Sushi, Hair Metal, and My American Identity

Sushi, Hair Metal, and My American Identity

Anonymous

I.  How I Identify Myself

            No one is ever raised the exact same way as their friends, cousins, co-workers, classmates, etc., and I’ve always tried remembering that when certain things about others seem weird to me or don’t make sense.  Even in the apartment I live in now during school, the two other girls I live with have been raised very differently and have very different family backgrounds than me.  I sometimes forget now, since I’m not living with or close with some of my family, that there is more to me than being just an “American.”  There’s more to all of us than just being “American” and America really is a big melting pot of different cultures, beliefs, and traditions.

            I grew up in a Japanese household with my grandmother, brother, and father.  My grandmother and father are from Okinawa, Japan, and came here in the late 1950s or early 1960s.  She was the main person who took care of me because of my father’s work schedule and a lot of her traditions and customs, which she raised my father on, were also taught to my brother and I.  We were only allowed to speak Japanese at home and if we asked for something in English or said something in English, she wouldn’t acknowledge it because it was important to her for us to learn the language.  She also made a lot of Japanese food, which I still like to this day.  A lot of the cartoons, toys, etc., that I liked and remember playing with, too, were also originally Japanese and I think that’s because, besides her raising us that way, it’s what I knew and what interested me at the time.  I even met my family from Japan and really enjoyed meeting them and learning from them.

            When I started getting older, I started being interested in my own things, like most teenagers, and was allowed to hang out with friends more.  My grandmother moved into assisted living eventually and I stopped really paying attention to a lot of her and my father’s stories, somewhat ignoring that part of me more because I didn’t really care at the time.  I even lost the language once she moved out because I was barely using it.  Once I moved out of that house and into my mother’s house, I wasn’t surrounded by those things at all and pretty much let go of all of what I grew up on altogether.

            Now, being 20 years old and a senior in college, I’ve realized what is important to me and that a lot of my personality traits, what I like to do, and what I know have come from my childhood.  I’m really disappointed I can’t speak the language anymore and have wanted to begin learning again because it is important for me to hold onto some of those things for the future, to carry down when I have a family of my own.  My grandmother has even began losing the language because she doesn’t get to use it a lot, except on the phone with relatives, and it really upsets her because even though, at this point, she’s accepted the American culture, she still wants to hold onto part of where she came from.  I still know how to make sushi and cook some of the food, which I am proud of knowing, but that’s the only thing I can truly say I’ve still totally held onto and know.

            Besides where my grandmother and father came from, there’s a lot about me that makes me “me.”  My father rode a Harley and listened to Ozzy Osbourne, Alice Cooper, Motley Crue, Poison, Kiss, etc., and those things have definitely been passed down on me.  Motley Crue is still one of my favorite bands, and I have to see them live at least a couple times a year, and that’s probably one of the first things people that know me would think of when saying what I’m interested in.

            At first, I didn’t know what I wanted to do with my journalism major because I know I could never come right out of college being a clean-cut news anchor or something along those lines, but this far into it, I’ve found that it actually fits me very well.  My biggest interests to write about and explore are music, body art, and motocross and it’s possible to be a successful, professional, journalist in those areas while still being myself.  I’ve never cared about going into a field where I’m guaranteed to make a lot of money in the future, like some other students I’ve met.  It’s more important to me to hold onto who I am and enjoy the rest of my life than hate going to work everyday, as long as I make enough to get by and provide for my own family in the future.

II.  A Significant Experience With American Identities

            My father fought in the Vietnam War and has told me small stories of his time there, but for the most part doesn’t really want to explain them to me or explain how scary it really was being there.  As a little girl, I never knew exactly what the war was or how bad of a war it really was, but once I got older and started learning about it in school, I started realizing a lot more of what my father went through and why it affected him so much to this day.

            I can’t imagine what he saw with his own eyes and it took me up until recently to start fully understanding his PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder) and how to not be bothered by it.  It used to embarrass me sometimes how awkwardly social he was and how a lot of the time, he keeps to himself and doesn’t know how to act in certain situations, but I’ve really learned, especially this past summer, how to not let other people’s reactions to the “weird” things he does affect me.

            This story about America, to me, is the one I feel has most affected me because a part of it is still with my father to this day, and throughout my life, I’ve had to experience and live with that part he carries with him.  I don’t think many people truly understand the effects war has on people until they see it first hand and while we learn about the different wars throughout our school years, and while we live through one now, it’s hard for me to imagine all of the people going through similar things my father, as well as my grandfather in WWII, went through and are going through.  The number of soldiers written out in textbooks is more than just a number and many people forget to think of it as an actual group of people like us.

            All the students my age and older can probably recall where they were when the World Trade Centers were hit and right now we’re all living through something, some more than others, that will be a few chapters in a high school history textbook in the future.  I was getting ready for school when I walked in my living room and saw my father watching it on TV.  I had no idea what was actually going on because I was only ten at the time, but I started gradually understanding what was going on as people explained it to me.  I didn’t think or understand at the time, though, that the after-effects would still be going on now.

            Now, at this point, I’ve met many people my age back home in Buffalo that have been in the war, as well as students and friends in Fredonia.  My roommate’s boyfriend was in Iraq for 8 months and came to Fredonia for school afterwards.  It’s strange to think of how much he went through there and now he’s here just doing everyday things with us, once again, but still carries that with him.  Many people I went to high school with have also gone over there and it’s changed my perspective a lot on my dad’s experience because I’m living through seeing them leave, not just hearing about it after it’s all over, and what they’re going through is somewhat similar to what my dad had to do.

III.  My Beliefs/Principles On How We Ought To Define And Understand American Identities

            America is full of many different people and I’ve met people from many different places and backgrounds, as I’m sure many others have also.  Coming to Fredonia, some of my best friends here are from Africa and Jamaica.  They still fit right in being here and I don’t see them as being any more different than anyone else, they’re just used to some different things than us.  The “melting-pot” idea of our country is very true.  We’re all a mixture of different ethnicities, religions, etc., mixing together and living together.

            I feel like there’s a place in America for people of every color, race, religion, belief, sexual orientation, etc., and think the first thing any American should be is accepting or open-minded.  We all know that this isn’t really a trait everyone in our country possesses, but to me, it’s what every American should aim for.  I couldn’t imagine living in places like Jamaica, where my friend is from, where being a gay male is wrong and having a relationship with another man is against the law.  Cops there even turn the other way when it comes to hate crimes against homosexuals, while here there are parades all over the country here and gay marriage is being legalized in many states, giving some of my friends the right to be who they are and have that equal opportunity.

            I also feel like living here gives us the opportunity to make a lot out of ourselves.  We can pretty much dream of doing anything with our lives and there’s a way to achieve it.  There are so many different majors to choose from when going into tech school or college and we have the ability to change our minds at any time as long as we can finance it in some way.  Everything in our country doesn’t always run smoothly and isn’t always the fairest, and many people don’t always agree with the governments policies or ways and some abuse government assistance, but we have a lot a more opportunities and rights than other places.

