Following the blood. Since we have " discovered " DNA we have become somewhat obsessed with that action. We can send off a sample and get a chart back that tells us that information. We can then adopt the " blood " line we choose. Well, at least if we like what we see that is. If that group is currently enjoying favor in some way we can claim that heritage. I see that all the time. Folks I have known all my life suddenly embracing their heritage. Strangely they know nothing of that heritage beyond what they have read in books. Your blood doesn't give you a heritage, society does. Heritage is inherited property or traditions. Just because you had a fifth great grandfather that was, pick your flavor, that doesn't make you one.
I admit I have been curious as to what be in my blood. I'm fairly certain I come from Germanic peoples, European and Scandinavian. I'm as equally certain there are more. It is a matter of curiosity only though, as I am an American. There is no DNA test that will convince me otherwise. DNA is the building block, science has shown that, but what was built was an American. Perhaps some foreign materials were used in doing so but that doesn't change the outcome. Near as I can tell I came out of Northwest woods, on Long Island, in the state of New York. Yes I have ancestors that lived in England and Sweden. That is a fact of history. I have no claim to that heritage as I inherited nothing from them. I didn't grow up celebrating their traditions. I know nothing about being British or Swedish, nothing beyond what I have read in books or seen in the movies. To say I was either one would be a complete lie. No, I'm an American alright.
I am what I am because of where I came from. Our environment makes us what we are, not our blood. My values, my faith, and my traditions come from my parents. Theirs came from their upbringing. I was raised as an American. Only my maternal grandmother would have remembered the traditions of her homeland. My grandmother spoke of those traditions occasionally but didn't practice them. She became an American in every way. Nor did she insist her children, and she had ten, claim Sweden in any way. Fact is, I couldn't tell you for certain that she ever became a US citizen. She was here before Social Security and never collected that. I know she never voted. She didn't drive a car. She did become an American though, no doubt about that. That she married an American could not be disputed. Grandfather Horace and his family date back to before there was a America ! His family fought in the war for independence. His DNA would show he was European, most likely English.
All this following the blood is interesting. It can show us where we came from. The thing is we should be more concerned with where we are. At least that is my thinking. I'm not a German, a Swede or anything else, I'm an American. My thinking is the faster we can get people to understand that the better off the country will be. We must be a country of Americans ! If you are not willing to accept the American tradition you have no place here. That doesn't mean I hate you or wish you harm. It means you need to go where you can practice and embrace your traditions. This is America ! And what defines Americans ? A spirit , that is what defines America. The spirit that all men are created equal. That also means all men must stand on their own two feet. Americans are responsible for their own fate, not what the government decides. We the people are the government. To govern is to limit. That is the purpose, as simple as that. Freedom does not mean unlimited. Freedom does mean the ability to act within the constraints of what the people decide. Before that can happen we must all decide to be Americans. To sum it up, Love it, Leave it, or shut up ! Simple as that. It doesn't matter how you got here, that is the past. What matters is that you are here. Claim the past all you want, that isn't going to change today.
I admit I have been curious as to what be in my blood. I'm fairly certain I come from Germanic peoples, European and Scandinavian. I'm as equally certain there are more. It is a matter of curiosity only though, as I am an American. There is no DNA test that will convince me otherwise. DNA is the building block, science has shown that, but what was built was an American. Perhaps some foreign materials were used in doing so but that doesn't change the outcome. Near as I can tell I came out of Northwest woods, on Long Island, in the state of New York. Yes I have ancestors that lived in England and Sweden. That is a fact of history. I have no claim to that heritage as I inherited nothing from them. I didn't grow up celebrating their traditions. I know nothing about being British or Swedish, nothing beyond what I have read in books or seen in the movies. To say I was either one would be a complete lie. No, I'm an American alright.
I am what I am because of where I came from. Our environment makes us what we are, not our blood. My values, my faith, and my traditions come from my parents. Theirs came from their upbringing. I was raised as an American. Only my maternal grandmother would have remembered the traditions of her homeland. My grandmother spoke of those traditions occasionally but didn't practice them. She became an American in every way. Nor did she insist her children, and she had ten, claim Sweden in any way. Fact is, I couldn't tell you for certain that she ever became a US citizen. She was here before Social Security and never collected that. I know she never voted. She didn't drive a car. She did become an American though, no doubt about that. That she married an American could not be disputed. Grandfather Horace and his family date back to before there was a America ! His family fought in the war for independence. His DNA would show he was European, most likely English.
All this following the blood is interesting. It can show us where we came from. The thing is we should be more concerned with where we are. At least that is my thinking. I'm not a German, a Swede or anything else, I'm an American. My thinking is the faster we can get people to understand that the better off the country will be. We must be a country of Americans ! If you are not willing to accept the American tradition you have no place here. That doesn't mean I hate you or wish you harm. It means you need to go where you can practice and embrace your traditions. This is America ! And what defines Americans ? A spirit , that is what defines America. The spirit that all men are created equal. That also means all men must stand on their own two feet. Americans are responsible for their own fate, not what the government decides. We the people are the government. To govern is to limit. That is the purpose, as simple as that. Freedom does not mean unlimited. Freedom does mean the ability to act within the constraints of what the people decide. Before that can happen we must all decide to be Americans. To sum it up, Love it, Leave it, or shut up ! Simple as that. It doesn't matter how you got here, that is the past. What matters is that you are here. Claim the past all you want, that isn't going to change today.
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