I Do Believe In Exotic Americans, I Do, I Do...

I once had a teacher who asserted that every opinion she possessed was fact, and for this reason I did not like her. But she was always eager to prove students wrong, and therefore liked to debate, and for this reason I did like her. Plus, she knew that even though I was a class clown, I was smart and attentive. Acknowledge this and we will get along fine.

In one heated debate with aforementioned teacher, we were arguing over American cultures and traditions.

Teacher: America has little/no traditions that are based solely on American life (ie Christmas is not truly "American" because it is a religious holiday).

J-Mil: Yes-huh!!!

In light of us hosting this exchange student it is dawning on me how many things are strictly American. Here's the start of a list; can you think of any? They must be traditions/cultural features characteristic of America or rely solely on the nationality of being American.

• 4th of July. Holiday celebrating being American? F yeah!
• Gun shows. And with them, cowboys.
• Monster truck rallies. But that's nothing to be proud of.
• S'mores. We introduced these delicious little morsels to the exchange student this evening. She dropped most of her marshmallows, but she seemed to like them.
• Hamburgers. We stole pretty much everything other "American" food from other countries- Apple pies from the Dutch, hot dogs from the German... or Australian... it's a controversial topic I'd rather not dirty my hands with.
• Milkshakes. Those too!
  
• Blue jeans. Though according to Wikipedia, the most valid source of information on this green earth, they were invented by the French... as if I would fall for any of that propaganda.
• Girl/Boy Scouts. Before we were generous enough to let the rest of the world in on it, YOU'RE WELCOME by the way.
• Thanksgiving. Again, what other country is allowed to celebrate this great American tradition other than Americans?
  

So, if anything can be said for America, we gave you Samoas... sure, we may not have lederhosens and we may not have invented traditional tribal dances (besides the macarena), but damn it, America DOES have traditions, it's just that often times they get mixed in with other countries. And THAT, ladies and gentlemen, was the main point I made when I debated with my teacher. We are a melting pot of borrowed traditions: therein lies our culture.