Since we Americans are granted citizenship at birth, it doesn’t really mean a whole lot anymore nowadays. People take it for granted and feel like they can do whatever they want whenever and however they want, regardless of the fact that they live in a society, and are not just a collection of individuals.

Less then what it means to be Chinese, as that encompasses a nationality and(/or?) ethnicity, while being being American is just nationality. I'd put the meaning a bit above ID'ing as "European" or "African" though. If someone says they're American you know they're talking explicitly about the U.S. and not other countries on the North or South American continents, unlike the European who could be from Norway, France, Sweden, etc.

Strictly though? Citizenship.

Didn't Denis Leary do a "documteary" on this ?

Found it...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UrgpZ0fUixs

It means absolutely nothing and anyone trying to argue otherwise is a dumbass

Being an American means that, for better or worse, you bet everything on the New World for a future for yourself or your children, either passively by having the option to leave and choosing not to or actively by choosing to come into it of your own volition.

Being American transcends nations and can never be taken away, only relinquished willingly.

Fareed Zakaria describes this in a recent video (it says "Western civilization" but the great majority of the focus is on the USA). TLDR: everything is different now than it was a year ago.

This short video does not really go into why, e.g. a change in the desires of oligarchs, probably fueled by climate change. A different video of his also covers some of the false narratives surrounding the topic. The last minute or two there (though it's only <6 minutes total, worth listening to it all to get the full context) helps explain some of what you are looking for: there is no one "America" (nor just one "China", or "France", etc.) - there are shared cultural values, which change over time.

"Citizenship" may be a piece of paper, but to be American is more than that. Though precisely what that means is currently changing (same as it ever was). It used loosely based upon a Judeo-Christian worldview (where atheism and agnosticism was still acceptable) and strongly valuing individual freedoms - to speak, to own a gun, to move from place to place, etc. Now it is quickly turning towards more Christian Nationalism (where "christianity" means whatever those currently in power want it to mean, in that moment), and along the spectrum of more states rights over those of the individual, e.g. cancelling the right to speak, recently we hear that gun ownership is in question, and as this continues the right to move will become more restrictive - e.g. as California and other "blue states" work to separate themselves from the rest of America, and "red states" also do the same, they may start imposing additional restrictions on where people are allowed to live.

Oh well, the only constant is change. What will be will be, so seize the day while you can regardless and as best you can!:-)

I've always felt like all anyone can do is help better the world around them, and if that means becoming an expat because you're interests dont align then so be it. I had a great upbringing though so im grateful. I look around and it feels like everyone grew up in a different America.