Question

America is an improbable idea. A mongrel nation built of ever-changing disparate parts, it is held together by a notion, the notion that all men are created equal, though everyone knows that most men consider themselves better than someone. "Of all the nations in the world, the United States was built in nobody's image," the historian Daniel Boorstin wrote. That's because it was built of bits and pieces that seem discordant, like the crazy quilts that have been one of its great folk-art forms, velvet and calico and checks and brocades. Out of many, one. That is the ideal. –"A Quilt of a Country," Anna Quindlen Which statement best summarizes the central idea of this paragraph? America claims to be equal, but it is not. The ideal America embraces its diverse heritage. Daniel Boorstin thinks that America has a negative image. America is like a colorful quilt.

Answer 1

the central idea of the paragraph is that America is a diverse and heterogeneous nation that is held together by the ideal of equality.

Step-by-step explanation:

The central idea of this paragraph is that America is a diverse and heterogeneous nation that is held together by the ideal of equality. The author uses the metaphor of a quilt to describe the various "bits and pieces" that make up America, and notes that the nation was built by people from many different backgrounds, rather than being modeled after any one specific group. The author suggests that this diversity is one of America's strengths, and that the ideal of equality is what holds the nation together.