Long answer incoming. I think that this used to be more clear, but I do understand the confusion. As an American, this is my view of American nationality, and why it is harder for people to define now: I think there are a few things that make a nation - a people who identify as one united group, with a shared heritage, shared history, shared culture, and the desire/ability to rule themselves in some capacity. Of course, that does not currently describe U.S. citizens very well. However, it once did. It is easy to call America a nomad country, but only because its formation is so recent. Look at Germany, for example - a couple millenia ago, these people were different Germanic tribes that, while related, considered themselves separate. Even a few centuries ago, German lands made up several different states. They were descended from tribes that previously inhabited different lands, and migrated there for various reasons. There was a time when modern Germans' ancestors would not be one ethnicity inhabiting German lands... and yet the Germans are obviously a nation. It is the same with the early Americans. America originally only allowed free White people to become citizens. This was a people made up of related peoples with a related history - Europeans. They shared a European-descended culture with some unique cultural traits regarding stances toward monarchy, self-governance, and so on. Over time, they had growing uniqueness of various language, religious, and art nuances and styles. They had historical narratives unique to their ideas of themselves. They lived in one area and wanted to rule themselves for their interests, as one separate people. Although a relatively recent formation, I think it was clear that they fit the definition of "nation". I am grateful for what they built, and am proud to be part of that lineage and culture. This is what I mean when I say that I am proud to be an American. However, I recognize that the American people have been occupied by powers that are not American, by the definition I have given. I recognize that, without the consent of the American people, many foreign peoples and cultures have been taken into U.S. lands and officially made part of the U.S. citizenry. In that sense, the U.S. is no longer a nation, but rather an empire. When I go south and see Mexican enclaves, or into the ghetto and see black battlefields, or look at the structures of social power and see Israeli colonizers and puppets, I do not see my nation, although they are all U.S. citizens. From the outside, it must look like it doesn't mean anything to be an American. But the American nation still exists. We are conquered and suppressed and they are slowly wiping us out, but there are places where we still exist as a single people. If you visit rural Montana, for example, there is no question that you are walking among Americans; they will be one people, and you cannot confuse them for anyone else. They are just not the "Americans" most frequently shown on television, so they're easy to miss.