This week, Mrs. Soper challenged us to think about what makes us proud to be American.  In order to answer this, I first had to establish that I was indeed pleased to be American.  It seemed like a natural instinct to be proud to be American but I wondered what made me feel this way.  After all the rest of the world views us as fat, power-obsessed, meatheads who bully the middle east.  At a quick glance, it seems that taking pride in anything American would be brainless.  Yet, something deep inside of me still swelled with pride at the thought of the American flag.  After debating this for a while I realized that I find pride in America not because of what we did but because of what we represent.  Boys of all generations have laid down their lives in order to defend the ideas of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.  This reality is why I find pride in the idea of being American.