            In Margaret Regan’s The Death of Josseline, the Mexican immigrants see America as an opportunity to make more money than they can back home so they can support their families, and it’s true that we are able to make more money than them, but being an American citizen, we have to pay taxes/pay our dues for being a citizen.  Living here and making a life for ourselves here is expensive, so it’s not like everything here is just given to all of us and our country has its problems.  While we are lucky to live in this country, the stereotypes others have about the “American dream” and us aren’t true altogether to that degree.

IV.  What Makes My American Identity

            After taking this American Identities class, it’s led me to really think about what all of those factors say about my American identity.  They all seem to just work together and fit into being “American.”  Growing up listening to hair metal and music along those lines and also facing a Japanese upbringing has made me the person I am today.

            I believe the Japanese upbringing has made me more of the person I am today than I ever realized before this class.  Like I mentioned in section I, I went through a rebelling stage of my upbringing, but I still hold onto some of it today and part of my personality comes from it.  Even when I was trying to let it go and be my teenage self, I never realized that my self included some of the Japanese traits that my grandmother passed down to me and I can’t erase something that makes me.

            I related to Amy Chua’s Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother because of her daughter’s struggles with her unusual, strict parenting.  In the memoir, Chua doesn’t see that her way of parenting is too strict, which in my opinion it is, and I think my grandmother was a lot like her, just not as extreme.  I couldn’t hang out with friends a lot because she felt like homework was more important and I always had the pressure on me to not disappoint them.  I played the flute and only practiced because it pleased her and my father.  I felt like an outcast in school because I didn’t wear the cool clothes or do the cool things my other classmates did because she didn’t feel like that was important.  I also studied a lot in school and did very well, and to add onto my embarrassment at the time, I was the biggest teacher’s pet.  I eventually applied for City Honors School (CHS), which is one of the best schools in the Buffalo area, and began going there in 7^th grade.  They were so happy for me to go to that school because it kept me out of the rest of the Buffalo Public Schools that weren’t good.

            Once I got into CHS, that’s when I began to rebel against my grandmother and father and met friends that were in similar situations.  As much as I tried to ignore my home life, I look back at it now and realize how I really never did.  The music I was listening to still related to the heavy-metal, hard-rock past my father passed onto me.  The rebelling stage fit into exactly that image, as well.  I may have worn more black, gotten more piercings, and acted less reserved than I used to, but it was nothing new.  It’s the same sort of rebelling we see in many American movies and hear countless teenage stories about.  I was still doing well in school, but didn’t care much and skipped a lot of classes.  I think that might have been the biggest way I know how of firing back at my father and being an angry teenager.

            I’ve gone through some other stages since then, but that was my most relevant one because it was at such a crucial time in life transitioning from middle school up to high school.  Now in college, I’ve realized how reserved, or shy, I am compared to a lot of people, including my roommate, and this may be because my grandmother was always raised to be this way as well.  I’m very soft spoken, unlike my roommate, who is Italian and is loud and vocal with everything she’s thinking or feels.

            As far as the metal music goes, I can pretty much say that it is something I will never get over and in a way, I feel like some of it makes America.  When I think of the perfect American spokesperson, I think of Bret Michaels running around on stage wearing a cowboy hat, cowboy boots, blue jeans, and a ripped up t-shirt and singing to the troops, then riding his Harley around.  My father’s love for Ozzy Osbourne could have been his rebelling stage that he went through against my grandmother’s upbringing, so I think we have that in common.  He held onto that and somewhat Americanized himself, while growing up and realizing that he couldn’t let go of the Japanese part of himself either.  My children will probably grow up getting rocked to sleep by me with Motley Crue, Black Sabbath, Poison, and Kiss on in the background and maybe they’ll hang onto it the way I do.

            Thinking back to friends’ stories about growing up and their identity, as well as other classmates’, I don’t think there is one certain trait that everybody in America possesses that makes us who we are as a country.  What we all do have in common is that our ancestors and/or ourselves have all come from different places and have faced different cultural issues.  America is just a big melting pot of every culture, religion, race, and issue.

V.  American Stereotypes

            My boyfriend is from Nigeria and he considers himself very American.  He’s interested in arts and music, which disappoints his parents because they came to America to make a better life for themselves and their children and they feel like he’s setting himself up for failure.  His family back in Nigeria doesn’t have all that they do here and they feel like he doesn’t take advantage of that or appreciate it.  He always mentions to me how proud they are of his sister for going through medical school and becoming a doctor.  I’ve noticed many doctors I meet are from other countries and maybe part of the lazy stereotype of Americans is because we all don’t take advantage of education the way they do, or we don’t have the same goals that they do.  As I mentioned earlier, money isn’t a huge deal to me and I’m happy pursuing a job in writing.  I’ve never wanted to be a doctor or a lawyer.  My parents are a little worried about my future because journalism is a tough field to find a job in, but compared to his parents, it’s nothing and they’re still supportive.  His parents are constantly on him about finding a good job or going back to school for something other than marketing and music business, but that’s all he wants to do and feels like he disappoints them sometimes.

            When it comes to religion, I’m far from religious and am technically Jewish, but I’ve never followed it.  My boyfriend’s family is very Christian and they think it’s a shame that our country is more lenient on religion.  We’re free to believe whatever we want and in my opinion that’s the way it should be, but I can see where they’re coming from because religion has caused many issues between different regions in Africa and their culture is based on religion.  America is more accepting of different people’s beliefs, including theirs so, I feel like we’re fortunate in the way that we can all live side by side with far less conflict.  No country is perfect when it comes to different forms of hate, but at least here it’s not extreme.

            Some of the American stereotypes we talked about in class may apply to myself and/or others, but I’m not sure if they’re only American traits.  I’m going to London next semester to study abroad and I’m excited to be exposed to life there and want to see the way people act in their everyday lives compared to Americans.  I’m wondering if I’m just ignorant to some American stereotypes being true because I haven’t been exposed enough to other cultures, or if they really are just false stereotypes that could apply elsewhere.  I’ve taken vacations to other places and have met people from other countries that live in America, but I don’t think that has opened my eyes as much as that experience will.

Works Cited 

Chua, Amy.  Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother.  New York:  The Penguin Press, 2011.

Regan, Margaret.  The Death of Josseline.  Boston:  Beacon Press Books, 2010.

Identity of an Atypical College Student

Identity of an Atypical College Student

Tylor

What Is an Identity?

It is defined as the distinguishing character or personality of an individual. This is an identity in its simplest form. So, I set out on a quest to find my identity and in turn find out what it means to be me. An identity should be important for every person to realize about themselves because self-realization is crucial to being a good person.

