Kathleen M. Carroll

In May, a Portland, Oregon, train was the site of a violent attack, which killed two men and critically injured a third, all of whom were defending two teenage girls from a hate-filled verbal assault. The incident offered a poignant answer to a timely question: What is an American?

In the turbid stew of political discourse that pollutes our airwaves, our conversations, and even our thoughts, this question simmers below the surface.