Mari Interview

Being American means trying your best, being kind to others, and using your rights responsibly. Feeling proud to be American varies because sometimes great things happen, but other times there is abuse of power like gun violence. Feeling American is strong on the 4th of July, but less so during presidential debates. Being represented in America depends on age and education. Being from the Midwest allows exposure to different viewpoints. Being a student influences views on America through learning its history. It's important to focus on the good traits of America and the freedoms it offers. Freedom and rights are representative of the American experience. Growing up with a father who is the Bishop of Minnesota has allowed for meeting more people and seeing different perspectives. Okay, so my first question for you is, what does being American mean to you? Um, it means somebody that, like, tries their best, I guess. Somebody who, like, tries to be nice to other people. Um, and somebody who, like, tries, yeah, just, like, tries their best, tries to be nice to other people, um, and that, like, uses their rights in, like, an appropriate way, because, like, we have a lot of rights in America, but, like, you have to use them in a responsible way. So, yeah. That's a really good answer. That's what my, I already interviewed my uncle earlier, and that's exactly what he said. So, you sound pretty smart, Maury. I'm not going to lie. My next question is, do you like being an American, and are you proud to be an American? Um, I mean, sometimes that answer, like, varies. Like, sometimes I am, and sometimes I'm not, because sometimes, like, really great things, like, Americans can do really great things, and other times it can, like, kind of abuse its power. So, it depends. And then, this is kind of my third question, but what are some of those moments where you feel like America abuses its power and you're not proud to be American? And on the opposite side, what are the moments when you feel really proud to be an American? Um, that's a hard one. Well, like, when, like, there's a lot of, like, gun violence and stuff in America, and so that's not something I'm very proud of. But then there's also, like, a lot of, like, there's a lot of rights, and we have, like, democracies, so you can vote for who you want, and so that's something that I'm proud of, because that way, like, people can have a say in who runs the country. Okay, so this question is kind of similar, but I want you to think of a more specific moment when you felt American. Like, when you were, when you felt the most American, and then I also want you to find a moment where you felt the least American, where you as a person, not as, you know, the country, where you felt, I am not American, I do not want to be American. That's hard. I don't know. Well, like, one of the times that I feel very American, because, like, we're celebrating America's Fourth of July, and that's just a time when, like, I just, because, like, everyone is, like, celebrating the country, so that's when I feel most American. And then when I feel least American is probably when, like, I don't know. Probably when I hear, like, like, different, like, presidential debates and stuff, because, like, when I hear, like, about, like, democracy and stuff, sometimes, like, people in the government can abuse their power, and so that kind of makes me feel, like, less American, just because, like, the whole point is that you can, like, have the right to vote and have the right to say what you want. Yeah. Did you watch the presidential debate the other night? Yeah, I had to for homework. You had to for homework? That's cool. They played it in the dining hall at our school, and I didn't watch it, but I did. And it was actually so funny. Yeah. Did you hear the part about him, or Donald Trump, like, saying that immigrants eat people's dogs? I actually could not stop laughing for, like, 30 minutes. I was just laughing. It was so funny. And then, like, the governor of Ohio, like, was like, we don't, like, that's so untrue. He was literally like, what is he saying? Yeah, literally. So the next question is a little bit different. It's more about other people. So the question is, what do you believe makes someone American? Well, somebody, again, who, like, tries to be kind, and who doesn't, like, I feel like sometimes people in America can brag a lot about being American. So, like, somebody who doesn't brag too much, because that kind of is just, I don't know. And then somebody who, like, uses their rights in a way that, like, kind of what I said before, uses their rights in a way that's not abusive to other people, and who uses their rights for good. So, like, the speech, they use that for good, and they, like, spread good messages. Do you think that there's a specific, like, kind of identity that fits the American mold? Like, is it being, do you have to be someone who was born in America to be American? Do you have to be male? Do you have to be, like, female? Or do you have to be white? Like, is there kind of an identity that you can describe that, or if there is one, that fits the American mold? I think that, like, most people think of Americans as someone who was, like, born in America, and usually, like, it's usually males and who are white. But I think that there's, like, a ton of Americans that aren't males and who aren't white that aren't American. I think the mold is, like, a male, a white male, because that's just kind of, like, that's what presidents have been. And that's just kind of, like, people, when people think of America, at least when I think of