My First Identifying Factor

 I would identify myself as an American. I was born here, my parents were born here, and my grandparents were born here. That makes me American. My ancestors are Irish and Italian, but that doesn’t make me Irish or Italian. It is unfair to the people who are those ethnicities to say that I am one of them. It is comparable to saying that I was on a championship winning team when in reality I was on that team years after they won the championship and did not actually earn it myself. Sometimes people forget that they have never actually been to the country that they associate themselves with. If you were to ask them anything about the country that they are from they are likely not to know the answer. If you ask them something about America, they have a greater chance of getting the answer right, but they still would not consider themselves American if asked the question.

After realizing that I am indeed American I must ask myself what it means to be American. Being American brings on great responsibility. You have to act perfect all the time when interacting with people from different countries because Americans are scrutinized the most out of all. America is the number one leader on the world stage and that means that a lot of eyes are on what America does. It also means that many aspects of globalization are strongly linked to Americanization. America is seen as too big to fail because if America does poorly, then the rest of the world might do poorly. America has used this philosophy on their own banks recently knowing that they needed to be bailed out in order for America to keep functioning properly. The fact that America is too big to fail means that a lot of people are relying on America to do well and therefore are looking at with more scrutiny. I know that when I visit other countries that I must be on my best behavior because people are always trying to make Americans out to be the bad guys. It comes with the territory and I realize this.

This isn’t the only thing that being American entails; it also includes a higher standard of living and with this higher standard comes more opportunity to help others. There are plenty of opportunities to help other people in other countries who were not fortunate enough to be able to help themselves. This is something that I know is included with my identity and I try to embrace it in any way possible. It is hard to do work for people in other countries, but I try my best to help people in need. I love being American and I would choose no other fate for myself. It is a blessing to be born in the greatest country in the world and that is why I find it unfathomable that people choose to say they are other ethnicities.

My Second Identifying Factor

            I am a white male. I group these two together because throughout history they have been considered one identifying factor. This is an obvious characteristic of mine that is clearly visible by all. Race can be an important thing is someone’s life and is different from an ethnicity. Ethnicity refers to cultural characteristics, location, and beliefs. Race refers to a person's appearance and has biological underpinnings. They are commonly mistaken to mean the same thing, but in reality they are vastly different.

            Race is something that I have dealt with a lot in my years. My uncle was adopted from the Philippines, but he looks black. When I was younger and I walked around with him, people would think he was my dad and it was looked down upon. I was clearly white and the fact that I was with him implied interracial relations. It didn’t really occur to me then, but people really do not like the idea that a black man could be with anyone except a black woman. I have no negative connotations of African American people, but that is because I was raised to know better. I do understand how people can grow up with the negative feelings towards black people because of how they were raised. If someone is told their whole life that African American people are the enemy and that they are people of lesser importance than they are obviously going to have bad feelings towards them. I was fortunate enough to be raised correctly and not to discriminate, but many people in this country are not as fortunate as I.

My Third Identifying Factor

I would identify myself as someone who is “settled down.” I have a fiancé and have been with her for over 5 years. We are extremely happy, but it is rare that someone at my age settles down with one individual, especially in a college setting. This aspect of my identity is crucial because it makes me change things about myself. I realize that I need to be more conscientious about my money because I need to save enough to support both of us in the future. Also I realize that a relationship is give and take, and I need to compromise with her on some views.

            Being in college itself is an identifying factor. The American College Kid has a certain stereotype that is mostly negative. A college male in America is supposed to follow one of two paths. A person can join a frat and live through college getting drunk regularly, have multiple women in his life, and own fancy things. This person is not prepared for life in the slightest. They never do any work, they don’t worry about what alcohol is doing to their system and they think that a tough day is one that they actually go to every class. This isn’t typical, but it is one of the college male stereotypes. The other version of a college student is the typical stoner. This is the one that never does any work and is too “baked” to think coherently. They do not care what others think and they are the ones that go to rallies and parties during class just because they have those set for their priorities. Neither of these two stereotypes are positive ones, but they are the typical ones portrayed in the mainstream movies and shows that are seen globally.

            My specific experience with the American identity of the college male has to do with the fact that I am engaged. Not many people my age get engaged, and when they do it is often frowned upon at this stage in life. People always say that I am throwing my life away. To those people I say that I am just starting it earlier than most. It is much better to start living at a young age and being with her makes me feel good. Sometimes people wonder why I would commit at my age and ask me how I know she is the one. I really dislike hearing these questions all the time. The people that know us do support us and that is really all that matters, but it goes against the mold. It goes against the stereotype of the typical college male, and most people do not like change.

            Another thing that goes against most college stereotypes is the fact that I do not drink. I have never been drunk or gone to a bar with the goal of getting drunk. This is weird to my friends because, like many college students, they get drunk 2 nights a week. I prefer to stay inside and watch a movie or play a game and remember what I did that night. This isn’t typical, but it is preferable. It is often looked down upon by the people that I am closest to.

Yet another college male stereotype that I do not fit is the all-nighter. I have never had to put myself through an all-night study or work session like it is portrayed in many movies. I believe it is more important to sleep than it is to study and there have been many studies that would back that idea up. There are many people that I have seen that do these study sessions but it really is not beneficial. I do procrastinate, but I try not to procrastinate to the point where I have to cram for an entire night, which leads to the next topic, coffee!

            I absolutely hate coffee. The smell of it is bad, the taste of it is bad, and the effects are bad. It is not great for your body but there really aren’t many things that can wake you up without a large amount of caffeine. I am a soda drinker which isn’t much better, but the stereotype says that I should cram for tests all night with a large cup of java in hand. My fiancé does live on coffee so we often feud about the effects and the usage purposes of it. She usually wins.

Fourth Identifying Factor

            I would identify myself as a geek. The term geek is very specific. It refers to someone who is interested in things that others are not commonly interested in. A geek is smart, but unlike a nerd or a dork they are also socially adept. A common misconception is that they are not good at working with people, but in reality they are. I classify myself as such because I am into sports and hanging out with people, but I also love working on computers. That is my hobby and it is the thing that interests me, but does not interest many others.

            I love being a geek. I enjoy video games across multiple platforms and I enjoy working with technology. Being a geek also comes with some negatives. In my experience, geeks are usually a bit more unkempt and have a hard time caring about physical appearance. When people find out that I am a computer technician they often put these images into the back of their head. It isn’t truly accurate or a fair representation of being a geek, but it is a misconception that is prominent in today’s society.

General American Stereotypes

            (1) There are many misconceptions about America that are portrayed in stereotype from, but many of the stereotypes about America are actually pretty accurate. Americans are known as being greatly obese. This obesity epidemic is fairly recent, and is actually pretty true. Americans seem to be a bit larger than their English counterparts. They have greater access to fatty foods and food in general than most other countries. In America fatty food is rather inexpensive whereas the fruits and veggies can cost quite a bit more. This may be the reason that Americans are seen as larger than other people globally. This is seen throughout my own experiences because I too am a bit larger than most. I eat these fatty foods because I can afford them, and I eat food on campus which is generally less healthy than food found elsewhere.

