In the days leading up to Independence Day KSFR asked a handful of New Mexican leaders the same three simple questions.
- What does it mean to be American?
- Is there one thing that the United States does particularly well or makes you proud to be American?
- What is one thing you think the United States could improve?
From city leadership to the federal level and across the political spectrum, the throughlines of their replies were striking. Over and over we heard about the sense of hope and continual improvement that thrives in the hearts and minds of Americans, the convergence of diverse cultures and the unique opportunities that Americans have.
You can read their answers below or listen directly to their inspiring words.
Theses transcripts have been edited for length and clarity
United States Representative Teresa Leger Fernández (NM-3)
When I think about what it means to be American, I think about the hero's journey that America has been on, and that all Americans are the heroes in our story. We started with this amazing ideal of liberty and justice and freedom for all. We did not have a perfect union when we started. It was so imperfect. We had slavery, women couldn’t vote, Native Americans were being torn from their lands, and look at what we've done. We have won those battles. We have fought fascism. So, when I think of our journey, it's how we overcome the darkest times and the biggest obstacles to form that more perfect union.
Being American is fighting for an idea and ideals that might not exist now, but that could be. It is our DNA to make the world better, to make our nation better.
Americans can come together in times of deep need and support each other. We saw that in World War II, where we mobilized an entire country to respond to fascism. We've seen that sometimes in the fires and the tragedies. We see it over and over again, and it is that looking out for each other that inspires me.
I don't think America was prepared or ready for the assault on our democracy that we saw with this presidency, our system was built on an idea that moral people would elect moral leaders. That is actually a quote from Samuel Adams, as he was helping to form our country. But we have elected an incredibly immoral man who doesn't believe in the basics of democracy, of kindness, of empathy.
So, we actually have to build in the guard rails through legislation to make sure that we do have a system that prevents this kind of abuse. We have a lot of work to do. But it is Americans who will do it together. It is Americans’ outrage, Americans protesting, and hopefully belief and hope. And a little bit of joy even as we channel our anger and rage about how our system is being corrupted right now.
State Senator Ant Thornton (R-19)
What I like about America is that it offers the opportunities for you to pursue your dreams, and so that's where you can take your God-given gifts and turn them into a life purpose.
I grew up fascinated by flight when I was young, and so I used to watch birds and study birds, and one of the things that really interested me was the hummingbirds. I never quite understood how they flew. When I was 11 years old, my dad took me out to the tarmac in Barksdale Air Force Base, and I watched B-52s go down the runway and rise into the air. I always asked the question back then—how does something that big fly without flapping its wings? So I became curious, and that curiosity then led to a passion about flying. That led to my career at aerospace engineering. And what I like about America is that if you have a dream, we have the opportunity to pursue that in America.
I appreciate the fact that we can assimilate people from all different aspects of the world, and you can come here and become an American. I don't think that's true of other countries. We have certain rules and laws that we expect people to abide by, but if you can accept that, you can then take advantage of all the freedoms and rights available to you.
America is not perfect, but I think we're always striving to do better. You can always go back to history and say there are a lot of things America did wrong. From my perspective, we could talk about slavery and things of that nature. But I think we're the only nation that actually fought a war to eliminate slavery.
While we do have our flaws, I think we are always in a corrective mode to do better. I think that's probably unique to our country as well.
State Representative John Block (R-51)
What it means for me to be an American is to think about all the different places that we've all come from as Americans. But at the end of the day, we all have the fighting spirit that our founding fathers instilled in us with the beginning of this country. We see that every single day across partisan politics. We see us all fighting together, maybe from different sides of an issue, but we all come together as Americans to stand for our values of freedom, of liberty, and protecting the God-given rights that we are all so blessed to share.
I am the most proud to be an American because of our military and the military might that we have. In Alamogordo we have Holloman Air Force base, and it is one of the crown jewels of our national defense. And every time I talk to a combat veteran I am completely floored by how incredible and honorable these people are.
I want Americans to be able to talk to each other again, despite the partisan politics, despite the divisions. And talk about the things that our country really was founded upon—those freedoms and those ideals that we need to protect. I think that's something that we should definitely strive for.
We need to be able to work together to actually accomplish things again in our country, specifically in law making bodies like the legislature or Congress. It seems that it's hard to get everybody on the same page on common sense ideas and issues that really do matter to people. In my opinion, politics should always be about improving the quality of life for Americans and New Mexicans. I would love to get away from the talking point culture and get back to the actual doing culture of getting things across the finish line to really deliver things for New Mexicans.
Santa Fe City Councilor Alma Castro
Being part of the American project, which has been now going on for 250 years, is both challenging and also very exciting. To be able to be in a new country relative to many of our allies and be able to potentially be very creative and inspiring. I sometimes think these days we're not feeling that hope and inspiration. But for all of its faults, the house on the hill was supposed to be something that inspired us to be better people, better community members, better members of society. We have distorted it to some extent, and so I'm also excited to work hard with my fellow Americans on what the new version of America is going to look like.
I'm proud to live in a country that inspires people to be the best version of themselves and create spaces for others to be able to dialog and create our own history. I am inspired to be part of a country that thrives to be equitable and safe for all communities in a very diverse way. I am proud to be part of an America that knows that challenges aren't going to stop us.
I worry that American nationalism, in the way that we're seeing it right now. It is not only divisive, but is also making us less informed and less able to create systems that work for everyone. We are becoming less creative as we become more fearful for our resources, as we start to resource hoard or to protect our own communities. We are unwilling to negotiate and work with folks who don't think like us, and so, as difficult as it is, I want us to continue to push our own boundaries and our own comfort zones and be the America of innovation.
I think the next 250 years are going to be a challenge for the United States. We have to be prepared to work with our neighbors in our local communities and support each other in real ways.
Santa Fe Community College President Becky Rowley
When I think about being an American, I think about my role in education and the concept of inclusivity. We at community colleges really do try to encourage our students We want them to know that there are no doors that are shut to them. We want to help them meet their goals achieve their dreams once they leave college. I feel like that's something that is uniquely American—helping students recognize that they have a really important part to play in our in our society, at whatever level they decide to participate. And that we want to do our part in trying to help that.
I have always thought that the level of participation that we have and that we encourage in government is extraordinary. Santa Fe, I think, is a really nice example of how 'local' is really meaningful. There are a lot of community events and different kinds of committees that are connected to the city or to the county that really do encourage participation from people in, in all parts of the community. That that kind of interaction, that kind of access is just truly amazing.
What I just described as a strength of the American experiment, we have to be really careful right now to protect that. Our strength is welcoming different people, different groups, having a really broad fabric to our society. We need to make sure that we keep that access as wide and open as it has been.
I think that's been challenging at different times in our history and and when it becomes challenging, people who are concerned about it have to have to participate at an even higher level in our government and stand up.
