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Post by AmericanPride on May 9, 2006 21:16:31 GMT -8
As many of you know, I'm an ethnic patchwork of a wide variety of heritages - ranging from European nobility to African slaves and nearly everything in between. And what all of you surely know is that I am a young, fervent American nationalist.
I have no question or doubt about my identity. I'm an American. That is the land to which I am bound. The Republic is not only a form of state, but also the country and the people. It's a solely American trinity in which we all function.
America suffers from an identity crisis. Many stake a claim on their ethnic heritage which has been made irrelevant by the virtue of the Republic. Everything from the KKK and the Aryan Nation to the hyphenization of individuals works towards our destruction. As a so-called "Hispanic African-American", I believe the latter is more dangerous. It is more subtle than racial hatred, and therefore more easily finds comfort in our collective physche. While the KKK and their ilk are wholly despicable, it is not difficult to ascertain where they stand. On the other hand - the political correcting of our identity is nothing less than cultural subversion! The maxim of divide and conquer can just as easily be transformed into: divide and collapse.
I think its about time Americans awake from this form of social imprisonment. We are all Americans. It's time we start acting like it.
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Post by FightingFalcon on May 10, 2006 4:52:04 GMT -8
"We are all Americans. It's time we start acting like it."
I posted about this on THC a couple months ago after studying European Nationalism in 1848.
America is special because, while the majority of countries (at least European) are nation-states, we are not. We have a common history but we don't have a common heritage. We sorta have a common culture but there are variations of it all over this country. I mean...New York City is quite different from Wyoming....
As I've posted many times, there is nothing wrong with loving your heritage so long as you realize where your loyalty ultimately is. I love Ireland and Italy and everything associated with them. But my love for the Constitution, the Republic and America outweighs any of them.
I agree completely that we need to get rid of the "hyphenated" Americans. I truly do believe in MLK Jr's America, where people are judged by the content of their character and not the color of their skin. I hope one day that we can stop classifying ourselves based on race, religion, etc. and instead just realize that we're all Americans.
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Post by AmericanPride on May 10, 2006 6:38:13 GMT -8
Hey James-
Yeah, the East Coast is definately different than the mid-west. But then again - so is northern Germany from southern Germany. And Paris from rural France.
What is it that America is missing?
We have a common history.
We have a common language.
We have common ideals, symbols and a common religion.
We even have a common enemy.
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Post by FightingFalcon on May 10, 2006 6:42:01 GMT -8
Common history? Sort of, but not really.
Common language? Again, sort of.
Common ideals? Hell no.
Religion? Absolutely not.
Common enemy - yes, definitely.
The one thing we have in common above all else is the Constitution and its application to all Americans. No matter what happens to this country, we all (for the most part) believe in and love the Constitution.
Superficial things like race, history, language, etc. do not concern me. Our unifying factor is the Constitution.
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Post by AmericanPride on May 10, 2006 6:52:42 GMT -8
James-
Our "diversity" is really no different than most other countries. Even Russia has hundreds of different languages and cultures bumping around within its borders. There's a difference between Catholic Poles and Jewish Poles. Sicilians and Italians are different. Southern Germans are Catholics - northern Germans are Protestants. And so on. Every country has people speaking different languages, immigrating, worshipping different gods and believing different things. But they nonetheless have a perception of being a single national unit. Why?
I probably didn't have relatives here in 1776. But that's when my national history begins.
My grandmother speaks Spanish and English. But she certainly knows which is the language of America.
We have common ideals in family, work, and individual liberty - regardless of politics. The rest are radicals.
The common religion is Christianity regardless of what anyone says. Just because they have different icing on the same cake doesn't make it any less true.
I'd say our most physical and visible "unifying factor" is the Constitution. Now how do we translate that to nationalism and an American identity?
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Post by FightingFalcon on May 10, 2006 7:05:04 GMT -8
"But they nonetheless have a perception of being a single national unit. Why?"
First off, they don't. Many countries have the same problems that we have. One way that Germany deals with it is that they are a Federal Republic with most of the power beind held by the various federal states.
Spain is plagued by internal strife, especially in Catalonia and the Basque territories.