            (2) Another stereotype about America is that we do not care about other countries. In general this seems to be true also. I personally know quite a bit about other countries because I am a history major and other countries intrigue me, but my peers seem to know very little about the world outside of America. This, like most things, has an explanation. People in America do not converse with many people in other countries because we do not border very many unlike European countries. We also cannot move freely between countries like they can in Europe. There is a passport and a long wait in order to get to Canada or Mexico and honestly many people would rather stay in America than venture forth into sometimes hazardous Mexico. Some people do go to Canada, but it isn’t a trip that can be made often and usually people do not go there for an extended period of time. If people want to visit other countries in Europe they can do so rather inexpensively and without much hassle.

Another example of the blindness of America is that people who live in the United States often forget that they are not the only country in America. They forget that there is a North and South America and as you can see in my paper I am a perpetrator of this. I usually just say America because it is simpler and easier, but really it is because I do honestly forget to acknowledge the other American countries.

            (3) One of the only American stereotypes that actually irks me is the one about Rednecks. It isn’t fair to refer to everyone in the South as a redneck. I was born in Louisiana and lived there for a while and the people down there are just as sophisticated as the ones in the North. Most people do not even know what it means to be a redneck. It really isn’t a bad thing to be a redneck and in some parts of the country it is the highest form of flattery. Some people love hunting, fishing, drinking, and being ignorant to all other issues. Ignorance is bliss and it makes them happy not to worry about many problems that they usually have no control over. Americans often are too stressed about things that they cannot change and therefore have stress that isn’t warranted. I am one of those people. I always worry about things that I cannot change. I realize it isn’t something that I should do, but unfortunately I am not ignorant to the issues of the world and therefore I focus on them.

(4) One of the stereotypes that I am unfortunately adding to is that Americans need things bigger and better. When a new technology comes out I must have it. When I look for a car or a house I must have the best, but why? Why does it really matter if I have a car that looks nicer than you? Is it to make you jealous? I honestly have no answer to these questions, but it might be because I am ignoring them so that I do not feel bad for taking part in it.  If I have a car that runs and a house that is good for shelter, then I should be happy. Unfortunately this is not how many Americans think. They always want better things than the person next to them. Americans were actually upset when the new iPhone came out because it looked like the old one and nobody would know that they had upgraded. This idea is ridiculous. If it works better, then you should get it, but do not get it just so that other people know that you upgraded.

(5) One stereotype that is similar to one mentioned earlier is that Americans are lazy. This is similar to obese Americans, but is different on so many levels mostly because of technology. Before computers and machines, people had to do physical labor to get by, but now people can sit at a machine and push buttons. This means they can be obese and it won’t really affect their work ethic. The thing that I would say I would identify with the most is a hard worker. I move up fast in any job that I have and I achieve high accolades no matter what the job is. It’s not that I can do my job better than anyone else, it’s just that I try harder to do better. If I do not know something I try to learn it and I typically learn what I need to do fairly quickly. I am a Resnet technician and when I went into the job I honestly did not know all that much about computers. Within one year I became student manager and had learned everything that there was to know at the position. It was a great experience, but I feel as if it is time to move on because there is no more challenge, which leads me to my next point.

Final Thoughts

            Is there anything more annoying and diverse as an American? I would have to say no. Americans are so diverse that they can annoy people on different levels. They can be too loud and pushy like a “New Yorker.” They can be too stupid and slutty like the “Dumb Blonde” girl that we all knew in high school. They can constantly be talking about killing deer and driving around in their pickup truck with a shotgun like the “Redneck.” Or they can be getting drunk and saying “bro” all the time like the “typical college kid.” Of course these aren’t accurate representations of America, but it’s what makes America what it is today. It is diverse, it is constantly changing, it is sometimes oblivious to actual problems, and it is constantly using force to prove points.

All of these stereotypes are obviously a bit exaggerated, but they all serve to show what America is. It isn’t all of what America is, but it is a part of America and they show the culture of America. Other countries have stereotypes that they aren’t proud of but it shows what they are made of. One example is that Swedish girls are among the most promiscuous. This isn’t a positive stereotype but it does tell us something about Swedish culture. The people in Sweden actually see promiscuity different than in America and the people in Sweden simply do not care if the girls dress in “skimpy” clothing. I found this out working as an intern for schools in Sweden.

The term American identity is rooted in enlightenment ideals. Out of the enlightenment came many ideas and a new way of thinking. The main thing was a belief in the individual, and this led to romanticism and consequently romantic nationalism. Jean-Jacques Rousseau was a leader in this area of thinking and one of the main ideas that he had was that people should identify with their country rather then themselves and that their country is the individual which should be fought for. The idea of a national identity comes from beliefs rooted in the early 1700s and it still exists today.

I think that the idea of American Identities is a horrible one because it creates strife and stereotypes that may not exist otherwise. Without creating specific identities for people there might be more unity. If there were less ways to single people out from others then there might be less discrimination, which would be good for all. Obviously the idea of an identity is inescapable, but it's always good to think “what if?”

American Identities and American Education: Keeping the Melting Pot Simmering

Here's an Identification Project from Catherine Kilian!

American Identities and American Education:  Keeping the Melting Pot Simmering

A. Perception of My Identity:  “My Childhood Has Defined My Life”

            Intrinsic self-exploration for the sake of discovering personal identity has existed through all of time. Individuals and citizens from all types of societies with varying natures have long contemplated the question “who am I?” Throughout my life, I am convinced that I have a basic understanding of what defines me. I believe that within the timeframe of my lifetime, I have become familiar with some of the characteristics that distinguish me as who I am. These perceptions of my identity were most likely shaped by the same factors I am going to use in an attempt to explore who I am.

            I am part of a family. I am a daughter, an older sister, a cousin, a niece, a granddaughter, and a friend. I am part of a closely-knit family system. My entire family was born and raised in western New York. I have four younger siblings; two brothers and two sisters. My siblings and I have always been extremely close to one another, our parents and the rest of our extended family.

            My parents gave me a variety of experiences that provided me with ample opportunities to explore myself as a person and develop my own identity. There are various pieces of my life that I strongly value, that hold importance and guide my actions and decisions. First and foremost, my family, friends and boyfriend serve as the fence around the perimeters of my life. Like fence posts, they are grounded, stable and reliable. I depend on my family because they have never been undependable. These people are the most valuable part of my life and they have made the largest impact in it. They influenced the development of my values, morals, beliefs and principles.

