Do you think nationality is determined by moral and political values, cultural habits and preferences or
something else?
How do you think the geography and geology of a place shapes national character?
What influence do you think it has had on the American character?
Is nationality the same as citizenship?
What moral and political values do you think are unique to the United States - or that this country embraced and promoted before other nations did?
What cultural habits, institutions and preferences are unique to or originated in the United States?
Is being an American more about beliefs or actions?
If beliefs, what do you think Americans believe that other people don't?
If actions, what kind of actions do Americans take that other people don’t?
Do you feel more American when you are in this country or abroad?
Do you think people are more truly American who are here by accident of birth or who made a decision and
a concerted effort to come here?
Originally people who came here of their own free will expected to have their own
businesses or farms, even if they started out as indentured labor. That was
the original American dream which changed after the industrial revolution.
Do you have a current concept of the American dream and how important that is to you?
The founders of this country thought that it would be an exemplar to other nations. How much of your sense of being an American is related to this idea of creating a model that others can and should follow?
Do you think of being an American more in terms of what it is or what it isn’t?
Do you look forward to a time when national boundaries no longer exist? If that were to happen what would being an American mean to you?