I'm not sure if it is a wanting to belong, or the desire to control but I'm thinking it is a little bit of both. I'm thinking about this concept of appropriation that is sweeping our society. Oh, many are calling it heritage but it is really just an appropriation. It has become almost a fad. The truth is people are grasping onto this " heritage " notion as a tool. It is a way to gain an advantage over others. Let's turn that minus into a plus ! Even when we are the ones that created the negative connotation in the first place. The first step is identifying yourself as a native. Doesn't really matter what nativity you claim, as long as you claim native status in the proper neighborhood. Take Elizabeth Warren as an example. She makes claim to being a native American because she lives in America, wanted people to think of her as a " true " American and it provided a bonus. She got a lucrative teaching job and enjoyed favored status by virtue of that claim. That's how that works. It is something that permeates our society today, these claims of heritage.
You could argue it is just a wanting to belong. I just want to fit in. I identify with a certain group or groups and in so doing gain acceptance. Yes, my mothers, brothers, son married a second cousin of my grandmother on my fathers side ! Therefore I am a member of this family. Acceptance however is also the first step to gaining control, or if not outright control, influence. Influence exerted by a perceived right. My ancestors where here before yours, I've lived here longer than you, and I've got more money than you are often what these claims are based on. Notice how the claims become more tenuous as they progress.
Generations past immigrated to America to become Americans. That was the intended purpose. And for generations folks claimed that as their heritage. I still do. I am an American. I'm not a European-American, I'm an American. I have ancestors that immigrated to America. I also have the papers showing where they became Americans ! Yes, their naturalization and immigration papers clearly show that status and they were very proud to be able to say, I am an American ! Whatever they achieved beyond that, they achieved as Americans, not because of some program granting favored status. They had that desire to belong. They wanted to belong to this country and pursue their dreams. What is the American dream ? To have the ability to pursue your own dreams unencumbered by government. That is freedom. The freedom to act on your own behalf without interference.
Now I'm seeing a shift. Now I'm seeing the desire to control take the drivers seat. In order to do that you must first establish a claim. That claim must align you with a group or program that is favorable to you. So, we began to base our claims on past injustices, whether real or perceived. No matter those injustices occurred several generations back, the claim being I should reap the benefits. Well, after all those folks are dead, right ? That means I should get whatever MAY have been theirs, and whatever dreams they MAY have had should be granted to me. It's a birthright. No matter how distant that claim may be, all I need to do is claim it. Good old Elizabeth claims a 1/32 lineage to her Native American ancestors. I'd call that a tenuous connection at best. There is no advantage to being a European American and so you never hear that one. Other races, other cultures, and indeed other religious groups make various claims to gain favor and exert influence.
Yes other races, other cultures and other religious groups have contributed to the making of America. What is being forgotten is that America is the great melting pot. We melt things together to do what ? To create an alloy, a combination of various materials to create a new material. That new material is an American ! The superiority or inferiority of the individual components is not the concern, the finished product is what matters. But we have neglected that process, that smelting, by the granting of favored status. No need for you to change, to adapt or to assimilate. An imbalance has been created. There are far more wishing to reap the benefits that willing to contribute. The contributions of the past will not sustain the needs of the future. America is going bankrupt ! The bankruptcy is a moral and ethical decay. Too many taking , not enough contributing. Being or becoming an American is a privilege, not a right. Far too many not understanding that. Most disconcerting to me are the Native born Americas that don't understand or acknowledge that privilege. The ones willingly bestowing that privilege on others and claiming it as some sort of right ! The ones failing to realize the significance of that. Yes, America has traditionally been viewed as the land of milk and honey. Thing is, you have to raise the cow and then milk it. And honey, honey is made by the hard work of thousands contributing to a singular purpose ! You can't just give either one away and expect it to continue forever. The cow will dry up and the honey stop being produced when thousands fail to contribute.
