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| Showing off American pride, photo courtesy of pets best.com |
I never
have given much thought to my nationality. I was born in the U.S., have always
lived here, and love wearing red white on blue on national holidays. I have and
always will be American.
I always
assumed everyone else who was born here and grew up here felt the same, but
after reading Malcolm X’s “The Ballot or the Bullet” speech, I started to
rethink what it means to not only be American, but to feel American. Malcolm
states that he does not consider himself American, and that only “everything
that came out of Europe is American.” In other words, being white makes you
American. I consider myself American, and I’m white, so I can’t speak for any
other races. But this got me thinking about how racial identity ties into
nationality identity. Had I been born in a place where blonde hair and pale
skin were not the norm, say Japan, would I consider myself Japanese? Even if I
had no ancestral ties to their racial identity, if I was brought up in the
culture, would I always be on the outside looking in?
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| My claim to heritage, but not nationality Photo courtesy of blogging4jobs.com |
To get a
second opinion on this, I consulted my friend Alex from home who grew up in the
United States and who is also very culturally connected to her Mexican roots. I
always assumed she was American because nothing about Alex, not even her looks,
are dead give a ways that she is of Mexican descent. Upon further investigation
though, I was surprised to learn Alex isn’t even an American citizen. When I asked her which nation she associates
herself with though, she gave me an interesting response. She said that her
answer depends on where she is and to whom she is talking to. In Mexico, she
says, calling herself Mexican would be like if I went to Ireland and went
around telling everyone I’m Irish. Though I have roots there, I would never be fully
considered “Irish” to them because I wasn’t even born there, and didn’t grow up
there. Even if your ancestral history or racial identity is associated with a
certain country, your nationality may not match up.
To even
further complicate things, I consulted another friend who was born here but
whose parents moved from India before she was around. By her looks alone, one
would consider her Indian by race. She has the strongest connection to her
ancestral background of anyone I know, but she considers herself American and says she feels American.
In one last
example, for those of you who watch How I Met Your Mother, Robin Scherbatsky
struggles with her national identity as well. Robin is a Canadian born
journalist living in New York City with all American friends. Her ex-boyfriend
Barney constantly makes fun of her for being Canadian, but he ends up finding out he's a quarter
Canadian too. Here he tries to avoid the label:
So what
makes someone American then? Is it if you’re born here? Is it if you look a
certain way? Let me know what you think.
Let me start off by saying that I am not American, I’m Kenyan. So I can only answer the question from the perspective of a Kenyan. So, what makes me Kenyan? Yes, I was born in Kenya. However, just because you were born in a country doesn’t mean you take that identity. One of my friends was born in Hong Kong, but does she consider herself Chinese? No, she is straight up red, white and blue. Therefore, I’m not Kenyan because I was born in Kenya, or because I look a certain way (if there is a certain Kenyan look). I am Kenyan because I have rights just like everyone else in Kenya does; I have the right to vote, right to be a member of parliament, the right to respect from every Tom, Dick and Harry, etc. Basically, I have the right to have equal rights. I am Kenyan because I am willing to support my country in any way that I can; be it fight in war or even represent them at the United Nations (hopefully). I consider myself Kenyan because I would do anything for my country, because I know that they would do the same for me. Did Malcolm X support his government, the leaders who betrayed the African American trust by feeding them the false hope of civil rights and a brighter tomorrow? No. Would these same leaders do to themselves what they did to the likes of Malcolm X? I don’t think so. Without equal rights, or a government you can trust to get you those rights, I understand why Malcolm X did not consider himself American. I mean, would you?
ReplyDeleteI agree very much with Irene. I think being that I'm a white American, I take for granted these rights because I've known nothing besides them. I think the reason I consider myself American is because I identify with the cultural aspects so much. I have roots to other countries, but none were ever a strong part of my life. I have a friend who is initially from Israel. She moved from Israel when she was about four years old so she wasn't too deeply immersed in the culture of Israel. Her older brother, on the other hand, had much more exposure to Israel so therefore when he came to America with his family, he kept many of his traditional Israeli values and his ties. He has stayed so closely tied to Israel that he is currently serving in the military there. On the other hand, his sister seems to very much value the American lifestyle and the materialism of America in comparison to what she remembers of Israel. It is very interesting to see the difference in how people see their nationality as an identity.
ReplyDeleteI share the same birthplace as the majority of my extended family: Mauritius, a tiny island off the east coast of Madagascar. As you might expect, there are major cultural differences between Mauritius and the United States. After living in both locations and visiting the homeland a few times, I'd have to say that in most cases, I consider myself both an American and a Mauritian. Nothing that I have ever experienced has irked me enough to contemplate dropping the American part of my identity.
ReplyDeleteTo answer your questions, I think that the perception of others has a lot to do with being identified as an American. My public behavior is what you would expect of an American, however, my looks are not. The color of my skin is what prompts others to immediately label me as something other than American, but this is expected and as a result, doesn't bother me. Of course, the criteria that define what it is to be an American varies between different individuals and situations, which makes for an interesting topic of discussion.
I would have to say that Malcolm X is greatly justified in not considering himself an American. It makes sense. Why would any rational person who faces large-scale oppression identify with those who cause it?
I'd like to look at this question from a slightly different perspective. What makes someone an American, you ask? What makes someone part of any nationality in general? In my opinion, it is neither your birthplace, nor your heritage, nor your appearance nor rights. Being a citizen of a country depends on two things and two things only: first, an individual must consider herself or himself as a member of the nation. This must be based on that person's identity from their own perspective, on not based on what others think. Secondly, the nation must, in a reciprocal fashion, consider this individual to be one of its own. Therefore, a person who is either not a legal citizen of a country, or who does not consider themselves a citizen of a country, does not meet the requirements.
ReplyDeleteFor example, if person A's descendants are all British, and A considers himself British, but was born in America and has citizenship in the US, then he is a citizen of neither country. This theory ends up classifying large groups of people as nationless, which I think is appropriate, especially as the world becomes more and more globalized and connected.
No one can answer the question "What is an American?" using physical characteristics. This is because none of us are true natives of America, and therefore there is no common physical characteristics that we all share.
ReplyDeleteAmerica is not a race but an idea. It is the idea that man is free and he can do as he pleases and pursue his own interests and desires. It is the idea that man can decide his own destiny. It is the idea that man makes the government that governs him, and not the other way around. It is the idea that it doesn't matter where you come from, that hard work can make you successful.. It is the idea that we are all equal and deserve to be treated as such. Therefore, to me, an American is any person, who in his or her heart, truly believes these ideas.