            Since last summer when I adopted my dog, I have become more aware of what it requires to provide for and have complete responsibility of someone else (I say someone because I pretty much consider Tiko a person trapped in a chihuahua's body). He looks to me while trying to express his wants and needs because he knows I'll understand him best. He understands that I am the one who will get him water from the sink. He understands that his dog food is in the bottom drawer of my dresser and I need to get it out for him. He understands that when he barks near a door that I know he has to go outside. He understands that when I'm not home, he doesn't have the support necessary to fulfill some of his needs.

            I am a very important part of Tiko's life. Tiko's dependency provides some explanation of the excitement he experiences when I walk through my front door. Playing that crucial of a role in my little dog's life (the kind where when they see you they're so overwhelmed with good feelings they can't breathe), brought me to the realization that I strongly value compassion, understanding, dependability and providing for others. This instance was additional support of my choice to further my education and become an elementary school teacher.

            In today's world it is often easy to forget about your heritage and what it means to be who we are. We celebrate American unity claiming that our country's boundaries combine individuals from all walks of life into our “melting pot” society. Are we straying from our roots and leaning towards the belief that we're all simply just, American?

            I hope I never lose the interest I have towards my heritage and my family's history. I am German, Irish and Lebanese. My last name represents my family’s ties with Germany. As opposed to the likes of the Irish and their beer, “Killian's Red,” Kilian, with one L, is the German spelling of our name. My mother has curly red hair and I'm sure I've inherited my own curly hair and freckles from our Irish ancestors. My grandmother was one hundred percent Lebanese. She was a very important part of my life.

            Through her passing during recent years, I came to the harsh realization that she would no longer be here to help carry on some of the traditions and customs that she had shared and passed down to us. She left a bit of our heritage in our family and my father, which he passed on to me. I see her in myself through my dark eyes, my olive-colored skin and my inexplicable interest towards the customs and cultures of the Middle East.

            I intend to celebrate all of my ethnic roots through the constant exploration of my family, their predecessors and our history. Another ambition of mine, to celebrate my grandmother and our Lebanese heritage, is to further my ethnic cooking abilities. I am going to pass down the tradition of my favorite Lebanese foods. I will become more familiar with traditional Lebanese foods like seasoned rice pilaf, which is given texture and flavor from pine nuts, and stuffed grape leaves, which are filled with a rice-ground beef mixture. I also have high hopes and ambitions to travel to these three countries, to explore the places and people that have defined my heritage and sculpted my identity, as a person and an American.

            It is important to note that being an American citizen has played a role in my identity. The acquisition of American citizenship is sought after by many individuals. The government gently steers my actions towards our country's main interests and priorities. Regardless, I am appreciative of the many rights and freedoms my citizenship entitles me to. Many other nations and individuals are forced to abide by restrictions and government-mandated limitations, situations that strongly effected by the forces of various governing bodies. I believe that their ability to endure these often unfavorable circumstances, makes these people ideal candidates for American citizenship.

B. Experience with American Identities:  “The Influence of Diversity on My Past, Present and Future”

            Throughout my childhood, my parents have always modeled for me and given examples of ways to be--for lack of better words--a “good” person, based on the morals, values and beliefs they had already formed. They stressed acceptance and selflessness, treating others how I'd like to be treated. I've learned not to form my views of individuals off of other people's opinions, to give people an opportunity to reveal themselves before forming any criticisms. My parents were able to impress into my malleable, developing brain the concepts and perspective I hold today. I think genuine care and kindness are important aspects of my identity and my understanding of other's identities.

            When I was younger, I was given the tools and devices necessary to develop creativity and imagination. My parents had created an environment that was crucial to this development. Not having this background would have changed the way I perceive the world around me. I had baby dolls and stuffed animals, a kitchen set, a work bench and a construction hat, barbies, matchbox cars, blocks. All of these provided hours of entertainment, but more importantly, gave me various options to explore all kinds of play, instead of restricting my toys to “girly” ones. I played on the work bench. I'd wear the construction hat and talk about how I'll help my father at work in the future. I'd dress my stuffed animals up in doll clothes and push them around in strollers. I'd play “house” with my siblings, playing different roles. I truly believe that the vivid imagination I've held onto until today comes from the methods used by my parents to supplement my development at such an impressionable age.

            There should be a nationwide agreement made between our country's citizens in concern of our future, our children's future, and our grandchildren's future. The importance and overwhelming influence that parenting has on a child's developmental growth and their definitions of personal identity needs to be discussed with all individuals in all situations that are raising children. Stressing the importance of parenting, either through more thoroughly detailed explanations or more expansively, and making this knowledge and awareness available to parents and guardians from all backgrounds and circumstances, will likely cause an increase in conscious and informed child-rearing actions and decisions. Having the knowledge that you as an individual are a crucial element, a necessary requirement, in the development of a young child's identity is not only honorable but a humbling realization as well.

            I might have made the decision to enter the field of education during my childhood. My siblings and cousins would play more realistically as we grew older. We moved onto games like “court,” where we'd develop ridiculous scenarios for a case. My cousin received an overhead projector one year for Christmas. Paired with the desk I had, we made an excellent classroom set-up to play school in. We would take turns, reversing roles from teacher to learner. Creating tests and worksheets, correcting in red pen, raising our hands or shouting out obnoxious answers, we modeled strategies used by our real teachers and experimented acting out the behaviors we observed in our peers.

            My enrollment in the school district I lived in exposed me to an increasing amount of diversity. Once I had reached middle and high school, I was accustomed to the nature of diversity. I already had a good understanding of treating everyone equally, respecting all individuals; if this wasn't common sense at this point, my parents had already taught me. I also understood that while we treat everyone equally, it is not the case that we all live equivalent lives. The schools I attended encompassed a variety of students from many different ethnicities, cultures, economic backgrounds and family histories.

            My freshman year of college I had already defined my major as early childhood education, with a concentration in art. Ideally I would like to have an art classroom at the elementary level. However, I believe that to get the most value out of my education at Fredonia, I should strive to become a classroom teacher at the elementary level and incorporate all of the skills, strategies and methods I have learned thus far into a resourceful, stimulating classroom environment. The fact that I chose elementary education as a career path, driven by my morals and values to have a positive impact and influence in young children's lives, reflects my identity.

            The totality of my field placements here have presented me with the opportunities necessary to observe, experience and better understand what it's like to teach a group of largely diverse learners in a multitude of teaching styles. I have worked with students from Pre-K to 2^nd grade. These students have come from all walks of life, and are all a part of something bigger. Despite all of their cultural and ethnic differences, I saw beneficial relationships form between these children. Collectively, these groups of diverse American students belong together as part of American society and a classroom community.