When claiming heritage, we are claiming a cultural tradition. Shouldn't that tradition be one of hard work and moral behaviors ? If you are claiming a heritage and then displaying other qualities, ones less desirable, are you not then dishonoring your heritage ? If you really want to practice those cultural traditions as you perceive them to be, shouldn't you do that in the society those traditions originated from ? After all, there those traditions will be accepted as normal and indeed virtuous. Why wouldn't you want to be there ? Why come to America, where our heritage is one of hard work and independence ? Why come here and make demands ? Why make claims to a heritage in a land with a different heritage ? Isn't that like demanding a hat in a shoe store ? You're in the wrong place. If you want to be an American you must embrace the American tradition. Yes, it takes a sacrifice. If you are not willing to do that, stay right where you are.
You could argue it is just a wanting to belong. I just want to fit in. I identify with a certain group or groups and in so doing gain acceptance. Yes, my mothers, brothers, son married a second cousin of my grandmother on my fathers side ! Therefore I am a member of this family. Acceptance however is also the first step to gaining control, or if not outright control, influence. Influence exerted by a perceived right. My ancestors where here before yours, I've lived here longer than you, and I've got more money than you are often what these claims are based on. Notice how the claims become more tenuous as they progress.
Generations past immigrated to America to become Americans. That was the intended purpose. And for generations folks claimed that as their heritage. I still do. I am an American. I'm not a European-American, I'm an American. I have ancestors that immigrated to America. I also have the papers showing where they became Americans ! Yes, their naturalization and immigration papers clearly show that status and they were very proud to be able to say, I am an American ! Whatever they achieved beyond that, they achieved as Americans, not because of some program granting favored status. They had that desire to belong. They wanted to belong to this country and pursue their dreams. What is the American dream ? To have the ability to pursue your own dreams unencumbered by government. That is freedom. The freedom to act on your own behalf without interference.
Now I'm seeing a shift. Now I'm seeing the desire to control take the drivers seat. In order to do that you must first establish a claim. That claim must align you with a group or program that is favorable to you. So, we began to base our claims on past injustices, whether real or perceived. No matter those injustices occurred several generations back, the claim being I should reap the benefits. Well, after all those folks are dead, right ? That means I should get whatever MAY have been theirs, and whatever dreams they MAY have had should be granted to me. It's a birthright. No matter how distant that claim may be, all I need to do is claim it. Good old Elizabeth claims a 1/32 lineage to her Native American ancestors. I'd call that a tenuous connection at best. There is no advantage to being a European American and so you never hear that one. Other races, other cultures, and indeed other religious groups make various claims to gain favor and exert influence.
Yes other races, other cultures and other religious groups have contributed to the making of America. What is being forgotten is that America is the great melting pot. We melt things together to do what ? To create an alloy, a combination of various materials to create a new material. That new material is an American ! The superiority or inferiority of the individual components is not the concern, the finished product is what matters. But we have neglected that process, that smelting, by the granting of favored status. No need for you to change, to adapt or to assimilate. An imbalance has been created. There are far more wishing to reap the benefits that willing to contribute. The contributions of the past will not sustain the needs of the future. America is going bankrupt ! The bankruptcy is a moral and ethical decay. Too many taking , not enough contributing. Being or becoming an American is a privilege, not a right. Far too many not understanding that. Most disconcerting to me are the Native born Americas that don't understand or acknowledge that privilege. The ones willingly bestowing that privilege on others and claiming it as some sort of right ! The ones failing to realize the significance of that. Yes, America has traditionally been viewed as the land of milk and honey. Thing is, you have to raise the cow and then milk it. And honey, honey is made by the hard work of thousands contributing to a singular purpose ! You can't just give either one away and expect it to continue forever. The cow will dry up and the honey stop being produced when thousands fail to contribute.
When claiming heritage, we are claiming a cultural tradition. Shouldn't that tradition be one of hard work and moral behaviors ? If you are claiming a heritage and then displaying other qualities, ones less desirable, are you not then dishonoring your heritage ? If you really want to practice those cultural traditions as you perceive them to be, shouldn't you do that in the society those traditions originated from ? After all, there those traditions will be accepted as normal and indeed virtuous. Why wouldn't you want to be there ? Why come to America, where our heritage is one of hard work and independence ? Why come here and make demands ? Why make claims to a heritage in a land with a different heritage ? Isn't that like demanding a hat in a shoe store ? You're in the wrong place. If you want to be an American you must embrace the American tradition. Yes, it takes a sacrifice. If you are not willing to do that, stay right where you are.
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