a national icon is someone who, by the mere mention of their name, will remind people of their country. whether they like it or not, they are representatives of their nation to the rest of the world. here are some of the icons in americans’ hearts.

barack obama 
　　barack obama was sworn in as the 44th president of the united states on jan 20, 2009. the son of a black man from kenya and a white woman from kansas, he is the first african-american to ascend to the highest office in the land.
　　in the history of america, no politician has so thoroughly saturated the vast stretches of the semiotic imagination as obama. from posters to shoes to comics to dolls to t-shirts, obama’s image has now come to represent not just obama but also every value his supporters imagine he stands for. “barack obama” is no longer a man. it is an icon.
　　best quote: “we are the ones we have been waiting for.”

john fitzgerald kennedy
　　the kennedy clan is often considered the only royal family the united states has ever had. what makes it so is not their wealth or political role, but rather the aura of nobility surrounding them. jfk was the embodiment of this. a navy officer during world war ii, he became a congressman in 1947 and a u.s. senator in 1952. nine years later, he led the democratic party to the white house, becoming the 35th american president.
　　his term in office was often dubbed the new frontier since it was an era of change. he put an end to segregation, established the peace corps, and masterminded the resolution of the cuban missile crisis. unfortunately, he is often best remembered for his assassination in november 1963. for all his youthful energy and magnetism, he represented the quintessence of america.
　　best quote: “ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country.”

marilyn monroe
　　marilyn monroe proved that where there’s a will, there’s a way. she overcame a childhood of abuse in foster homes, worked as a swimsuit model, and eventually became one of the most famous movie stars of all time. her life was often regarded as a fairytale and her legendary marriage to baseball great joe dimaggio was the hallmark of this perception.
　　her performances in films like gentlemen prefer blondes and some like it hot confirmed she had as much talent as she did beauty. her tragic death on august 5, 1962 was ruled a suicide by overmedication, which only intensified her perpetual allure and legendary status.
　　best quote: “i don’t know who invented high heels, but all women owe him a lot.”

martin luther king, jr.
　　he had a dream. always a gifted student and orator, he decided as a child that he would become a baptist9) minister. while studying at crozer theological seminary after having attended morehouse college, he heard about a pacifist in india named mahatma gandhi, and became enamored with gandhi’s methods of peaceful protest. as a pastor in montgomery, alabama, he became aware of the palpable civil rights violations that plagued the south in the 1950s.
　　openly supporting rosa parks and her refusal to relinquish her seat to a white bus passenger made him a target for his opponents and his house was bombed. but that just served to fuel his desire to see segregation terminated. he became a national advocate for civil liberties and inspired a nation to change its ways.
　　best quote: “if a man hasn’t found something he will die for, he isn’t fit to live.”

michael jordan
　　here’s a man who lives the american dream. originally from brooklyn, new york, michael jordan attended the university of north carolina and proved that he truly was the best basketball player that ever lived by taking his team to the ncaa championship. he was soon drafted into the nba as a guard for the chicago bulls. he led his team to six league championships and won the mvp award five times.
　　in 1993, at the age of 30, he gave up basketball for baseball. but then he returned to the bulls in 1995 where he continued to dominate the court. he bought the washington wizards in 2000 and joined the team on the court in the 2001-2002 season.
　　best quote: “i can accept failure, but i can’t accept not trying.”

      一个国家的偶像就是这样一些人，只要一提到他们的名字，人们就会想到他们的国家。不管他们是否愿意，对于其他国家的人来说，他们就是那个国家的代表。下面这几位就是美国人心目中的偶像。

巴拉克·奥巴马
　　巴拉克·奥巴马于2009年1月20日宣誓就职，成为第44届美国总统。他的父亲是一位来自肯尼亚的黑人，母亲是来自堪萨斯州的白人，他是第一位登上美国最高权力宝座的非裔美国人。　
　　在美国历史上，还没有哪个政治家能像奥巴马一样承载了人们如此丰富的想象，集各种符号于一身。从海报到鞋子，从漫画到玩偶再到t恤衫，奥巴马的形象无处不在，他已经不只是代表他本人，而是代表着他的支持者所想象的他所代表的一切价值。“巴拉克·奥巴马”已经不再是一个人。他成了一个象征。
　　著名言论：“我们就是我们一直在期盼的救世主!”

约翰·菲茨杰拉德·肯尼迪
　　肯尼迪家族通常被认为是美国所拥有的唯一的王室家族。之所以如此，不是因为他们拥有的财富，也不是因为他们所扮演的政治角色，而是因为他们身上所笼罩的那种高贵的光环。肯尼迪就是这一光环的化身。二战期间他是一名海军指挥官，1947年成了一名国会议员，1952年任美国参议员。九年之后，他率领民主党走进了白宫，成为第35届美国总统。
　　他任职期间通常被称作“新边疆”时期，因为那是一个变革的时代。他废除了种族隔离制度，组建了和平队，为消除古巴导弹危机出谋划策。不幸的是，他留给人们最深的记忆却是他在1963年的遇刺。由于年轻、充满活力和魅力，他成了美国精髓的化身。
　　著名言论：“不要问国家能为你做些什么，而要问你能为国家做些什么。”

玛丽莲·梦露
　　玛丽莲·梦露证明了“有志者事竟成”。她克服了童年时期在多个收养家庭中遭受的虐待，做过泳装模特，最终成为历史上最为耀眼的电影明星之一。人们常常把梦露的一生看作一个童话故事，而她和棒球明星乔·迪·马吉奥的传奇婚姻就是这一看法的最好诠释。
　　她在《绅士爱美人》和《热情似火》等电影里的表演证明了她不仅有美丽的外表，也有出众的才华。她在1962年8月5日的悲惨离世被裁定为因过度用药引起的自杀。她的离去更加深了她经久不衰的魅力，巩固了她的传奇地位。
　　著名言论：“我不知道是谁发明的高跟鞋，但所有女人都为此对他感激不已。”

马丁·路德·金
　　他有一个梦想。他是一个天才的学生和演说家，从小就立志要做浸信会牧师。在结束莫豪斯学院的学业之后，他又去克劳泽神学院学习。在此期间，他了解到印度有一位名叫圣雄甘地的和平主义者，并对甘地的和平抵抗方式推崇备至。20世纪50年代，美国南方侵犯民权的行为如瘟疫般流行，作为亚拉巴马州蒙哥马利市的一名牧师，他对这些显而易见的行为有着清醒的认识。
　　由于他公开支持罗莎·帕克斯和她在公共汽车上拒绝给白人让座的行为，他成了对手们攻击的对象，他的住所也遭到炸弹的袭击。但这一切只能使他更坚定消除种族隔离制度的决心。他开始倡导公民自由，激励美国做出改变。
　　著名言论：“如果一个人还没有找到可以为之献身的东西，那他就无需活在世上。”
　　

迈克尔·乔丹
　　这是一个实现了美国梦的人。迈克尔·乔丹来自纽约市的布鲁克林，曾在卡罗莱纳大学读书。他率领自己的球队赢得了全美大学生体育协会的冠军，从而证实了自己是美国历史上当之无愧的最佳篮球运动员。不久，他受nba招揽，成为芝加哥公牛队的后卫。他率领自己的球队获得六次联赛冠军，他本人也五次荣获“最优秀运动员”称号。
　　1993年，在他30岁的时候，他放弃了篮球，玩起了棒球。但当他在1995年重返公牛队时，他依然是篮球场上的霸主。2000年，他买下了华盛顿奇才队，并在2001～2002赛季中加入该队参加比赛。
　　著名言论：“我可以接受失败，但无法接受不去尝试。”