“An ‘American’ Publishes a Magazine” is about the personal experience of author Wallace Shawn as an American putting together a magazine with other American authors that would only have one single first and final issue.  In this short essay Shawn discusses his complicated relationship with other Americans, including the government. He resents other people’s apathy, and how almost no one says anything when the U.S. military are the ones trampling and setting fires in other countries, yet thanks to that sense of righteousness the country has, is that he, as well as the rest of us, can live in our own bubble as a society.  This is why he asked his fellow writers and artists to contribute to this journal, so they can say what they need to say about the things we don’t like to discuss, and when all is said and done, everyone can go their separate ways . Making more issues would only create another institution of which Shawn doesn’t want to be a part of.