             My participation in this American studies course has made me aware of the fact that one increasingly more existent aspect of our national identity is “American competitiveness.” Over time, American citizens began to shift from not only challenging their “mother country” and comparing one another's differences, to competing globally with, for and against members of other worldly countries. With the state of today's society and global economy, it only makes sense for parents, guardians and educators to raise and prepare our nation's youth for the competitive challenges tomorrow and in the future. By learning from experienced and devoted, educated adults, in a supportive, comfortable and culturally sensitive environment, young children will begin to recognize the existence of similarities and differences, equality and inequality, fair and unfair. Once students understand the inevitable nature of diversity and global expansion, they will be more readily able to appreciate strengths and understand weaknesses. Being enlightened by the environments that surround them, and becoming increasingly more accepting of others, gives young children the opportunity to become more exposed to and familiarized with, the diverse people, ideas and concepts of our world today. Multicultural education that provides a foundation for global awareness has been made possible in many areas of the world (some even in exist within our country's borders). These experiences have been made possible for students in today's society by the systematic provision of: a. equal educational opportunities that cause learners to become accustomed to varying cultures through diverse classroom composition, b. opportunities to learn and practice second (even third or fourth) languages in a world of multiple linguistics, and c. adequate opportunities to explore, discover, and make meaningful connections, in order to begin forming a level of individual understanding. In the future, those students that were able to experience valuable educational experiences, are most likely the individuals that will succeed. Our world is now populated by a global society that has (and will continue to) experience exposure to an ever-changing, constantly altered state of existence. The preservation of our world will be made most possible by the extent of which our future generations participate in global affairs and develop environmental and humanistic consciousness and are aware of the impact that is (or isn't) occurring.

            Knowing this, it was difficult for me to witness segregation by teachers of students in some districts. The segregation was not meant to divide students by race or socio-economic status. Rather it was meant to separate students of varying academic abilities. Ironically, this basically entailed that these American students who were speakers of different languages and less socio-economically advantaged were struggling learners. The backgrounds and circumstances children live in will affect the way students learn. With English being a second language and parents working too late to be available, these students have not experienced the enrichment necessary to succeed at the same level as their classmates. In my opinion, this type of labeling seems detrimental to the construction of confidence and self-esteem and therefore the students’ success. If students at this age continue being identified in this manner, it will undoubtedly influence the way they form their identity.

            In addition to being criticized or treated unfairly by someone in person, even the history textbooks used in some classrooms are used to delude the youngest generations of American citizens from truth of our prior experiences as a nation. These textbook 'stories' are often fabrications of historically true events and real accounts, that have been intentionally designed and very specifically chosen to effectively create the standard “American Identity” one may see today, designed in respect of our forefathers' ideals (regardless of the circumstances that influenced them over a hundred years ago). Not only do I worry from my standpoint as a future educator, I also play the role of an adult, concerned with humanistic values, like honesty and the well-being of children. I have now become aware of the fact that many classroom social studies textbooks contain misleading text that makes them unreliable sources. For this reason, I have become unsettled by the notion that records of American history could be equally unreliable and untrustworthy.

            My teaching methods are going to reflect the manner in which I was raised and the information that I have gained through my past experiences and observations in the classroom. Using American identity as a common ground, a group all students are a part of, I intend to teach acceptance and celebration of culture. I want to use this as a basis to form lessons addressing all levels of learners. In theory, I hope that this practice helps eliminate, or at least lessen, the existence of discrimination and stereotyping that is so prevalent in society today.

C. What Can We Define American Identity As? “Our American Identity as the Melting Pot Is Soupy”

            American identities can be interpreted in a variety of ways. In being citizens of this country, one would assume these individuals might classify themselves as American. However, I made the surprising realization that, despite having been born and raised a citizen of this country, when asked how I would define my identity; “American” would never be my first response in describing myself. I oppose the view that as United States citizens we should mask or blend our heritage into the generality of being an American. When asked to define myself, I would have first listed the people that have defined my family's heritage, giving my culture and family history more credit to the creation of my “American identity.” This view should easily be accepted, even by those individuals who truly classify themselves first and foremost as American.

            Publicizing our country for generations as “the Melting Pot,” the juxtaposition of cultures, race, ethnicities, it should come as no surprise that we, as a society hold so many different perspectives and outlooks. I believe that the existence of “the American Dream” seems like an illusion to so many of our citizens as they make their way into our American society. Our country's definition of “well-being” and “success” do not meet the expectations of those individuals who have left their homes and families to come to American in hope of searching for, finding, and experiencing a “better life.” Different cultures have different standards and definitions for these ideas. While reaching “the American Dream” might be an attainable goal for an individual who has lived in the country their whole life, it is often impossible for immigrants or migrants to succeed this far into American society.

            With the increasing amount of diversity that exists within the United States, is it really possible to create a definition that reveals the identities of all Americans? The amount of discussion, debate and inequality that still exists today, gives me the impression that we are currently involved in the process of defining what it really means to identify ourselves as American. Although I am American, feeling an overwhelming sense of pride and nationalism for our country rarely occurs.

Defining what American Identities is on a universal level would not be supportive of the United States. Other countries seem to use degrading stereotypes to express the negative connotations they hold in association to our American identity. Since this is the case, it must also be plausible that American citizens define our identity in more than a multitude of ways. Definitions of what it means to be American would most definitely reflect an individual perspective. We would define American identity individually, based on personal life experiences, history, etc. So is it even possible for our nation to develop an American identity that encompasses all of our citizens? I am convinced that continually over extended periods of time, individual perceptions (as well as generalized opinions), are influenced by the most current status of general societal perspective and the most widely publicly-supported beliefs during that time. I am led to believe that visible trends and patterns have been documented by our nation's history, but are often ignored or manipulated in meaning.

What really defines us as “American” besides the fact that we live in America? America was established hundreds of years ago. However, with the misconstrued, altered stories of our country’s history, we shouldn’t use any one specific defining action taken by our American predecessors to define our identity. Maybe our identity could be linked to the fact that the people of our country are free. For example, the freedom of speech is not something traditional to the rest of the world. The fact that America is a young, growing, changing country might define us. But I think as long as we’re still learning what works best for our country and our people, that we’re still constructing our American identity.

            At this point in my life, I believe American identities can be most accurately defined as follows: the existence of American identity is composed of our diverse citizens. American identities reflect the vastness of our people’s culture, race, ethnicity, customs, faiths, beliefs, principles, morals, lifestyles and backgrounds. We are “the melting pot.” Not only does the society we exist within today still exemplify our country’s diversity, it is constantly growing, adapting and changing our identity, as well. American society and identity are continuously in progressive, adapted movement, like the motion of simmering contents inside of a melting pot. I think that American identities are a conglomerate representation of our diverse nation. As an educator, in hopes of furthering young children’s development as “Americans,” I will not only aim to provide the most accurate American history possible, I am driven to teach tomorrow's generation of children to live compassionately and to accept, celebrate and understand differences in one another.

American Identities: What They Mean to You and Me

American Identities: What They Mean to You and Me

K. Thompson

How I Used To Think About My Identity

Personal identity is a complex entity that combines many different aspects of a person. It encompasses a person’s gender, race, religion, class, ethnicity, sexual orientation, where they were raised, their beliefs and many other things. Your personal identity is essentially how you view your self. Who are you? Most people, including myself, have a very definite idea of who they are. It has become clear to me that this idea of who you are may be incorrect. But how can you not know who you are? Let's start with my original evaluation of my identity from a few months ago.

