American political identity is continually changing also because of the incredible ethnic and cultural diversity within the nation's borders. When gender, sexual identity, socio-economic class, and other factors are also included in the mix, America's political philosophy is naturally heterogeneous. When new immigrants enter the United States, they contribute to the common ideals of a nation founded on principles like universal liberty and justice. "Debates about immigration and national identity cut to the core of our national self-image as a nation of immigrants, and invariably includes allusions to the past -- real and idealized -- as a way of under- standing and coping with social and demographic changes today," (Segura 278). White supremacist Americans are currently in a state of panic, which is a good sign. The president has African blood. Latinos have gained a significant amount of political clout. Women are no longer willing to accept patriarchy as the status quo. As Bell Hooks states, an America that is "dominated primarily by the voices of white male intellectuals and/or academic elites who speak to and about one another with coded familiarity" is an America to be challenged vigorously in the spirit of Dr. Martin Luther King. King noted that tension in political life is not a bad thing, but a positive sign of growth. "Nonviolent direct action seeks to create such a crisis and foster such a tension that...

I have earnestly opposed violent tension, but there is a type of constructive, nonviolent tension which is necessary for growth." American political philosophy is characterized by tension because it is so diverse, but always dedicated to liberty and justice for all.
Works Cited

Brooks, David "One Nation, Slightly Divisible." The Atlantic Monthly; Dec 2001; 288, 5; ABI/INFORM Global pg. 53

Hartz "The Concept of a Liberal Society"

Hooks, Bell. "Postmodern Blackness." 19 Apr 1994.

King, Martin Luther. "Letter from a Birmingham Jail." 16 April 1963.

Kristol, William. "Will Obama Save Liberalism?" The New York Times. 25 Jan 2009. Retrieved online: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/26/opinion/26kristol.html

"Obama administration won't oppose same-sex marriage." CNN. 23 Feb 2011. Retrieved online: http://articles.cnn.com/2011-02-23/politics/obama.gay.marriage_1_jay-carney-obama-administration-justice-department?_s=PM:POLITICS

Obama, Barack. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A19751-2004Jul27.html

Segura, Gary M. "Symposium Introduction: Immigration and National Identity."

Starr, Paul "Why Liberalism Works" In Twentieth-Century Ideologies.

Will. American Governance: Going Through the Motions.