America, I think of, like, George Washington, and that's, like, a white male. So, yeah. But you think that that's not necessarily, like, who Americans can be. Yeah. Okay, great. Next question. Do you feel, as Mari Loya, do you feel represented in America? And that can be in the media, in the political scene, in your school, in your neighborhood. Do you feel represented? Does your identity feel represented in America? I think it does, and I think even more so after you turn a certain age, because then you can go and you can kind of, like, give your opinion. But I think even at a young age, like, people, like, especially at school, teachers teach, like, we had to watch the presidential debate, and so that was kind of, like, giving us a little snippet of, like, when we're going to vote, what we're going to, like, how we're going to decide how to vote. So I think, yes, it's represented, but it's even more so after you turn, like, a certain age. I also interviewed my cousin Scout, and she said the same thing. She said that, you know, like, when you're a kid, you don't really feel represented, but, like, you know that eventually you will be, which is interesting. Okay. Next question. How does being from the Midwest play a role in your American experience? It's probably that, like, I feel like the people, like, people in the Midwest and then people, like, down, like, more, like, in Texas and those places have, like, different, very different, like, beliefs and, like, very different viewpoints of being American. And so I think being a Midwestern, just kind of, like, I don't know, we're kind of, like, in the middle almost. So, like, I mean, not Minnesota, but, like, when I lived in Nebraska, we were just kind of in the middle. So, like, a lot of different people have, like, a lot of different viewpoints. Do you think it's kind of, like, almost like a melting pot, that, like, being from the Midwest, like, allows you to see a bunch of people and that kind of changes what you think America is? Yeah. Interesting. Okay. How does being a student influence your American experience? Well, being a student, well, we, like, we learn a lot about America, like, especially American history. And so that can, like, kind of, like, learning about certain things in history, like the Holocaust, which didn't happen in America, but, like, the Holocaust and, like, the Civil War and all that stuff, that can, like, kind of make me feel, like, not proud to be an American because, like, America did really bad things in the past. But then you also learn about, like, good things that America did, like, help, like, back up countries in wars and stuff. So, yeah. And what school do you go to again? I forgot. Breck. Breck. Okay. Let me think. That's all the questions I've written down, but I want to keep asking you some questions. Mm-hmm. Is there anything you would say to people who are feeling insecure about themselves as an American? I think I would say, like, because I think sometimes people feel insecure because, like, again, America isn't always super great. I think I would tell them to, like, focus on the good because America has really good traits and really bad traits. But, like, there's more good traits than there are bad. So I think I would tell them to focus on, like, the good and, like, how they can eventually vote. Like, this depends on their age, but they can eventually vote and they can have the freedom of speech and just have the rights to, like, practice whatever religion they want and they don't have to worry about, like, getting in trouble. So that's a good answer, by the way. So smart. You're incredibly intelligent. So in the other interviews I did so far, both people talked about how to be an American meant to have kind of freedoms and, like, rights. Do you think that that is, like, representative of the American experience? Like, is that my defense? Yeah. I think it is. I think when people think of, like, America, they think of, like, freedom and, like, just people having the rights to do different things that other countries can't. Like, again, like religion, they get to practice their own religion and they don't have to get judged for it. And they can be – I mean, this isn't always the case, but they can be any race and most of the time not get judged for it. And, yeah. Okay. I have a question. You don't have to answer this if you don't want to. But I was wondering, like, personally – like, I'm not going to put this in my project, but how growing up with your dad as the Bishop of Minnesota now, how has that changed your perspective at all on, like, the view of America? I don't know if it's changed my viewpoint. I think that it's very different because, like, I don't know. I feel like it hasn't really changed my viewpoint. Do you think you've met more people? Yes, I definitely have because, like, he'll, like, when we go – because sometimes we'll go on a visitation with him and he'll just be like, oh, look, blah, blah, blah, and this is my daughter. So I've met a lot more people. And I think that it just kind of, like, shows me that there's, like, a lot more different people that live in America. Like, America is made up of a bunch of different people and they don't fit the stereotype of, like, a white male. So there's a lot more, like, personalities of America. Good answer. Okay, unless you want to add anything else, I don't really have anything else to ask you. Your interview was, like, probably the best one I've done so far. You gave, like, the most concise answers. But, yeah, if you want to add anything, you can now. No, I'm good. You're good? I think, yeah. Okay. Well, thank you for… Yeah.