The most obvious characteristics of personal identity are probably sex, followed by race. These two traits can be distinguished just by looking at someone, most of the time.

            Another important identifying characteristic is my religion. I am agnostic, which isn’t so much of a religion but a belief that the existence or non-existence of a God is unknowable. This belief sets me apart from the rest of my family; it also contributes to the way I act and view the world. I think that this belief is just as important as being white and a male.

Another important part of my personal identity is my economic class. In our society cash is king and it is no surprise that it influences people’s identity. Both of my parents are self-employed and their earnings put them into what is labeled as the middle class. This is also an important part of my identity because it has let me do certain things such as travel abroad and attend college. It is obvious to see that my personal identity is made up of a multitude of things and they all combine to make me who I am.

Another part of my identity is where I was raised. Where you are brought up has a large impact on your personal identity. You become accustomed to certain social norms from your region. I was brought up in the same small rural town all my life, Wellsville, New York. Wellsville is about two hours away from Fredonia near the Pennsylvania border and has a population of about 4,000.

My ethnicity also plays a big role in my life and is another crucial part of my identity. I don’t know too much about my father’s side of the family since his parents died when I was very young. However, I do know that my father’s side came over from England and settled in Canada sometime in the late 1800s then eventually moved to the United States, primarily New York. Since I do not know much else about my father’s side of the family it is not a big part of my identity. However I know much more about my mother’s side and it plays a much bigger role in my life. My mother’s parents were born in Hungary in the 1920s. They later moved to Germany because of World War II and then in the early 1950s they came over to the United States. I regularly visit my grandparents and they are always telling me stories of “the old country” and how things were in Hungary. My grandparents have taught me how to count in Hungarian and a few other random words here and there, such as macska, which means cat. When I am at home with my family we even occasionally eat traditional Hungarian dishes. My heritage is an important part of my identity; everyone’s heritage is unique, which is why I think ethnicity is always a major part of personal identity.

The Problem With Taking Identity Categories For Granted

At SUNY Fredonia, throughout this semester in American Identities, we have read numerous books, had many discussions and debates about the ultimate American Identity. The first class was dedicated to finding the ultimate American stereotype. A poll was taken and the best 16 stereotypes were chosen. The stereotypes faced off tournament style with our class as the voters until just one was left standing. Our class ended up picking “American Idiot” by a landslide. Our class thought that this stereotype best represented America due to Americans’ general obliviousness and apathy toward other cultures and other points of view. Obviously this stereotype is not true for all Americans, yet we thought it was the best representation of America’s people. Stereotypes, true or not, sometimes will be accepted and even considered to be fact. These stereotypes become even more entrenched as time progresses and can eventually be accepted as fact. Stereotypes are not always negative, they can be positive, and when a certain group in power has enough influence they can choose their own positive stereotypes and assign negative ones to people who are not in their group. This can be seen all throughout history; Hitler and the Aryan race is a good example. Another good example is slave owners using stereotypes to justify slavery. By making another group inferior it is easier to keep power and exploit the other group.

Considering all this, it is necessary to reanalyze my identity, and I encourage you to do the same. When I first analyzed my identity I identified race as one of the most defining characteristics. But after reading Matthew Frye Jacobson’s book Whiteness of a Different Color my opinion has changed. I have realized that the term white has not always been consistent; in fact, it has been constructed. If you identify yourself as Irish, Italian, Greek, Slavic or Jewish, at one time you would not have been considered white. In his book, Jacobson states that:

This increasing fragmentation and hierarchical ordering of distinct white races (now in the plural) was theorized in the rarified discourses of science, but it also reflected in literature, visual arts, caricature, political oratory, penny journalism, and myriad other venues of popular culture. It was this notion of variegated whiteness that surfaced in 1863, for instance, when the New York Tribune characterized the rioting Irish in New York as a “savage mob,” a “pack of savages,” “savage foes,”… It was this notion of variegated whiteness that undergirded Henry Cabot Lodge’s claim, in 1891, that Slovak immigrants “are not a good acquisition for use to make, since they appear to have so many items in common with the Chinese.” (Jacobson 41-42)

Jacobson gives many more examples of different prejudices against these probationary “white” groups, such as Italians being referred to as “white niggers” in the South (Jacobson 57). However, because of the Naturalization Law of 1790, which permitted “free white persons” to become citizens in the United States, these prejudices eventually fell away because the debate shifted toward two other minority groups, specifically the Blacks and the Native Americans.

Being partially Hungarian I can relate to the Irish being called savages because the Hungarians have been referred to as barbarians. When my Grandmother lived in Germany she told me a story that her second son was mistaken for having a black father because of the darker hue of the Hungarian skin tone. The malicious side of stereotyping people based on race can be seen in James Der Derian’s book Virtuous War. Der Derian begins his book by talking about the conflict in Kosovo. This conflict arose over a territorial dispute but turned into an ethnic cleansing led by Slobodan Milosevic and the Serbian Government. After seeing how the definition of “white” has changed solely for the purpose of power, political and economic, I can no longer consider being white an important part of my identity because I do not think it means anything. My definition of my whiteness has been built off of other people’s attempts to make other groups inferior, and at one time my Hungarian heritage fell under this category. To continue to accept this “white stereotype” would go against my personal beliefs.

American Identities in the Real World

I think it is hard to analyze American identities based solely on experiences that took place in America. We are so used to our own culture that it is very difficult to see what is really going on and how we are actually being perceived by others. When I was a junior in high school I went on a ten-day trip to Italy and Greece. While we were there we visited all sorts of tourist attractions such as The Vatican, the Coliseum, the Parthenon, and Pompeii, to name a few. Being immersed in a totally different culture was a bit of a shock but it made it easier to analyze how people in other countries viewed Americans. One of the first things that I noticed dealt with the language barrier. Our tour group knew practically no Italian or Greek words; we relied on our tour guide from the area to handle all the speaking and translating. Most Italians and Greeks we talked to knew a little bit of English; I assume this is because they were shop owners and most of their business came from tourism. Since I did not speak to any Italians or Greeks on the street I cannot comment on how their English was, but regardless this goes to strengthen the stereotype that Americans do not care to learn other languages and that we expect everyone to speak English.

