once is hard, and that tension hasn't gone away. The founding fathers thought of it as a collective: We, the People. And somewhere along the way, as consumerism took hold of the American way of life, we drifted from “we” to “me.”

The Melting Pot is the original American identity. This country's story began with the blending (and displacement) of cultures on land that was already home to Indigenous nations, and every wave of arrival since has added to that mix. So what's 'off-brand' about the melting pot? Nothing. It's the most on-brand thing about American core identity: bringing people from other parts of the world here and building something new together.

My parents came here for survival, for better opportunities. But being born and raised here, saying the pledge of allegiance every morning, singing 'Proud to Be an American' after 9/11, that is all my experience as a millennial, first-generation American.

Even in survival mode, Americans are showing up anyway.

Some people want to give even if they are in survival mode. There's an opportunity to build unity that doesn't depend on danger to force it. The danger we are experiencing is subtle, sort of a slow death rather than one acute experience.

Freedom without duty is just consumption. Being American means accepting the responsibility that comes with the rights.

Perhaps we've been misinterpreting freedom as 'I do whatever I want' and not considering the repercussions or how it affects me or others. It's not about extracting, but rather that exchange; it is part of my duty. We need to encourage people to think of being American, from freedom to duty. We don't have that discourse enough. Being American is a duty, not just celebrating freedom.

Alexander Hamilton warned that daily survival struggles crowd out long-term vision, and yet, even now… Americans are choosing to contribute anyway.

You don't have to be the hero; you have to show up consistently.

Ten years ago, writing about online activism, I drew a distinction I called "multi-media activists", people who use social platforms as a bridge into real-world action, not a replacement for it. That's still the difference that matters. We are not living in a movie where we wait for a climax of sorts. Sometimes we could be our own version of the person doing the work. Where can we step in? There are a lot of people behind every visible movement that help make things happen. The change needs to be incremental; the systemic dangers we're in aren't as obvious as something like 9/11. Real life is the dailiness of it. You vote. You volunteer. You ask hard questions. You hold people accountable.

Closing Invitation. What does duty look like for you this summer? It can be showing up for a neighbor, voting, volunteering, or learning a little bit more about a local elected official. Our engagement takes many forms… some digital, some face-to-face, some organized, some quietly with neighbors. All of it counts, and I would love to hear about it!

"The Revolution Will Be Filtered Out by Algorithms," American Studies Undergraduate Thesis, Kateri Gutierrez, UC Berkeley, 2014.

Quick note on writing process: I wrote or recorded these reflections myself, then ran them through AI as a proofreader to catch places where a personal essay about American identity might unintentionally read as partisan. I want it to hold space for people across the spectrum. The ideas, the stories, and the conclusions are mine, and the AI's job was just to suggest ways to say them more clearly and fairly.

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