Lee Greenwood, a song writer, describes the emotion involved in American self-perception in a song by saying, 'I'm proud to be an American. For at least I know I'm free.' Freedom is the founding pillar of the American self-perception. Self-perception is the culmination of how one views oneself. Other aspects which make up American self-perception are wealth, power, and the pursuance of happiness. Self-perceptions, whether confined to the individual or confined to an entire …showed first 75 words of 914 total…

…showed last 75 words of 914 total…in their self-perception is, that intermingled within their beliefs and practices, hypocrisy. Hypocrisy dominated the American containment policy of the Soviet Union in the Cold War era. As Americans were condemning the Soviets for pushing a communist government, Americans themselves were pushing democracy in weaker, dependent states. To find the truth of what it is to be American, you must combine other countries perceptions into your own, otherwise you will only achieve half the truth.