America was once considered the Great Melting Pot. An idea that all who come to this land will become American. That all races will blend together under our creed that "all men are created equal". Instead we have come to learn that America is more of a stew than a melting pot. In a melting pot whatever is put in will melt and into whatever is melted and then become one piece. In a stew all the parts are separate but serve it's purpose. In other words we need to retain some of our own cultures if we want to keep fresh. We don't lose our sense of nationalism; our nationalism is fluid.
Unless you were born here we do not share a common language nor a similar history. Our nation is very young compared to other countries and we can all trace our roots back to another country fairly easily. This is not normal in other countries. Once the next generation is born here they learn their culture from schools. Schools teach us the "American" way of life. Schools teach us our language, our history, and our culture. Now depending in what region of America you are in, your culture will differ (again different than most countries). So what is American nationalism? It's American patriotism.
The fact that we are pretty much free to live our lives the way we want is what separates us from other countries. If I want to be a polygamist who believes that Cthulhu is our savior and that aliens will cause the rapture in the year 2022 I can. I can start a website and even found a church based on that.....but I digress. We are a free country that was founded on a principle that we shall be free from persecution no matter what we believe in. So even though we don't have a true sense of nationalism we are patriotic.
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