This also goes hand in hand with culture. While we were there I was trying to absorb and learn as much as I could about the Italian and Greek culture. However I noticed that other people in my tour group could seem to care less about the culture they were in. Some people were even bored with all the tours we were taking and were even complaining! One night about half of our tour group went to an Italian club/bar, since there is no drinking age in Italy. We did the typical “American thing” and got drunk before we went to the club. While we were there I noticed some Italian girls staring at our tour group and a few other American tour groups that were in the club. This was obviously due to our drunken nature. One of my friends ended up getting kicked out of the club because he had too much to drink and was falling down all over the place. A few people in our group also puked out on the street. I was walking back alone form the club and accidentally stumbled into the wrong hotel; after realizing I was in the wrong hotel, I apologized and left. All of our actions were scrutinized by the locals, and rightly so. I think a lot out-of-control drinking was because we were so young. It was obvious to see that it is not the norm in Italy to party and get drunk like in America. Alcohol is treated very differently in Italy and all throughout Europe; they grow up with alcohol and learn to drink in moderation. This seems to be a severe contrast to Americans and the way that we drink alcohol.

I think that this behavior also enforces the negative stereotype that Americans are irresponsible and only like to party. American shows, like Jersey Shore, which are popular in Europe, can give Europeans a false sense of what the American identity really is. It is very hard for foreigners to get a sense of the real American identity without sitting down and getting to know us. Otherwise all their assumptions are usually based off of television shows and stereotypes. We need to make an effort to connect with other cultures and learn what their true identity is, not just assume things that reinforce stereotypes.

Analyzing Culture as an Identity

            If you have traveled to a different city, state, region, or country, you have probably noticed some cultural differences. The most obvious is often language or dialect. If you look deeper you will realize these differences occur because of how these people are brought up. I think that this shows where a person grows up influences them much more than their race.

My time in another country and reading Amy Chua’s book The Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother made me realize this. Now after reading Chua’s book I can make a connection between the differences in culture in the United States and abroad. Chua’s style of parenting seemed very strict to me and to our class. At the start of the book Chua gives a list of things she never let her children do:

Attend a sleepover, have a play date, be in a school play, complain about not being in a school play, watch TV or play computer games, choose their own extracurricular activities, get any grade less than an A, not be the #1 student in any subject except gym and drama, play any other instrument other than piano or violin, not play the piano or violin. (Chua 3-4)

Throughout the book Chua tells stories about raising her children by these rules. To most people this standard of parenting is considered very strict and some of the stories Chua tells, in my opinion, border on abuse. However in the book Chua states that her mother was even stricter. It became obvious to me that we were looking at her book and style of parenting through our own cultural lens. To us her parenting seemed strict and abusive but Chua’s Chinese mother might think she was too lenient on her daughters.

I connected this difference in cultures with my time in Italy and Greece. Until I actually went abroad I would have never know the extent of differences in other cultures. When you grow up in one town your whole life that mentality becomes your status quo and this can be hard to break. This is best illustrated by my story of my classmates and I drinking in Italy. In our culture alcohol is treated very differently than it is in Italy. Kids over there grow up with alcohol and it is not the “forbidden fruit” that it is in the United States. This has taught me to recognize the differences in other cultures rather than the differences in people, such as race. The association between race and culture can cloud people’s judgments and lead to false interpretations that can be harmful such as the American Idiot stereotype or the ethnic cleansing of Kosovo.

My Opinion of America  

I truly believe that America is the greatest country in the world. It is also very unique when you compare it with other countries. The most important thing about America is that it was founded on the premise of freedom and individuality. The pilgrims came here in search of religious freedom; along with freedom of religion came a list of others such as freedom of speech and freedom of the press, to name a few. But there is also another kind of freedom, the freedom to be yourself and pursue your own interests, essentially the entitlement to the pursuit of happiness. I think that this is a good example of American identity.

When you compare America to other countries many differences become evident; for one thing, America is made up of a multitude of different people. America doesn’t have a definite ethnicity like most countries. Most countries in Europe are made up of people that have had a claim to the land for hundreds of years like the Germans or Swedes. America is truly a melting pot of all different ethnicities and cultures. Another thing that sets us apart from other countries is the diversity of different languages that are spoken here and the religions that are practiced. Unlike other countries, such as Iran, we do not have an official religion or official language. While the majority of Americans are Christian and speak English we have a sizable population that does not and we recognize this as a country. Because of the sheer variety of people in America it is hard to define what the American identity actually is; we cannot define our country by race, or religion or even language like so many other countries can. As Americans it is sometimes difficult to come together because we are so different and believe in so many different things.

I think that as Americans we are united not through a common religion or common language; we are united through freedom. We are united through the ideal that we are all created equal, that we are individuals, and that we are free to pursue our own happiness, whatever that may be. I think that this is the true American identity--it is not based on the characteristics of our people such as language or culture, but it is an idea. Everyone can get behind this idea and support it, which is part of the reason so many immigrants have come here in an effort to better there lives.  The American dream sounds cliché but rather than the American Dream being a house in the suburbs with a white picket fence, 2.5 kids and a dog I think the real American Dream is about opportunity. This opportunity for a better life has brought people from all across the globe to America in pursuit of their own American Dream. I think that this is the true American identity: freedom and opportunity.

Expanding on My Opinion of America

The above section describes my view of the ultimate identity of America; this idea of freedom. However after reading eight different books and discussing various aspects of the American identity, I am again forced to change my view. It now seems as though this idea of freedom is not distinctly American but it is an idea that the whole human race strives for; America is just the place to be for this idea of freedom to flourish. One of the more analytical books we read was Peter Spiro’s book Beyond Citizenship. His book analyzes what citizenship means and how important American citizenship actually is. Spiro states in his book that even non-citizens', such as illegal immigrants, freedoms are protected under the Constitution. If you do not have to be an American citizen for your freedom to be protected it is not inherently an American characteristic. I linked this theme back to the first book we read, The Death of Josseline by Margaret Regan. Her book is a tale of various immigrants trying to get into the United States to enjoy this freedom I described in the above section. It chronicles their journey across the border, the dangers, and what people are doing to help. Their own country does not provide the economic freedom that they need so they are forced to find it elsewhere. In addition to Regan’s book Barack Obama’s Dreams from My Father also plays with this idea of freedom in a more subtle way. Obama chronicles his grandfather's, father's, and his own struggles for freedom from oppression in various ways. This idea of freedom is not isolated to America.

Analyzing Your Own Identity

My American Identities class really got me thinking about every aspect of my identity. It was something that I never really thought about because identity is so natural and usually something you usually do not analyze critically. Now I think that it is essential to analyze identity on a personal level and national level. We all need to be more conscious about what influences us and where our identity comes from and what it is based off of. I was very surprised with what I found when I examined my identity and I think you will, too.

Bibliography

Chua, Amy. Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother. New York: The Penguin Press, 2011.

Der Derian, James. Virtuous War. New York: Routledge, 2009.

Jacobson, Matthew Frye. Whiteness of a Different Color. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1999

Obama, Barack. Dreams from My Father. New York: Three Rivers Press, 1996.

Regan, Margaret. The Death of Josseline. Boston: Beacon Press, 2010.

Spiro, Peter. Beyond Citizenship. New York: Oxford University Press, 2008.