The United Kingdom...well I don't think I have to go into their problems.
The fact remains that European countries aren't unified just as we aren't. It isn't possible to have a completely unified county on a national level. Only an ultimate nation-state, e.g. 100% same langauge, culture, religion, etc. could do that. NAZI Germany came close but even they had internal dissent. Specifically, Bavaria was sympathetic to Communists.
"We have common ideals in family, work, and individual liberty - regardless of politics. The rest are radicals."
True, these are common ideals - but they're common all over the Western world. America isn't unique in this aspect and it certainly isn't something to base our country off of.
"The common religion is Christianity regardless of what anyone says. Just because they have different icing on the same cake doesn't make it any less true."
Different icing on the cake? I refuse to consider the fact that non-Catholic Churches and the Roman Catholic Church are one and the same.
"I'd say our most physical and visible "unifying factor" is the Constitution. Now how do we translate that to nationalism and an American identity?"
By actually pretending to care about what the Constitution says. By vehemently defending it no matter what the external pressure is. By dying for the Constitution and doing whatever is necessary to make sure that it is never corrupted - or else it must be destroyed.
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Post by AmericanPride on May 10, 2006 7:14:31 GMT -8
Right. Which I indicated earlier. But despite those divisions - some of them worst than ours - they nonetheless have the perception of being a single national unit.
Then what should be thrown into the mix? Other than the Constitution, of course.
Regardless -- the overwhelming majority of Americans are Christian. They have faith in the Bible and the same God and believe everyone is going to the same place. And further - being an American transcends being a Christian. Just like it transcends being Jewish, Muslims, or anything else. If it were the other way around - we'd be a theocracy.
What happens then?
I like to think that our national identity can transcend a single document that is open to varying interpretations, manipulations, and even destruction.
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Post by FightingFalcon on May 10, 2006 7:17:58 GMT -8
And we don't? When you leave the country, you realize that non-Americans don't care if we're Christian, Muslim, Republicans, Democrats, etc. We're just Americans.
I don't really see anything.
Ideals can never be destroyed - only people can. Our Constitution isn't just a single document, but rather the greatest achievement of mankind. Nothing is more important than it - especially not our national identity.
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Post by AmericanPride on May 10, 2006 7:22:30 GMT -8
That's what I'm driving at.
What's our national identity?
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Post by FightingFalcon on May 10, 2006 7:25:03 GMT -8
That's what I'm driving at. What's our national identity? Our support and belief of/in the Constitution. |
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Post by AmericanPride on May 10, 2006 7:28:11 GMT -8
I think there's more.
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Post by MrDoublel on May 10, 2006 21:23:02 GMT -8
It's freedom. Why do so many people from all over the world still come here in droves? (Not counting the Illegals coming from the south for money). It all boils down to freedom. Where in the world can a peasant dirt farmer from Nowhere-istan come and send his children to school where they can one day become a doctor or engineer? The come here because of freedom and hope and that is what America is all about.
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Post by FightingFalcon on May 10, 2006 21:29:34 GMT -8
It's freedom. Why do so many people from all over the world still come here in droves? (Not counting the Illegals coming from the south for money). It all boils down to freedom. Where in the world can a peasant dirt farmer from Nowhere-istan come and send his children to school where they can one day become a doctor or engineer? The come here because of freedom and hope and that is what America is all about. Nicely put SFC. I agree completely. |
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Post by MrDoublel on May 10, 2006 21:32:57 GMT -8
James, you're up late.
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Post by FightingFalcon on May 10, 2006 21:36:41 GMT -8
For the first time in a long time......I've got NOTHING to do tomorrow  I finished my Zoroastrian final a few hours ago (took me three hours and finished at 2300....bleh...) and my next final is on Friday. It's ridiculously easy - it's for my European History class. The professor even gave us both questions: 1) Is Germany solely responsibility for WWI and WWII? 2) Why was WWII so much more destructive than WWI? There's more to it than that but basically that's what each question boils down to. Two hours to answer both questions. I mean....come on.... Once I'm done with that exam.....SUMMER!!!!!!  How's Afghanistan? |
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