The early scene in the movie from the 1990s was a classic. The British officer is speaking to the band of settlers on in the frontier village, calling upon them to form a militia to help the British fight the French. The men are reluctant because if they leave their homes, their families will be exposed to attacks by the Ottawa and Mohawk tribes allied with the French, and the British officer is trying to assure them that their families will be safe.
Hawkeye: "That's easy for you to say -- your family is safe in Boston or New York, while you're asking these men to leave their families and fight against someone who has never been their enemy."
Officer: "You call yourself a patriot, and loyal subject to the crown?"
Hawkeye: "I don't call myself subject to much at all."
Hawkeye's cynical skepticism is what I think of as "the American spirit." I think we see too much of the British officer's idiocy even among conservatives these days.
What about Huck??? :-)