{all american halloween}

i was just thinking about halloween a lot today. when zac was in the 7th grade he and megan planned a big halloween shin dig at our house. he was allowed to invite 10 boys and 10 girls. they came over, ate pizza and tons of candy, and went on a scavenger hunt. the kids all dressed up {zac was michael jackson and meg was a fairy} it was super fun. madison is in 7th grade this year and the same offer stands for her. we'll see if she take me up on it.

the picture above is from when we went to roloff farms {little people, big world}

{zac wrote this essay for a class this week.....i thought it was pretty good and thought i would pass it on}

Zac Hunter
Ms. Gisler
Advanced American Literature
September 7, 2008
American
The definition of American reads as follows, “of or pertaining to the United States of America or its inhabitants: an American citizen.” It is such a simple definition to such an important thing for people across the USA and even the world. Being an American can mean many things and can have vast varieties of definitions from different people perspectives, but to me it seems that this definition doesn’t quite fit the bill.
Technically, in this day and age of the USA if you live in the country you are considered a “Citizen”, but does everyone really embrace the privilege they have to call themselves an American? I believe that not even half the country really embraces the word, the meaning, and the privilege they have to call themselves an American. Being an American can mean many different things to people. For some it might mean they live in the country but they may not really know what it means to be an American. For some it may be the complete opposite, they may live here and know what it means but may not embrace it like they should. But are they to blame? With such a non complex definition it seems anyone can call themselves an American these days.
After reading the definition a few times I realized that all you really need to do to be an American is to be standing on the soil, but I do not believe that is enough. There are so many people who do wrong things, have no respect for this country, and even come here illegally, and then have the privilege to call themselves American. It’s unfair to the people who really embrace the meaning, culture and importance of the USA. I’m not saying you have to be in the military or even have to support some of the things we do, like the war in Iraq, oil, Ext… but you do need to find a way to represent this country appropriately, with class and respect at all the times. If you can even contribute in the smallest way you can, which is showing class and respect for the country at all times you are doing your job as an American citizen, if you do more you’re just going above and beyond.
If we really want people to know the true meaning of being an American we need to begin stressing it more than we do. I believe the value and privilege of the word American is losing value each and every day. And we need to stop it before it reaches the point where we are no longer the country people have known us of for years. But it starts with definition, reading it really shows you how low the standards are, if we want to be a country full of people who respect the soil we live on we need to make a change. And it starts with finding a way to tell people what being an American is really about.
The definition is telling us that if you are part of the USA in any way you are an American, but are you really? You may be a citizen, but I believe it takes a special person for you to have the privilege to call yourself an American. We need to strive as a country to create more Americans, not more citizens.